Patrick M. Byrne facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patrick Byrne
Byrne in 2023
Born	Patrick Michael Byrne (1962-11-29) November 29, 1962 (age 62) 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)

Patrick Michael Byrne (born November 29, 1962) is an American businessman. He is known for leading the online retail company Overstock.com for many years. Later, he became known for sharing ideas and claims that some people call conspiracy theories.

In 1999, Byrne started Overstock.com. He was its chief executive officer (CEO) for two decades, from 1999 to 2019. In 2002, he made Overstock a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone.

Byrne resigned as CEO in August 2019. This happened after it was revealed he had a connection with a Russian agent, Maria Butina.

Since then, Byrne has promoted various claims that lack evidence. These include ideas about a "Deep State" in the U.S. government. In 2020 and 2021, he repeatedly claimed that Donald Trump lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election due to voter fraud, even though there was no proof. He has also spoken against COVID-19 vaccines. He became known for spreading information on different topics through websites, social media, books, and films.

Early Life and Education

Patrick Byrne was born on November 29, 1962, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He grew up in Woodstock, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire. His father, John J. Byrne, was a well-known businessman. He used to be the chairman of GEICO insurance.

Byrne is very educated. He earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. He studied both Western philosophy and Asian studies. He also earned a master's degree from King's College, Cambridge in England. Later, he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford University.

Business Career

Early Business Ventures

While studying at Stanford University from 1989 to 1991, Patrick Byrne also managed two investment companies. From 1994 to 1997, he was the chairman and CEO of Centricut, LLC. This company made industrial tools.

From 1997 to 1998, he led Fechheimer Brothers, Inc. This company made uniforms for police, firefighters, and the military. His father was friends with Warren Buffett, a famous investor. Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, owned Fechheimer Brothers.

Leading Overstock.com

Starting and Growing Overstock

In 1999, Patrick Byrne was asked to help a small online company called D2-Discounts Direct. The company sold extra furniture online but was running out of money. Byrne liked the idea of selling closeout items online.

In the spring of 1999, he invested $7 million in the company. This gave him a 60 percent ownership stake. In September of the same year, he became the CEO. The next month, the company changed its name to Overstock.com.

In 2002, Byrne decided to make Overstock.com a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold on a stock exchange. He used a special method called a "Dutch auction" for the IPO. This method was new at the time. It helped the company keep more of the money raised. Byrne believed that other banks tried to stop his company's success because of this new method.

Byrne also supported using blockchain technology. This is the technology behind cryptocurrency like bitcoin. Overstock became one of the first big stores to accept Bitcoin as payment.

Challenges and Changes

Some people at Overstock, including Byrne's father, thought Byrne spent too much time fighting against certain stock trading practices. This distracted him from the main business. Overstock had some years with losses and some with small profits.

Byrne tried many new projects that did not always work out. For example, in 2004, Overstock spent millions to create an online auction site like eBay. But it was not successful and closed in 2011. The company also started and then closed projects in real estate, travel, and car sales.

In 2016, Byrne took a break from Overstock.com due to health issues. He returned as CEO later that year. Overstock faced tough competition from other online stores like Amazon and Wayfair. By 2019, Byrne had mostly stopped trying to compete with these larger companies. He tried to find a buyer for Overstock's retail business, but it did not work.

In the late 2010s, Overstock built a new $100 million headquarters. But parts of it were empty due to job cuts.

Focus on Blockchain and Losses

In 2013, Byrne started investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain. He shifted some of Overstock's money to support Tzero. This was a new digital stock exchange that used blockchain. In 2018, Tzero had its own initial coin offering.

As Byrne focused more on this technology in 2017 and 2018, Overstock lost a lot of money. The company lost $316 million over two years. This was more than double all the profits the company had ever made.

Deep Capture Website

Byrne started a website called "Deep Capture." He used it to share his ideas about stock trading. In 2011, a businessman named Altaf Nazerali sued Byrne for writing false and harmful things about him on the website.

In 2016, a court found that the articles on Deep Capture were indeed false and harmful. The court ordered Byrne to pay Nazerali $1.2 million in damages. Byrne was also permanently stopped from publishing these accusations. The court said Byrne and his team "engaged in a calculated and ruthless campaign" to harm Nazerali's reputation. This decision was upheld in 2018.

Resignation from Overstock

In 2019, Byrne announced he was leaving Overstock.com. He said he wanted to talk about his involvement with the "Deep State." Byrne claimed he had worked with the U.S. government for a long time. He said he was asked to have a romantic relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina as part of an investigation.

Byrne resigned from his CEO role and board seat at Overstock.com on August 22, 2019. Jonathan E. Johnson was then named CEO. Byrne said his departure was voluntary.

Byrne sold some of his Overstock stock in 2019. He was still the company's largest shareholder. But one month after resigning, he sold all his shares. This was about 4.7 million shares, worth about $90 million. Byrne wrote on his blog that he would invest the money in gold, silver, and cryptocurrencies. He also criticized what he called "acts of retaliation from the Deep State."

After Maria Butina was released from prison, she became involved in Russian politics. Byrne continued to send her money. In 2021, some Russian politicians objected to her running for office because of this "foreign financial backing." Byrne admitted to sending the money when her political plans became public.

Political Involvement

Before 2020

Patrick Byrne was a big donor to political causes in Utah from 2003 to 2006. He gave at least $676,500. His father, Jack Byrne, was also a large donor. Patrick Byrne gave money to both Republican and Democratic parties.

In 2004, he and his father each gave a lot of money for ads against Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards. Patrick Byrne also gave money to a group that criticized John Kerry's military service during the 2004 presidential election.

