Donovan Lamb: The real Person Behind the Character in “Inventing Anna”
The real-life Donovan Lamb - Mohammed Islam. Photo: Byliner
A 17-year-old high school student, who was later identified as Mohammed Islam, made a false claim in an interview with Jessica Pressler that he had earned $72 million from trading stocks. His story was told in the tv series “Inventing Anna” under the new name of Donovan Lamb.
Who Was the Real Life Donovan Lamb?
Mohammed Islam, who is actually the real person behind the story of Donovan Lamb, hails from Queens, New York. He is a very intelligent man who gained admission to the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York.
Stuyvesant High School is renowned for being one of the most exclusive public schools in the United States, with highly selective admission criteria. Mohammed Islam, who was born around 1997, was only 17 years old in 2014, when the infamous interview occurred. He grew up with his parents and a younger sister who is two years his junior.
At the time of the interview, Mohammed Islam was a high school senior who was heavily involved in the field of finance. He had gained experience by buying stocks on a simulated market and had accrued a substantial amount of virtual wealth from his simulated trades.
The Interview Between Mohammed Islam and Jesica Pressler
Jessica Pressler, the real-life Vivian Kent, who interviewed Mohammed Islam, the real-life Donovan Lamb. Photo: Bustle.
In 2014, the real-life Donovan Lamb crossed paths with Jessica Pressler, a well-established journalist for New York Magazine who had previously profiled high-level figures in finance and politics.
At one point, a friend of Islam's father who had witnessed his skill in the simulated stock market introduced him to Pressler. During their conversation, Islam boasted about his supposed success in stock trading and casually mentioned a figure of $72 million that he claimed to have made.
Following in the footsteps of Vivian Kent, the journalist from “Inventing Anna”, Pressler also contributed to an annual series called "Reasons to Love New York". It was published by New York Magazine, the publication for which she worked in real life.
In December 2014, she wrote a profile of Mohammed Islam. According to the article, Mohammed had an extraordinary story - he supposedly began trading penny stocks at the age of nine, eventually becoming a finance scholar and earning approximately $72 million.
Pressler even detailed how she conducted an interview with Mohammed and his friend Damir Tulemaganbetov over an extravagant $400 meal of freshly-squeezed apple juice and caviar.
The idea of a 17-year-old earning $72 million from the stock market was sensational and quickly gained traction in numerous publications following Pressler's story.
Skepticism soon arose about the plausibility of Islam's claims. Under increasing pressure, Islam eventually confessed that while he was indeed skilled at simulated stock trading, he had not actually made any significant profits in real life.
He also revealed that his parents were disappointed in him and had stopped speaking to him, and that his father had even threatened to disown him. In a gesture of contrition, he apologized to his schoolmates for the commotion he had caused.
The scandal had far-reaching repercussions, damaging both the journalistic reputation of Pressler and New York Magazine. The incident raised questions about the magazine's fact-checking practices and Pressler faced some consequences as a result.
Where is Mohammed Islam, the Real-Life Donovan Lamb now?
The story of Mohammed Islam, the real life Donovan Lamb
Mohammed Islam has managed to keep a low profile since his moment of infamy in 2014. There is little information about him online but we think it’s safe to assume his intelligence is serving him well in life.
Do you happen to know what happened to the real life Donovan Lamb? Let us know in the comments.
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