While at Princeton, he was a member of the Ivy Club, one of the oldest and most prestigious eating clubs on campus. Initially pursuing a career in the arts, Lewis worked briefly for noted art dealer Daniel Wildenstein in New York. However, he soon realized that job opportunities related to his degree were limited in both availability and financial reward. This led him to continue his education at the London School of Economics, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in economics in 1985.

Career at Salomon Brothers and the Success of "Liar's Poker"

After completing his studies, Michael Lewis joined Salomon Brothers, a prominent Wall Street investment bank. He underwent training in the firm's New York office before relocating to London to work as a bond salesman. His time at Salomon Brothers exposed him to the high-pressure world of investment banking, particularly during the rise of mortgage-backed securities.

Disillusioned with the culture of Wall Street, he left the firm to pursue writing full time. Drawing on his personal experiences, Lewis authored Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street, published in 1989. The book offered a firsthand look at the financial excesses of the 1980s and the development of mortgage-backed bonds. It was both a critical and commercial success and established his reputation as a leading financial journalist.

Continued Writing and Influence in Financial Journalism

Michael Lewis continued to explore topics at the intersection of economics, culture, and human behavior. His bibliography includes:

• Pacific Rift: Why Americans and Japanese Don’t Understand Each Other (1991)
• The Money Culture (1991)
• Trail Fever (1997)
• The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story (1999), analyzing Silicon Valley during the Internet boom
• Next: The Future Just Happened (2001)
• Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003), examining data-driven decision-making in baseball and market inefficiencies
• Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life (2005), reflecting on the influence of his high school baseball coach
• The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (2006), recounting the story of Michael Oher, a homeless teen whose life changed after being taken in by a supportive family
• Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity (2009)
• Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood (2009), chronicling his experiences as a father
• The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (2010), investigating the causes of the 2008 financial crisis
• Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World (2011), a travel narrative set during the global financial crisis
• Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt (2014), focusing on high-frequency trading
• The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds (2016), detailing the collaborative work of psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky and the emergence of behavioral economics

His publications have made complex economic and financial subjects accessible to broad audiences and have reshaped public understanding of modern finance.