• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Magazine

What Happened to the Winklevii After Facebook

By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 28, 2019, 10:00 AM ET

Readers of 2009’s The Accidental Billionaires (and viewers of the film adaptation, The Social Network) might have thought that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss got short shrift—both in what happened at Facebook and in having a smaller slice of the narrative. Now author Ben Mezrich is back to give the entrepreneurial twins the lead roles in a new book, Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption (Flatiron Books), tracing their lives and work since the late-aughts’ legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg. Cryptocurrency followers should already be familiar with the pair’s digital currency fund as Bitcoin has blown up and gone haywire in recent years. But Mezrich’s account of their past decade is gripping from the opening pages, potentially setting the twins up for yet another portrayal by Hollywood.

A version of this article appears in the May 2019 issue of Fortune with the headline “After Zuck: The Winklevii’s Next Chapter.”

About the Author
By Rachel King
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest from the Magazine

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. is '1,000% going to go bankrupt' unless AI and robotics save the economy from crushing debt
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z Patriots quarterback Drake Maye still drives a 2015 pickup truck even after it broke down on the highway—despite his $37 million contract
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Russian officials are warning Putin that a financial crisis could arrive this summer, report says, while his war on Ukraine becomes too big to fail
By Jason MaFebruary 8, 2026
8 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Even with $850 billion to his name, Elon Musk admits ‘money can’t buy happiness.’ But billionaire Mark Cuban says it’s not so simple
By Preston ForeFebruary 6, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Anthropic cofounder says studying the humanities will be 'more important than ever' and reveals what the AI company looks for when hiring
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
America marks its 250th birthday with a fading dream—the first time that younger generations will make less than their parents
By Mark Robert Rank and The ConversationFebruary 8, 2026
17 hours ago

Latest from the Magazine

MagazineVictoria's Secret
How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back
By Emma HinchliffeFebruary 4, 2026
5 days ago
MagazineLetter from London
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison’s next big bet: Redefining how long–and how well–we live
By Kamal AhmedFebruary 3, 2026
6 days ago
MagazineSilicon Valley
AI is changing the CEO’s role—and could lead to a changing of the guard
By Phil WahbaFebruary 3, 2026
6 days ago
MagazineFedEx
How FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam is adapting to the era of ‘re-globalization’
By Nicholas GordonFebruary 1, 2026
7 days ago
MagazineEducation
The 1966 cover of Fortune Magazine welcomed the Information age. Now the AI era beckons
By Indrani SenJanuary 30, 2026
9 days ago
MagazineBonds
Bonds 101: What investors need to know about the ‘shock absorber of the portfolio’
By Jeff John RobertsJanuary 29, 2026
11 days ago