20 August 2026
Theo Baker on how to rule the world

Theo Baker arrived at Stanford University at the age of 17 wanting in. What he found, as he recounts in his new book “How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University,” was a machine: venture capitalists scouting freshmen, “pre-idea funding,” yacht parties, and a secret elite — all riding on a culture of cutting corners that influenced everyone from his classmates to the university president.