Story
Peter Thiel's decade-long revenge that bankrupted Gawker
Sam recounts how Peter Thiel, outed as gay by Gawker, plotted for ~10 years with two staffers sniffing for an infraction, then funded Hulk Hogan's sex-tape lawsuit to put Gawker out of business. The lesson: this is litigation finance in action.
“So Peter Thiel is like Powerful VC. He's gay. He didn't want anyone to know he's gay. Gawker wrote an article saying he's gay. And so he plotted for 10, 15 years, probably 10 years. He goes, whenever I see these guys slip, I'm pouncing.”
Idea
Litigation finance: fund lawsuits, take a cut of the win
A listener-lawyer's idea Shaan shares: investors underwrite strong legal cases, fund them, and take a piece of the settlement; plaintiffs risk nothing if they lose. Over 70% of potential suits go unfiled because plaintiffs lack money or certainty.
“I think it was like 70% plus of potential suits go unfiled because of one of many reasons. And so the idea here would be, if you see, you can submit to them, hey, would you back my case? And they basically underwrite the risk of it.”
Steal thisUnderwrite plaintiffs' strong cases like an insurer; fund the strong ones for a slice of the settlement.
Number
Burford Capital: a $1.8B litigation-finance company since 2009
Sam Googled litigation finance live and found Burford Capital, founded in England in 2009, now carrying a market cap of $1.8 billion, validating the model as a real, large business.
$1800M
Market cap of Burford Capital · USD
“Second, the second thing that came up was Burford Capital. I just Googled it. Has a market cap of $1.8 billion. Started in 2009.”