Claims About the 2020 Election

In 2020, Byrne supported President Donald Trump's claims that he actually won the U.S. presidential election. Trump, a Republican, was defeated by Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Byrne became a key figure in a group that helped Trump spread his claims.

For several months, Byrne repeatedly promoted claims about the 2020 election results. He said there was widespread fraud in states like Florida, Texas, and Georgia. He claimed that Biden, election companies, China, or other foreign powers worked together to "steal" the election. These claims lacked proof.

Meeting with President Trump

In December 2020, Byrne visited the White House. He met with President Trump, Sidney Powell, and Michael Flynn. During this meeting, they promoted their claims about election fraud. They tried to create a plan to overturn Trump's election loss. This meeting happened without being on Trump's official schedule.

Byrne later claimed that Trump's advisors were not loyal enough to him. He said they were "mendacious mediocrities" who wanted Trump to lose.

January 2021 Capitol Attack

Byrne spoke at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. This rally was followed by a mob attacking the United States Capitol. Soon after, Twitter suspended Byrne's account. In July 2022, Byrne agreed to speak to Congress about his role in the events leading up to the attack.

Arizona Ballot Audit

In April 2021, Byrne became a main supporter of a controversial audit of the presidential vote in Maricopa County, Arizona. Biden had won Maricopa County, and the result was confirmed many times. However, some Republican leaders in Arizona launched an audit. It was run by a company with no experience in election audits.

Byrne claimed he pledged $1 million for his "Fund the Audit" campaign. His group, The America Project, said it raised $1.7 million to support the audit. This included money from social media followers. Byrne also said he wanted to spread these activities to other states.

In mid-September 2021, the audit results were released. They showed that Biden did indeed win the county. After this, Byrne continued to try to find other reasons to support his claims.

Spreading Claims Through Media

In 2021, Byrne self-published a book called The Deep Rig. It talked about his experiences promoting his election claims. The book was put together quickly. Byrne also asked people to pay him $5 per month to see his social media posts. He claimed these posts had "insider knowledge."

Byrne also funded a documentary film called The Deep Rig. This film promoted his claims about the 2020 election. Byrne is the main person in the film. It also features interviews with other people who share similar ideas. The film was promoted by Mike Lindell, another person known for election claims. The film's budget was reported to be $750,000. Watching the film online cost between $45 and $500.

Byrne promoted his election claims on far-right news channels like One America News Network and Newsmax. These channels attracted viewers by promoting Trump's efforts to overturn the election results.

Byrne also led "The American Project," an organization that promoted election claims. He was briefly the CEO of "Defending the Republic." This group claimed to raise money for "election integrity" but was used to pay for legal bills. In August 2021, Byrne was added to a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion claimed Byrne had decided the election "would be stolen" months before it happened.

In 2022, PBS reported that Byrne had been told that some people he promoted were lying, but he still shared their words. He also told a reporter that he "could live with" potentially "destroying the country." During the 2022 Midterm Elections, Byrne gave a lot of money to candidates who claimed the 2020 election was not fair.

In June 2024, tax documents showed that Byrne and Michael Flynn's group, American Project, made money from these claims. Byrne himself earned a salary of $95,000 from the group in 2022. That year, he also admitted to hacking government computers in Venezuela. He called this "criminal activity" and "at least one act of war."

Anti-Vaccination Beliefs

Byrne has also written posts on his blog, Deep Capture, about COVID-19. He has pushed for alternative cures and questioned vaccines. He claimed that COVID-19 vaccines were "poisoning Americans" or "putting miniature Covid-19 spike protein factories in our arms." Medical experts have proven both of these claims false.

Byrne also said that the push for vaccines was about politics, not health. In September 2021, Byrne joined a traveling group called the "ReAwaken America Tour." This tour also featured Flynn and Lindell. Byrne traveled to many U.S. states with the group. They claimed that COVID-19 was not a threat and that treatments for it were unhealthy. Doctors have long disproven these claims. Tickets to their events cost between $250 and $500 per person.

Byrne is a major donor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign for president. Kennedy is known for his anti-vaccine views.

Accusation of Defamation Against Hunter Biden

In November 2023, Hunter Biden sued Byrne for defamation in California. This happened after Byrne made comments and social media posts accusing Biden of corruption. The lawsuit stated that Byrne had been told his comments about Biden were false, but he refused to take them back. Byrne also tried to link his comments to other claims about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.

In September 2024, Byrne said he had "fled" the United States for Dubai. He claimed this was due to a threat from the government of Venezuela. Because of this, he would not give a deposition in the U.S. for the lawsuit.

Education Policy

In 2005, Byrne supported a group called Class Education. This group wanted states to require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom expenses. Supporters believed this would help teachers' salaries without raising taxes. Critics argued that many "non-classroom" services, like librarians and school nurses, are also important for education.

Byrne also helps lead EdChoice. This non-profit organization was started by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman. It supports school vouchers and other ways for parents to choose schools for their children.

Byrne and his family gave most of the money to support House Bill 148 in Utah. This bill would have given money to students who left public schools for private schools. In 2008, it was reported that Byrne and his parents gave about $4 million to the campaign. This was three-quarters of its total funding.

When the bill was defeated in a statewide vote, Byrne said Utahns "failed" an "IQ test." He said, "They don't care enough about their kids."

Byrne also criticized Utah governor Jon Huntsman. He felt Huntsman did not support the voucher campaign enough. Byrne had donated to Huntsman's campaign in 2004. But when Huntsman did not strongly support the bill, Byrne said he would support anyone who could defeat Huntsman in future elections.

Personal Life

Patrick Byrne has practiced martial arts his whole life. He holds a black belt in taekwondo. He also enjoys SCUBA diving, skiing, and skydiving. He once owned several homes in Sarasota, Florida, but he has since sold them.

Images for kids

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  Byrne in 2023