Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

by Ryan Holiday

In the search for collaborators, hunger is an essential qualification. While it’s dangerous to conspire with people who have a lot to lose, you can’t conspire without someone who is afraid to bet on themselves, who isn’t willing to take a big stake on something that very well could fail. Where these two traits overlap there is often a sweet spot: the man or woman who has something to prove and something to protect, the strong sense of self-belief coupled with that killer instinct. It’s these two, Mr. A and Charles Harder, one much older than the other, who will do the bulk of the work and both walk this delicate balance of hunger and competence. In the business of bringing down Gawker, Mr. A was the president, Harder was the CEO, and Thiel the majority shareholder who expected his men to mind his money and find the returns he is after. This is the model he likes to operate. Early in the two companies he cofounded, PayPal and Palantir, Thiel would install strong CEOs and leaders. He relies on what might be called the plenipotentiary model—empowering trusted, skilled people on his behalf to execute the bold vision he has created.