Patrick Byrne Biography
Patrick Byrne is an American heir, entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer who is the immediate former CEO and chairman of Overstock.com. He is also an investigative journalist with Edchoice.
Byrne resigned from Overstock.com on Thursday 22 August 2019 after 20 years at the company following revelations that he had been in an intimate relationship with Maria Butina, a Russian woman who pled guilty to conspiracy. It was also amid his ties to a government investigation related to the 2016 election.
Byrne launched Overstock in 1999 after leading two smaller companies, including one owned by Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway. He took over Overstock.com previously D2: Discounts Direct public in 2002. The company has increased revenue to almost $1.8 billion since its first public offering.
He gained huge public recognition for his campaign against illegal naked short selling in 2005. Patrick and securities regulators maintain illegal naked shorting has been used in violation of securities law to distort the prices of public companies’ stock. Still, under his direction, the company filed two lawsuits alleging improper acts by Wall Street firms, a hedge fund, and an independent research firm. The defendants have settled with Overstock out of court.
He has advocated for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Overstock.com became the first major online retailer to accept bitcoin in January 2014. Patrick was a teaching fellow at Stanford University from 1989 to 1991 and was the manager of Blackhawk Investment Co. and Elissar, Inc. He also served as chairman, president, and CEO of Centricut, LLC, a manufacturer of industrial torches. Byrne held the same three positions at Fechheimer Brothers, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company manufacturing police, firefighter, and also military uniforms.
Patrick Byrne Age
Patrick Michael Byrne was born in 1962 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. He is about 56-57 years old as of 2019.
Patrick Byrne Family
He was born to Dorothy Byrne and John J. Byrne, former chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s GEICO insurance subsidiary and White Mountains Insurance Group. John also served as an Overstock.com director from October 1999 until October 2002. He then joined the board in June 2004. John died in New Hampshire on 7 March 3013 after a long struggle against cancer.
Patrick Byrne Education
Byrne attended Beijing Normal University from where he earned a certificate and later enrolling at Dartmouth College earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chinese studies. He has a master’s degree from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford University.
Byrne has a belt in tae kwon do, and once pursued a career in professional boxing.
Patrick Byrne Health
Byrne is a cancer survivor and he has ridden a bicycle across the country to raise awareness and money for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. In April 2016, he had taken an indefinite leave of absence from Overstock.com as a result of Hepatitis C complications.
Patrick Byrne Overstock.com
The founder of D2-Discounts Direct approached Byrne in 1999 with a request for operating the capital. D2-Discounts Direct had generated slightly more than $500,000 in revenue the previous year by liquidating excess inventory online. It found the idea of online closeouts intriguing and invested $7 million for a 60 percent equity stake in the company in the spring of 1999. In September 1999, Bryne took over as CEO, and the following month the company was renamed Overstock.com.
He then initiated a Dutch auction IPO of Overstock.com in 2002. Overstock.com was one of the first to go public under a system advanced by WR Hambrecht + Co. The system was to retain a greater share of capital within the company rather than going to the investment bank underwriters used in conventional public offerings. He has said that competing banks reacted against this, attempting to obstruct the success of the offering through negative reports and by shorting the company’s stock.
Patrick Byrne Leaves Overstock.com
On 22 August 2019, Byrne resigned from the e-commerce company after making comments about his role in the “deep state.” The previous week, he had released a statement about his role in the federal government’s investigation into the 2016 election. This caused the shares of Overstock to fall for three consecutive trading days.
He disclosed that he was involved in an FBI probe into a Russia investigation and admitted to having a relationship with Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who was convicted of crimes related to the 2016 election. On August 12 he said it was the third time in his life that he “helped the Men in Black: the first was when my friend Brian Williams was murdered Opens a New Window. , and the second was when I helped the M.I.B. shake up Wall Street a decade ago Opens a New Window. .”
Jonathan Johnson, a member of the Overstock’s board was appointed as interim CEO.
Patrick Byrne Net Worth
Bening an entrepreneur and heir, Byrne has a big fortune to his name. However, Byrne’s net worth is not yet disclosed.
