Theres now a billion more reasons to hate the Winklevoss twins
The Winklevii became billionaires after all — and they didn’t need Facebook to do it.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the 6-foot-5 identical twins who sued Mark Zuckerberg 13 years ago for allegedly stealing the idea for Facebook — made big news last week by becoming the first bitcoin billionaires.
For the two Harvard grads, now 36, it’s an especially sweet victory. An over-the-top portrayal by actor Armie Hammer in the 2010 film “The Social Network” painted them as prepster buffoons who bungled their way out of one of the most important creations in social media. They saw their rival Zuckerberg go on to make some $70 billion.
Larry Summers, who was president of Harvard when the twins complained to him about Zuckerberg, called them “a–holes.” And no one thought their investment of $11 million — part of a $20 million cash settlement from Zuckerberg — in bitcoin in 2013 was anything more than a fool’s folly.
But that was before the digital currency was selling for nearly $20,000 per coin.
Now, the twins, who are reportedly attached at the hip as roommates, business partners and double-daters, are basking in their big win.
Their best friend, Divya Narendra — portrayed in “The Socal Network” by Max Minghella — told The Post: “There is a great quote from Gandhi . . . that probably sums up their feeling well: ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’ ”
To be fair, theirs was never exactly a hard-luck story. Born to Howard, a business-management consultant, and Carol, the family enjoys a Quogue, LI, vacation home and a 12,000-square-foot home in Greenwich, Conn. — where they founded a rowing club. (Carol told The Post that “we’re very proud and very excited” for the boys’ success.) After graduating from the private Brunswick School, Tyler and Cameron were accepted early to Harvard, where both majored in economics before earning matching MBAs from Oxford in 2010. They placed sixth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, rowing in — what else — the men’s pair category.
The two have always been incredibly close. In fact, friends reveal that it can be exasperating trying to make dinner plans with them. “You invite one, and they awkwardly won’t [get back to you right away] because you know they’re checking the other,” said a source who has known them since Harvard. He adds that restaurant suggestions can get shot down just by the way one twin simply glances at another.
“They’re always dressed alike,” added the Harvard source. “Imagine if your mirror talked to you in the morning. There’s so much positive reinforcement . . . Someone’s telling you every day: ‘You’re exactly right.’ ”
While the two don’t always dress exactly alike on the red carpet, they at the very least wear complementary outfits. Vanity Fair reported in 2011 that they shared a BMW M3. They co-own a home in the Hollywood Hills as well as an apartment in Soho. (A rep for the brothers said they have separate apartments in the city but had no comment on anything else.)
“They have multiple really nice houses. They don’t live together,” said Narendra. He paused before adding: “Well, it depends on the day.”
“It’s like a shtick,” added the college source. “They become more interesting together than they intrinsically are [on their own] — they’re twice as powerful as they are alone. That’s why you never see them alone.”
Narendra defends the solidarity. “The twins dress similarly, for sure, and do get the same haircut, but they’re distinguishable in person.
Besides, he adds: “It’s convenient to share clothes with someone who fits your frame.”
The rather snide depiction of them in “The Social Network” included the pluralized nickname “Winklevii” — a Hollywood flourish that reduces them to little more than clueless clones.
“It feels like a dig, and negates their individuality. At the end of the day they are two different people,” said Fred Castleberry, a photographer friend who has known the twins for years. Still, even he admitted: “To this day, I can’t tell them apart. I absolutely don’t [know who’s who]. I’m like, ‘What’s up, guys? ’ ”
Although they’ve been tethered in almost every arena — business, social and sport — there was one marked break. According to former Guest of a Guest staffers, back in 2008, Cameron alone financed the website , a chronicle of the city’s socialite party scene. He had dated the founder Rachelle Hruska [now MacPherson] for several years before, according to the twins’ rep. (He currently serves as publisher.)
One former contributor claimed that Cameron even footed the bill for the luxe loft space on the Bowery that served as both office and homebase for Hruska.
‘It’s a schtick. They become more interesting together than they intrinsically are [on their own]’
“Cameron would occasionally stay at the loft. The Hamptons team stayed at his place [out there] and I know he footed the grocery bill for [them],” said the former contributor, who recalls getting a text one morning in 2010 from a colleague: “OMG, Don’t come in . . . I just saw a 6-foot-5 Olympic rower in the bed.” (Hruska MacPherson did not return requests for comment.)
