Patri Friedman Explained

Patri Friedman
Birth Date:1976 7, mf=yes
Birth Place:Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality:American
Occupation:Activist and political theorist
Spouse:Brit Benjamin
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,[1] and theorist of political economy.[2] He founded The Seasteading Institute, a non-profit that explores the creation of sovereign ocean colonies.[3] [4] [5]

Early life and education

Named after family friend Patri Pugliese,[6] 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.[7] He worked as a software engineer at Google.[8] [9] As a poker player, he cashed in the World Series of Poker four times.[10]

The Seasteading Institute

See main article: 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.[11] The institute's mission is "to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems".[12] [13] This was initially a part-time project – one day a week while working as a Google engineer the rest of the time[8] – but Friedman left Google on July 29, 2008, to spend more time on seasteading.[14] He and partner Wayne C. Gramlich hoped to float the first prototype seastead in the San Francisco Bay by 2010.[15] [16] At the October 2010 Seasteading social, it was announced that current plans were to launch a seastead by 2014.[17]

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.[18] Since 2010, the event has been annual and community-run.[19]

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.[20] Later, he co-founded the Future Cities Development Corporation, a project to establish a self-governing charter city within the borders of Honduras.[21] [22] In 2012, the Future Cities Development Corporation ceased operations.[23]

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.[24]

Poker career

In 2000, Card Player Magazine suggested Patri Friedman might become a world champion.[25] His winnings were as follows:[26]

YearWorld Series of Poker TournamentPlacePrize
2002$2,000 No Limit Hold'em11th$9,280
2004$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship165th$15,000
2008$2,500 No Limit Hold'em24th$17,351
2008$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship640th$21,230

