What is James Frey's Net Worth?
James Frey is an American writer and businessman who has a net worth of $4 million. James Frey is known for his best-selling books "A Million Little Pieces," "My Friend Leonard," "Bright Shiny Morning," and "I Am Number Four." The first two of those books, marketed as memoirs, were found to contain many exaggerations and fabrications, causing a scandal in the media. In other activities, Frey is the founder and CEO of the media production company Full Fathom Five and the CEO of the esports organization NYXL.
Early Life and Education
James Frey was born on September 12, 1969 in Cleveland, Ohio. For his higher education, he went to Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
Career Beginnings
Frey began his career as a screenwriter, co-writing the screenplay to the 1998 romantic comedy film "Kissing a Fool." The same year, he wrote and directed the film "Sugar: The Fall of the West."
A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard
Frey gained widespread recognition in 2003 with the publishing of his first book, "A Million Little Pieces." Written and marketed as a memoir about drug addiction, crime, and the journey to sobriety, the book was positively received and became a bestseller. Frey followed it up with a sequel in 2005 entitled "My Friend Leonard," which focused on his relationship with his friend Leonard, who came from an addiction treatment program. It, too, was a bestseller. However, in early 2006, the website the Smoking Gun published an article called "A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey's Fiction Addiction," which alleged that substantial portions of Frey's supposed memoirs were exaggerated or fabricated. The article claimed that Frey was never in fact incarcerated, and that he had greatly exaggerated the circumstances leading to his arrest. Frey subsequently made an appearance on "Larry King Live" defending his works. As more accusations surfaced, however, he went on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and admitted to many of the allegations against him.
In the wake of the scandal over his memoirs, Frey was dropped by his literary manager. After that, the publishers of his books put a publisher's note and an author's note from Frey in future publications as disclaimers. In September of 2006, Frey and publisher Random House reached a tentative legal settlement whereby readers who felt they had been deceived by "A Million Little Pieces" could get a refund. A year later, a judgment was made in favor of the readers.
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Later Books
Despite the scandal created by his first two books, Frey was signed to a seven-figure, three-book deal in late 2007 with HarperCollins. He went on to release the novel "Bright Shiny Morning" in 2008. A multi-character saga set in Los Angeles, the book was another bestseller for Frey. He followed it up in 2011 with the novel "The Final Testament of the Holy Bible."
Frey has also co-written some series. With Nils Johnson-Shelton, he wrote the "Endgame" trilogy of science fiction novellas. Meanwhile, using the collective pseudonym Pittacus Lore, Frey co-wrote the "Lorien Legacies" young adult science-fiction series with Jobie Hughes. The first book of the series, "I Am Number Four," was adapted into a film in 2011.
Full Fathom Five
In 2009, Frey founded Full Fathom Five as a publishing company for young adult novels. The company became the subject of controversy when an MFA student who was set to create content for the company released her highly limited contract online. The contract revealed that Frey had license to remove an author from a project at any time, and that he did not have to give the author credit for their work. A later magazine article alleged that Frey abused MFA students and exploited them for cheap labor.
NYXL
In early 2022, Frey became the first CEO of Andbox, a collective esports and gaming organization based in New York. A couple of months later, the group rebranded as NYXL.
Personal Life
With his wife Maya, Frey has two children. After losing a newborn to spinal muscular atrophy in 2008, the couple adopted a son from Russia.
