Patri Friedman

{{short description|American libertarian activist and theorist of political economy}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Patri Friedman

| image = Patri Friedman Portrait.jpg

| caption = Friedman in 2011

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1976|7|29}}

| birth_place = Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.

| nationality = American

| occupation = Activist and political theorist

| website = {{URL|http://patrifriedman.com}}

| spouse = Brit Benjamin (divorced 2023)

| education = Harvey Mudd College (BA)
Stanford University (MS)
New York Institute of Technology (MBA)

| children = 3

| relatives = Milton Friedman (grandfather)
Rose Friedman (grandmother)
David D. Friedman (father)

}}

Patri Friedman (born July 29, 1976) is an American libertarian, anarcho-capitalist,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TR__49Emw|title=Seasteading Craziness in Thailand with Patri Friedman|date=May 31, 2019|work=YouTube|access-date=September 11, 2019|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728235144/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TR__49Emw|url-status=live}} and theorist of political economy.{{cite news|last1=McCullagh|first1=David|title=The next frontier: 'Seasteading' the oceans|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/the-next-frontier-seasteading-the-oceans/|access-date=December 1, 2014|publisher=CNET|date=February 2, 2009|archive-date=March 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324010938/http://www.cnet.com/news/the-next-frontier-seasteading-the-oceans/|url-status=live}} He founded The Seasteading Institute, a non-profit that explores the creation of sovereign ocean colonies.{{cite news|last1=Bruder|first1=Jessica|title=YOU'RE THE BOSS; Floating Incubator For Start-Ups|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EFD7133BF936A25751C1A9679D8B63&nytmobile=0|access-date=December 1, 2014|work=New York Times|date=December 15, 2011|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305041223/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EFD7133BF936A25751C1A9679D8B63&nytmobile=0|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Flock|first1=Elizabeth|title=Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal, invests $1.24 million to create floating micro-countries|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/peter-thiel-founder-of-paypal-invests-124-million-to-create-floating-micro-countries/2011/08/17/gIQA88AhLJ_blog.html|access-date=December 1, 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|date=August 17, 2011|archive-date=May 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511080740/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/peter-thiel-founder-of-paypal-invests-124-million-to-create-floating-micro-countries/2011/08/17/gIQA88AhLJ_blog.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Miles|first1=Jonathan|title=The Billionaire King of Techtopia|url=http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201109/peter-thiel-billionaire-paypal-facebook-internet-success|access-date=December 1, 2014|publisher=Details|date=September 1, 2011|archive-date=February 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207015303/http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201109/peter-thiel-billionaire-paypal-facebook-internet-success|url-status=live}}

Early life and education

Named after family friend Patri Pugliese,{{cite web|title=My namesake has a Wikipedia page|url=http://patrissimo.livejournal.com/1497947.html|publisher=Patri's Peripatetic Peregrinations|access-date=February 27, 2013|archive-date=April 8, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130408163314/http://patrissimo.livejournal.com/1497947.html|url-status=live}} Friedman grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Upper Merion Area High School, class of 1994, where he went by the name Patri Forwalter-Friedman. He graduated from Harvey Mudd College in 1998, and went on to Stanford University to obtain his master's degree in computer science. He also holds an MBA from New York Institute of Technology.{{Cite web |date=April 15, 2022 |title=Building a commune in the middle of the ocean?Why |url=https://medium.com/@YourJustice.life/patri-friedman-joins-yourjustice-as-an-advisor-9ff7edb2eeb3 |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=Medium |language=en}} He worked as a software engineer at Google.{{cite web|last=Bowles|first=Nellie|title=Patri Friedman makes waves with 'seasteading' plan|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/31/MN1T1JB0FJ.DTL|publisher=SFGate|access-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104204215/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/31/MN1T1JB0FJ.DTL|archive-date=November 4, 2011|date=June 1, 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=O'Connor|first1=Clare|title=Names You Need To Know In 2011: Patri Friedman|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2010/11/10/names-you-need-to-know-in-2011-patri-friedman/|access-date=December 1, 2014|work=Forbes|date=November 10, 2010|archive-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216042001/http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2010/11/10/names-you-need-to-know-in-2011-patri-friedman/|url-status=live}} As a poker player, he cashed in the World Series of Poker four times.{{cite web|title=Patri Forwalter-Friedman|url=http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=12929|publisher=The Mob Poker Database|access-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019012756/http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=12929|archive-date=October 19, 2012|url-status=live|year=2002–2008}}