Personal life

Patri is the grandson of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman[27] and economist Rose Friedman and son of economist and physicist David D. Friedman.[27] [28] He has two children by his first wife. As of February 10, 2018, he is married to Brit Benjamin with whom he has one child.[29] Patri and Brit are self-described transhumanists and rationalists, and they have arranged to be cryonically preserved after their legal death.[30]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Seasteading Craziness in Thailand with Patri Friedman. May 31, 2019. YouTube. September 11, 2019. July 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200728235144/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TR__49Emw. live.
  2. News: McCullagh. David. The next frontier: 'Seasteading' the oceans. December 1, 2014. CNET. February 2, 2009. March 24, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150324010938/http://www.cnet.com/news/the-next-frontier-seasteading-the-oceans/. live.
  3. News: Bruder. Jessica. YOU'RE THE BOSS; Floating Incubator For Start-Ups. December 1, 2014. New York Times. December 15, 2011. March 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305041223/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804EFD7133BF936A25751C1A9679D8B63&nytmobile=0. live.
  4. News: Flock. Elizabeth. Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal, invests $1.24 million to create floating micro-countries. December 1, 2014. Washington Post. August 17, 2011. May 11, 2015. 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. live.
  5. News: Miles. Jonathan. The Billionaire King of Techtopia. December 1, 2014. Details. September 1, 2011. February 7, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150207015303/http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201109/peter-thiel-billionaire-paypal-facebook-internet-success. live.
  6. Web site: My namesake has a Wikipedia page. Patri's Peripatetic Peregrinations. February 27, 2013. April 8, 2013. https://archive.today/20130408163314/http://patrissimo.livejournal.com/1497947.html. live.
  7. Web site: April 15, 2022 . Building a commune in the middle of the ocean?Why . December 8, 2023 . Medium . en.
  8. Web site: Bowles. Nellie. Patri Friedman makes waves with 'seasteading' plan. SFGate. March 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20111104204215/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/31/MN1T1JB0FJ.DTL. November 4, 2011. June 1, 2011. live.
  9. News: O'Connor. Clare. Names You Need To Know In 2011: Patri Friedman. December 1, 2014. Forbes. November 10, 2010. December 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141216042001/http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2010/11/10/names-you-need-to-know-in-2011-patri-friedman/. live.
  10. Web site: Patri Forwalter-Friedman. The Mob Poker Database. March 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121019012756/http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=12929. October 19, 2012. live. 2002–2008.
  11. Web site: Mangu-Ward. Katherine. Homesteading on the High Seas. Reason. March 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120221182857/http://reason.com/archives/2008/04/28/homesteading-on-the-high-seas. February 21, 2012. live. April 28, 2008.
  12. Peter Thiel Makes Down Payment on Libertarian Ocean Colonies. WIRED. March 10, 2017. March 21, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140321153427/http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2008/05/seasteading?currentPage=all. live. Madrigal. Alexis.
  13. News: Cooper. Charles. Ocean cities? So says Milton Friedman's grandson. December 1, 2014. CBS News. June 3, 2011. December 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215150120/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ocean-cities-so-says-milton-friedmans-grandson/. live.
  14. Web site: More time for Seasteading – The Seasteading Institute. The Seasteading Institute. July 3, 2008. July 24, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080724225921/http://seasteading.org/stay-in-touch/blog/3/2008/07/03/more-time-seasteading. live.
  15. Web site: Frucci . Adam . Silicon Valley Nerds Plan Sea-Based Utopian Country to Call Their Own . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105180159/http://gizmodo.com/392091/silicon-valley-nerds-plan-sea+based-utopian-country-to-call-their-own . November 5, 2013 . September 10, 2017 . Gizmodo . Gawker Media.
  16. Web site: Libertarian Island: No Rules, Just Rich Dudes . NPR.org . April 2, 2018 . March 17, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180317062243/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90664406 . live .
  17. Web site: Meetup.com – October 2010 Seasteading Social at the Hyatt Regency SF. October 20, 2010. November 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201103195402/https://www.meetup.com/sfbay-seasteading/events/14479560/. live.
  18. Web site: Ephemerisle Documentary 2009b by Jason Sussberg. Vimeo. July 4, 2013. January 23, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140123005938/http://vimeo.com/11236146. live.
  19. News: Thomas . Gregory . August 14, 2019 . Burning Man on boats? . San Francisco Chronicle . San Francisco, CA . June 11, 2021.
  20. Web site: Friedman. Patri. The Seasteading Institute – July 2011 Newsletter. The Seasteading Institute. March 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120404172430/http://www.seasteading.org/2011/07/the-seasteading-institute-july-2011-newsletter/#blueseed. April 4, 2012. July 31, 2011. dead.
  21. News: Free cities: Honduras shrugged. The Economist. March 12, 2012. December 10, 2011. March 8, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120308214458/http://www.economist.com/node/21541391. live.
  22. Web site: Doherty. Brian. Seasteaders Take to the Land in Honduras. Reason. March 12, 2012. December 6, 2011. March 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120312175647/http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/06/seasteaders-take-to-the-land-in-honduras. live.
  23. Web site: Future Cities Development ceasing operations . Friedman, Patri . October 31, 2012 . May 6, 2015 . November 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121107185324/http://athousandnations.com/2012/10/31/future-cities-development-ceasing-operations/ . live .
  24. Chapman, Lizette (January 6, 2010) "The Hottest New Thing in Seasteading Is Land." Bloomberg News. (Retrieved March 19, 2020).
  25. Book: The Making Of A Poker Player: How An Ivy League Math Geek Learned To Play. Matros, Matt. 2005. 9780818406423. October 18, 2020. November 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201103195326/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDyEYLur6f0C&q=patri+friedman+poker&pg=PA116. live.
  26. Web site: Patri Forwalter-Friedman's profile on The Hendon Mob . 2024-04-13 . The Hendon Mob Poker Database . en.
  27. Live Free or Drown: Floating Utopias on the Cheap . Wired . January 19, 2009 . March 10, 2017 . January 31, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140131194359/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/magazine/17-02/mf_seasteading?currentPage=all . live .
  28. News: Moser. Whet. Milton Friedman's Grandson to Build Floating Libertarian Nation. December 1, 2014. Chicago Magazine. August 18, 2011. October 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031133/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/August-2011/Milton-Friedmans-Grandson-to-Built-Floating-Libertarian-Nation/. live.
  29. News: Radomsky . Rosalie R. . A Commitment for More Than One Lifetime . . February 10, 2018 . 0362-4331 . February 12, 2018 . February 12, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180212202058/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/fashion/weddings/a-commitment-for-more-than-one-lifetime.html . live .
  30. Web site: ApoE4 – The Ancestral Allele. August 5, 2011. Biostasis. en-US. May 11, 2020. September 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200917044500/https://www.biostasis.com/apoe4-the-ancestral-allele/. live.