Needless to say, they are two of the city’s most eligible bachelors.
Amanda Bradford, CEO of the exclusive dating app the League, pitched the twins’ company her idea back in 2014 during her fund-raising days. (The two chose not to invest.)
“All the girls in New York request to match with them,” Bradford said. “It’s cool to see their bet [on bitcoin] paid off. That makes them sexier. I’d love to be their matchmaker right now.”
Although Tyler and Cameron are not members of the League, multiple women told The Post that they have seen the brothers on dating apps Hinge, Bumble and invite-only Raya.
No surprise, the guys seem to share a type: tall, dark and gorgeous.
Marina Theiss, a Brazilian model who dated Tyler, was photographed on a double date with Cameron and Brazilian model Amanda Salvato in 2012. “We’re still good friends,” she told The Post.
In 2015, Page Six reported on Cameron taking then-girlfriend Natalia Beber — yet another Brazilian model — to the Top of the Standard for a romantic evening that included “chatting with his identical twin brother, Tyler.”
So, will they ever settle down?
The Harvard pal is skeptical. “They don’t have to grow up because they have each other,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in the same boat 10 years from now.”
“I’m sure their mother would prefer they settle down. [But] I don’t think they’re on any timeline [for marriage],” said Narendra, who had both twins as groomsmen in his own wedding this past summer. “They’re only 36, they’re not that old — not by New York standards.”
A Manhattan society fixture recalled attending a 2015 bash at the brothers’ Soho apartment.
“It felt like the world’s coolest bachelor pad ever,” she said. “I’ve been in some of the best apartments in the world — this was up there. Exquisitely designed. Modern but warm. A cozy but super cool den, lots of glass.”
Society photographer Liam McMullan told The Post that the Winklevosses’ pad offers a sightline into Macaulay Culkin’s apartment. “They look into his living room and joke, ‘We can see him when he’s home alone,’ ” he said.
Still, it’s not all Burning Man and bro-downs for the twins who, a fashion entrepreneur pal said, have “like a million friends . . . but even when they’re partying they’re networking and [being] strategic.”
Elie Deshe, a friend from Miami, was on the group getaway to Ibiza where Cameron and Tyler first heard about bitcoin from investor David Azar.
“At the time, they had set up their [Winklevoss Capital] company and [were] getting involved in different businesses,” said Deshe. “The trip was never about [business]. It was being in the right place at the right time.”
The brothers have put money into online auction house Paddle8, athleisurewear company Carbon38 and fashion startup Hukkster. In 2012 they invested $1 million in Narendra’s SumZero, a social media network aimed at those in the financial tech world.
But the Winklevosses have been so bullish on bitcoin that, in 2014, Page Six reported that they were overheard urging model agency One Model Management to use it as payment for the agency’s talent. They’ve also predicted a cashless society by 2025, and founded Gemini, a virtual currency exchange that also reaps rewards from the bitcoin boom.
Some even attribute said boom to their involvement. “Without them, bitcoin doesn’t do what it does. If you time when they publicly announced they got involved with bitcoin, it just surged — I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” said Deshe.
“No one can deny they had foresight before everyone else,” said Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com and a bitcoin investor.
Those who know them say the twins have had two big inspirations that help them take risks.
One was the death of their older sister, Amanda, a star squash player at Williams College and aspiring actress who died at 23 years old in 2002. The Post reported at the time that she was involved in a freak accident on the set of the Robert De Niro film “Analyze That” and fell on a wet ramp, banging her head.
“The [result of the] loss of their sister was to live life to the fullest,” Narendra said.
The Olympics were also hugely important.
“They told me they did some sort of training where you can’t even eat enough food to replace [the calories] you’re putting out every day,” Deshe said. “When you do that, any business thing you do [is] a lot easier.”
“They don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” said Deshe. “I don’t think it’s about that with them.”
For all the savaging they received in “The Social Network,” it might have been the best thing that could have ever happened to them. “If not for the movie, they’d be a couple of guys who own an NBA team, who go to a poker game and demand attention. And that’s it,” said the college friend.
They’ve certainly learned to let past grudges roll off their backs: “I’m friends with them on Facebook. They can’t hate [Facebook] that much if they’re on it,” added the fashion entrepreneur.
Of course, there is one thing that could destroy the Winklevoss twins.
“They’re [like] something out of Greek mythology,” said the college friend. “If one died, the other would die within 12 months.”
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