The Seasteading Institute

Friedman was executive director of The Seasteading Institute, founded in 2008, with a half-million-dollar donation from venture capitalist Peter Thiel.{{cite web|last=Mangu-Ward|first=Katherine|title=Homesteading on the High Seas|url=http://reason.com/archives/2008/04/28/homesteading-on-the-high-seas|publisher=Reason|access-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221182857/http://reason.com/archives/2008/04/28/homesteading-on-the-high-seas|archive-date=February 21, 2012|url-status=live|date=April 28, 2008}} The institute's mission is "to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2008/05/seasteading?currentPage=all|title=Peter Thiel Makes Down Payment on Libertarian Ocean Colonies|magazine=WIRED|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-date=March 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321153427/http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2008/05/seasteading?currentPage=all|url-status=live|last1=Madrigal|first1=Alexis}}{{cite news|last1=Cooper|first1=Charles|title=Ocean cities? So says Milton Friedman's grandson|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ocean-cities-so-says-milton-friedmans-grandson/|access-date=December 1, 2014|publisher=CBS News|date=June 3, 2011|archive-date=December 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215150120/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ocean-cities-so-says-milton-friedmans-grandson/|url-status=live}} This was initially a part-time project – one day a week while working as a Google engineer the rest of the time – but Friedman left Google on July 29, 2008, to spend more time on seasteading.{{cite web|url=http://seasteading.org/stay-in-touch/blog/3/2008/07/03/more-time-seasteading|title=More time for Seasteading – The Seasteading Institute|work=The Seasteading Institute|access-date=July 3, 2008|archive-date=July 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724225921/http://seasteading.org/stay-in-touch/blog/3/2008/07/03/more-time-seasteading|url-status=live}} He and partner Wayne C. Gramlich hoped to float the first prototype seastead in the San Francisco Bay by 2010.{{Cite web |last=Frucci |first=Adam |title=Silicon Valley Nerds Plan Sea-Based Utopian Country to Call Their Own |url=https://gizmodo.com/392091/silicon-valley-nerds-plan-sea+based-utopian-country-to-call-their-own |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105180159/http://gizmodo.com/392091/silicon-valley-nerds-plan-sea+based-utopian-country-to-call-their-own |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |access-date=September 10, 2017 |website=Gizmodo |publisher=Gawker Media}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90664406 |title=Libertarian Island: No Rules, Just Rich Dudes |website=NPR.org |access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317062243/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90664406 |url-status=live }} At the October 2010 Seasteading social, it was announced that current plans were to launch a seastead by 2014.{{cite web|title=Meetup.com – October 2010 Seasteading Social at the Hyatt Regency SF|url=http://www.meetup.com/sfbay-seasteading/calendar/14479560/|access-date=October 20, 2010|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103195402/https://www.meetup.com/sfbay-seasteading/events/14479560/|url-status=live}}

Since attending the Burning Man festival in 2000, Friedman imagined creating a water festival called Ephemerisle as a Seasteading experiment and Temporary Autonomous Zone. Through The Seasteading Institute, Friedman was able to start the Ephemerisle festival in 2009, aided by TSI's James Hogan as event organizer and Chicken John Rinaldi as chief builder. The first Ephemerisle is chronicled in a documentary by Jason Sussberg.{{cite web|url=http://vimeo.com/11236146|title=Ephemerisle Documentary 2009b by Jason Sussberg|work=Vimeo|access-date=July 4, 2013|archive-date=January 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123005938/http://vimeo.com/11236146|url-status=live}} Since 2010, the event has been annual and community-run.{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Gregory |date=August 14, 2019 |title=Burning Man on boats? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Ephemerisle-is-Burning-Man-on-boats-in-the-14301730.php |work=San Francisco Chronicle |location=San Francisco, CA |access-date=June 11, 2021}}

Future Cities Development

On July 31, 2011, Friedman stepped down from the position as executive director of The Seasteading Institute, but remained chairman of the board.{{cite web|last=Friedman|first=Patri|title=The Seasteading Institute – July 2011 Newsletter|url=http://www.seasteading.org/2011/07/the-seasteading-institute-july-2011-newsletter#blueseed|publisher=The Seasteading Institute|access-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404172430/http://www.seasteading.org/2011/07/the-seasteading-institute-july-2011-newsletter/#blueseed|archive-date=April 4, 2012|date=July 31, 2011|url-status=dead}} Later, he co-founded the Future Cities Development Corporation, a project to establish a self-governing charter city within the borders of Honduras.{{cite news|title=Free cities: Honduras shrugged|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21541391|publisher=The Economist|access-date=March 12, 2012|date=December 10, 2011|archive-date=March 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308214458/http://www.economist.com/node/21541391|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Doherty|first=Brian|title=Seasteaders Take to the Land in Honduras|url=http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/06/seasteaders-take-to-the-land-in-honduras|publisher=Reason|access-date=March 12, 2012|date=December 6, 2011|archive-date=March 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312175647/http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/06/seasteaders-take-to-the-land-in-honduras|url-status=live}} In 2012, the Future Cities Development Corporation ceased operations.{{cite web |url=http://athousandnations.com/2012/10/31/future-cities-development-ceasing-operations/ |title=Future Cities Development ceasing operations |author=Friedman, Patri |date=October 31, 2012 |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107185324/http://athousandnations.com/2012/10/31/future-cities-development-ceasing-operations/ |url-status=live }}

