Patrick Byrne | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Byrne in 2023 | |
| Born | Patrick Michael Byrne November 29, 1962 Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. |
| Education | Dartmouth College (BA) King's College, Cambridge (MA) Stanford University (PhD) |
| Known for | Former Chairman and CEO of Overstock.com |
| Relatives | John J. Byrne (father)[1] |
| Website | patrickbyrne |
Patrick Michael Byrne (born November 29, 1962) is an American businessman and conspiracy theorist.
In 1999, Byrne launched Overstock.com after leading two smaller companies. Byrne led Overstock as chief executive officer for two decades, from 1999 to 2019. In 2002, Byrne took Overstock public using the Dutch auction method, which was then novel.[2] Early in his tenure he attracted public attention for a long-running legal battle against short sellers and "naked short selling." He eventually resigned as CEO in August 2019, following revelations that he had been in an intimate relationship with Russian agent (and later politician) Maria Butina.
Byrne then emerged as a leading figure in promoting conspiracy theories, including the "Deep State" conspiracy theory. In 2020 and 2021, he repeatedly promoted unevidenced claims that Donald Trump had won the 2020 U.S. presidential election due to voter fraud. He has also toured the United States in order to provide anti-vaccination stump speeches for COVID-19 conspiracy theorists. He became notable for distributing and selling misinformation on various subject matters via websites, social media, books, and film.
Byrne has also been noted for his libertarian views on public education and blockchain.[3][4]
- ^ "Byrne foresees more economic woes". Deseret News. Associated Press. August 5, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
="wired2014"was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Law, Tara (August 24, 2019). "Interim Overstock CEO Talks to TIME About Future After Scandal- And Patrick Byrne". TIME.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kolhatkarwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).