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

by Ryan Holiday

There is a story about a young John D. Rockefeller who found himself stuck with bullying, corrupt business partners. He wants to break with them, but he can’t, because they control the votes. They are squeezing his business to death. They abuse him, talk about forcing him out. What is he to do? Quietly, Rockefeller lines up financing from another oilman and waits. Finally there is a confrontation; one of them tries to threaten him: “You really want to break it up?” Yes. He calls their bluff. They go along, knowing that the firm’s assets will have to go to auction. They’re sure they’ll win—Rockefeller doesn’t have that kind of money. He bids, they bid, he bids, they bid. Rockefeller wins the auction. A few weeks later, the newspapers announce his new partnership—revealing who had backed his bid—and the news that Rockefeller is, at twenty-five, an owner of one of the largest refineries in the world.