Pronomos Capital

In 2019, Friedman founded Pronomos Capital, a venture capital firm whose purpose is to bankroll the construction of experimental cities on vacant tracts of land in developing countries. Like The Seasteading Institute, Pronomos Capital is backed by Peter Thiel. Most of the cities will be aimed at foreign businesses seeking friendlier tax treatment.Chapman, Lizette (January 6, 2010) [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/silicon-valley-seasteaders-go-looking-for-low-tax-sites-on-land "The Hottest New Thing in Seasteading Is Land."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319192117/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/silicon-valley-seasteaders-go-looking-for-low-tax-sites-on-land |date=March 19, 2020 }} Bloomberg News. (Retrieved March 19, 2020).

Poker career

In 2000, Card Player Magazine suggested Patri Friedman might become a world champion.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDyEYLur6f0C&q=patri+friedman+poker&pg=PA116|title=The Making Of A Poker Player: How An Ivy League Math Geek Learned To Play|author=Matros, Matt|date=2005|isbn=9780818406423|access-date=October 18, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103195326/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDyEYLur6f0C&q=patri+friedman+poker&pg=PA116|url-status=live}} His winnings were as follows:{{Cite web |title=Patri Forwalter-Friedman's profile on The Hendon Mob |url=https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=12929 |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=The Hendon Mob Poker Database |language=en}}

class="wikitable"

! Year

! World Series of Poker Tournament

| Place

! Prize

2002

| $2,000 No Limit Hold'em

| 11th

| $9,280

2004

| $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship

| 165th

| $15,000

2008

| $2,500 No Limit Hold'em

| 24th

| $17,351

2008

| $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship

| 640th

| $21,230

Personal life

Patri is the grandson of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman{{cite magazine | url=https://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/magazine/17-02/mf_seasteading?currentPage=all | magazine=Wired | title=Live Free or Drown: Floating Utopias on the Cheap | date=January 19, 2009 | access-date=March 10, 2017 | archive-date=January 31, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131194359/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/magazine/17-02/mf_seasteading?currentPage=all | url-status=live }} and economist Rose Friedman and son of economist and physicist David D. Friedman.{{cite news|last1=Moser|first1=Whet|title=Milton Friedman's Grandson to Build Floating Libertarian Nation|url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/August-2011/Milton-Friedmans-Grandson-to-Built-Floating-Libertarian-Nation/|access-date=December 1, 2014|publisher=Chicago Magazine|date=August 18, 2011|archive-date=October 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031133/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/August-2011/Milton-Friedmans-Grandson-to-Built-Floating-Libertarian-Nation/|url-status=live}} He has two children by his first wife. As of February 10, 2018, he was married to Brit Benjamin with whom he has one child.{{Cite news |last1=Radomsky |first1=Rosalie R. |title=A Commitment for More Than One Lifetime |work=The New York Times |date=February 10, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/fashion/weddings/a-commitment-for-more-than-one-lifetime.html |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212202058/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/fashion/weddings/a-commitment-for-more-than-one-lifetime.html |url-status=live }} They divorced in 2023.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-28 |title=The Far Right’s Campaign to Explode the Population |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/28/natalism-conference-austin-00150338 |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Case 23FL000385 Patri Friedman Vs Brit Benjamin - Trellis: Legal Intelligence + Judicial Analytics |url=https://trellis.law/case/23fl000385/patri-friedman-vs-brit-benjamin |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Trellis.Law |language=en}} Patri and Brit are self-described transhumanists and rationalists, and they have arranged to be cryonically preserved after their legal death.{{Cite web|title=ApoE4 – The Ancestral Allele|url=https://www.biostasis.com/apoe4-the-ancestral-allele/|date=August 5, 2011|website=Biostasis|language=en-US|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=September 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917044500/https://www.biostasis.com/apoe4-the-ancestral-allele/|url-status=live}}

References

External links

[http://athousandnations.com/ Let A Thousand Nations Bloom], blog about competitive government by Friedman, Jonathan Wilde, Mike Gibson, Will Chamberlain, and Michael Strong
{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Russ |title=Patri Friedman on Seasteading |url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/patri_friedman/ |work=EconTalk |publisher=Library of Economics and Liberty |authorlink=Russ Roberts |date=October 13, 2008}}
[http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2008/06/ws-radio-patr-1.html Podcast interview: "WS Radio: Patri Friedman Audio"], Western Standard, June 19, 2008
[https://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/seasteading-engineering-the-long-tail.ars Lee, Timothy B. "Seasteading: Engineering the Long Tail of Nations]", ArsTechnica, September 6, 2008
[http://reason.com/archives/2009/06/08/20000-nations-above-the-sea Reason.com "20,000 Nations Above the Sea"], June 8, 2009
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBF2eX1bGNA NBC LA "Direct Impact: NBC Interview with Patri Friedman"]