Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire's Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire

Description

Conspiracy theories are legion. Conspiracies are rare. And of the few that do exist, fewer are ever discovered, let alone explained. This story is the exception. In 2007, a short blog post on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley vertical of Gawker Media, outed the enigmatic Facebook and PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel as gay. In 2016, Gawker was forced to declare bankruptcy after a $140 million dollar judgment in a Florida court over an illegally recorded sex tape of Hulk Hogan with his best friend's wife. These two seemingly unrelated events were in fact the bookends of a nearly decade-long plot masterminded by Thiel, for both obvious and non-obvious reasons. It had been one of the most covered and surreal legal cases in history and no one had suspected a thing. With his unique perspective and exclusive access to all the key players, Ryan Holiday transforms these events into both a dissection of that controversial word and methodology - conspiracy - and an eye-opening cautionary tale on the use, abuse and consequences of power and secrecy in the modern age.

Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Trust Me, I'm Lying; The Obstacle Is the Way; Ego Is the Enemy; and other books about marketing, culture and the human condition. His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages and has appeared everywhere from the Columbia Journalism Review to Fast Company. His company, Brass Check, has advised companies such as Google, TASER, and Complex, as well as multiplatinum musicians and some of the biggest authors in the world. He lives in Austin, Texas.

This book is the Art of War for any 21st century conspirator... a brilliant meditation on strategy, with numerous lessons -- Robert Greene, author * The 48 Laws of Power * This is a fantastic read about two thoroughly dislikeable men. * Sunday Times * Gripping narrative - Holiday has written one helluva page-turner. -- William D Cohan * New York Times * Riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy...that is a fantastic read. Holiday is a fine writer. He brilliantly elucidates... [with] a reporter's eye for detail. * The Sunday Times * Brilliant and terrifying -- Rich Cohen, author of The Fish that Ate the Whale and contributing editor of Vanity Fair An artful examination of how true power really works and how it affects all of us. -- Michael Lombardi, host of GM Street on The Ringer and former CLeveland Browns general manager Every one of Ryan Holiday's books is appointment reading for me. If he writes it, I make the time to read it. -- Brian Koppelman, producer and creator * Billions * Praise for Ryan Holiday: 'Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results -- Tim Ferriss * The 4-Hour Workweek * Holiday is one of his generation's finest thinkers -- Steven Pressfield, author * The War of Art * When playing for high stakes, Ryan Holiday is my secret weapon. His unique stealth manner makes him essential for winning. -- Aaron Ray, partner of the management company The Collective I don't have many rules in life, but one I never break is: If Ryan Holiday writes a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it. -- Brian Koppelman, screenwriter and director, Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen and Billions