The film’s portrayal of the Harvard dropout and world’s youngest billionaire is generally thought to be close to the truth. But the movie is actually based on Ben Mezrich’s book “The Accidental Billionaires,” which may be tinged by co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s personal slant on Facebook’s early days, according to the Business Insider.
Facebook was launched and became a company in 2004 but mutual lawsuits were filed between Facebook and Saverin the following year.
The Social Network depicts Zuckerberg as a smart yet ruthless genius who took Facebook to its current position through betraying friends. However the book may only exist because Saverin pitched it to Mezrich in an attempt to permanently damage Zuckerberg’s reputation, the Business Insider reported.
Several previously secret instant messages have been made public by the Business Insider. If true, they indicate Saverin had slacked off on bringing in revenue to Facebook during its early startup days. And that Zuckerberg therefore cut Saverin off through various business practices and diluting Saverin’s share in the company.
In May, the Business Insider published other instant messages, purportedly from Zuckerberg, using strong language to describe fellow Harvard students who had trusted him with personal contact information on Facebook. That post was republished in several major publications around the world and prompted a response from Facebook.
But despite the colourful stories about the birth of Facebook, Zuckerberg’s reputation may not be damaged by the film. As fellow Facebook founder Dustin Moskovitz put it, “At the end of the day, they cannot help but portray him [Zuckerberg] as the driven, forward-thinking genius that he is,” as quoted in Quora.
Meanwhile Saverin’s initial $15,000 investment is now worth north of one billion dollars, and a lawsuit that was resolved out of court has allowed him to be named as one of Facebook’s founders.
Last week, Zuckerberg donated over $100 million to schools in Newark, a move that could be described as heroic and certainly not villainous.
It seems the 26 year-old could emerge unscathed, irrespective of the success of Hollywood’s first blockbuster about the happening internet phenomenon.
