Marko Elez: From Tech Prodigy to Political Firestorm

The improbable rise — and reinvention — of a 25-year-old engineer at the center of a national controversy.1. The Quiet Beginnings of a Silicon Valley EngineerIn the leafy suburbs of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, Marko Elez grew up not unlike many ambitious young technologists who would come of age in the decade after the smartphone revolution. Born in 1999 or 2000, Elez showed early promise — graduating from Montgomery High School in 2018, a year ahead of many of his peers. There, he wasn’t j