Phoebe Gates

Stanford

2026-08-16 08:51:49

Stanford’s secretive Rule course draws scrutiny after reports tied it to Phoebe Gates

A little-known Stanford course called Rule has come under fresh scrutiny after a New York Post report identified Phoebe Gates, the daughter of Bill Gates, as one of its alumni. The class, formally titled So You Think You Can Rule the World?, reportedly has no course code, runs once a year during the winter quarter, and admits only 12 students per cohort, split evenly between men and women. Entry is not available through the university’s registration system and instead depends on referrals from former students. According to student descriptions cited in the source material, the course focuses on understanding and using the deep incentive structures that shape how the world works. Stanford Daily reporting said the class was founded by Justin Lewis-Weber, a Stanford graduate in aeronautics and astronautics, and includes Socratic-style discussions, short student presentations, and topics such as multipolar traps, prisoner’s dilemma dynamics, and commons problems. Guest speakers have included negotiation specialist Stan Christensen and startup lawyers discussing practical strategy. The course has drawn sharply divided reactions. Some former students described it as transformative and energizing, while critics said it teaches students how to break into power structures and bureaucracy to get what they want. The renewed attention also comes as Phia, the AI shopping comparison startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni in 2025, faces scrutiny over allegations reported earlier by Bloomberg involving affiliate marketing cookies and disputed commission attribution.

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Policy Regula

2026-08-16 03:16:12

Bloomberg report says Phia used cookie stuffing to claim affiliate commissions, raising wire fraud risk for Phoebe Gates

Bloomberg reported that internal Slack messages show Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill Gates, and Phia co-founder Sophia Kianni knew as early as December last year that their shopping comparison startup had been using cookie stuffing to claim affiliate marketing commissions. The practice involves placing tracking cookies in a user’s browser without a legitimate referral click, allowing a company to take credit for sales it did not drive. Corporate lawyer Ariel Givner wrote on X that this conduct is typically treated as federal wire fraud in U.S. courts and could carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years, along with fines and restitution. Bloomberg had previously reported on July 9 that Phia’s browser extension opened background tabs during checkout, inserted its own cookies, and in some cases overwrote valid referral records. After the feature was shut down, charts reviewed by Bloomberg showed Phia’s average daily revenue fell from about $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000. The report also said cookie stuffing accounted for 51% of all sales attributed to Phia in June. No prosecutors have formally charged Gates or Kianni at this stage.

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