Ben Shapiro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ben Shapiro
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Shapiro in 2024
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| Born |
Benjamin Aaron Shapiro
January 15, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
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| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Mor Toledano
(m. 2008) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Mara Wilson (cousin) |
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Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American conservative political commentator, media host, and lawyer. He writes for several publications, including Newsweek. He also co-founded the news and opinion website The Daily Wire in 2015.
Shapiro is the host of The Ben Shapiro Show, a popular daily political podcast and radio show. From 2012 to 2016, he was an editor for the website Breitbart News. He has also written many books about politics and society.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Ben Shapiro was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1984. His family is Ashkenazi Jewish and began practicing Orthodox Judaism when he was nine. He learned to play the violin as a child. His parents both worked in Hollywood.
Shapiro was a very bright student and skipped two grades in school. He graduated from high school at age 16. He then went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied political science. He graduated at age 20 with the highest honors. After UCLA, he attended Harvard Law School and graduated with honors in 2007.
Career as a Writer and Host
After law school, Shapiro worked for a short time at a law firm. He then started his own legal consulting business.
Writing Books
Shapiro became interested in politics when he was young. He started writing a newspaper column at age 17, making him the youngest nationally published columnist in the country. By 21, he had already written two books.
In his books, Shapiro often argues that left-wing ideas have too much influence in universities and Hollywood. He believes these ideas are promoted through TV shows and movies. One of his books, The Right Side of History, talks about the importance of Judeo-Christian values in Western society.
Breitbart News
In 2012, Shapiro became an editor at Breitbart News, a conservative website. He left the company in March 2016. He said he was leaving because of a disagreement over how the website handled an incident involving a reporter and Donald Trump's campaign manager. Shapiro felt the site did not support its reporter.
The Daily Wire and Podcasting
In 2015, Shapiro co-founded The Daily Wire, a conservative news and opinion website. He hosts The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily podcast that is also broadcast on the radio. The show has become very popular and is one of the top podcasts in the United States.
In 2020, Shapiro stepped down as the main editor of The Daily Wire but still works there with the honorary title of editor emeritus.
In January 2024, he was featured in the rap song "Facts" by artist Tom MacDonald. The song reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Speaking at Colleges
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Shapiro often speaks at college campuses across the country, where he shares his conservative views. His speeches have sometimes led to protests by students who disagree with him.
In 2016, a speech at California State University, Los Angeles, was almost canceled by the university president but was later allowed to happen. Protesters tried to block the event. In 2017, a speech at the University of California, Berkeley required a large police presence to make sure it could happen safely. The event cost the city and university $600,000 for security.
Political Views
Shapiro's views are described as conservative or right-wing. He has also called himself a libertarian on some issues. He believes that Western culture is superior to other cultures. He is a strong critic of what he calls "political correctness" and believes it harms free speech.
Donald Trump
Shapiro did not support Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election. He supported Senator Ted Cruz instead. He was often critical of Trump during the election.
However, he supported some of Trump's actions as president, like appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Shapiro announced he would vote for Trump. He explained that he felt the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left.
After the 2020 election, Shapiro criticized Trump for claiming victory too early. He also said that the claim that Trump had won the election was false.
Social Issues
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He opposed the Supreme Court's 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage legal across the country. He believes that government should not be involved in marriage at all. He has also stated that a man and a woman together do a better job of raising a child.
Shapiro believes that people who identify as transgender have a mental illness. He has said that a person cannot change their biological sex.
Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
Shapiro is a strong supporter of Israel. In 2003, he wrote an article suggesting that Palestinians should be moved out of certain territories. He later said he regretted writing the article and that his idea was "both inhumane and impractical."
He supports Israeli settlements in the West Bank. During conflicts between Israel and Hamas, he has argued that Hamas is a terrorist group that wants to destroy Israel. He has also criticized media coverage of the conflict, saying it is often unfair to Israel.
Race
Shapiro has said that while African-Americans faced terrible injustice in the past, he does not believe there is widespread systemic racism in the United States today. He has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement.
After the murder of George Floyd, Shapiro stated that he did not believe police officer Derek Chauvin should have been found guilty of murder.
Personal Life
In 2008, Shapiro married Mor Toledano, an Israeli doctor. They have four children: two sons and two daughters. The family practices Orthodox Judaism.
In 2020, Shapiro moved his family from California to Florida. The headquarters for The Daily Wire also moved from California to Nashville, Tennessee.
His sister, Abigail Shapiro, is also a conservative media personality. His cousin is the former child actress Mara Wilson. They do not have a relationship because of their different political views.
Selected publications
- Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth (2004)
- Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV (2011)
- Bullies: How the Left's Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans (2013)
- The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great (2019)
- The Authoritarian Moment (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Ben Shapiro para niños
- Intellectual dark web, a loose collection of public personalities of which Shapiro is often cited as an example
- List of American conservatives
- List of Harvard Law School alumni
- List of Phi Beta Kappa members by year of admission
- List of syndicated columnists
- Owning the libs
