SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — In just a few weeks, Stanford University will celebrate the Class of 2026.
Among the graduates will be a senior whose reporting for the student newspaper shook the university at its highest levels.
Theo Baker arrived on campus at 17 eager to study computer science. Instead, by the end of freshman year, he helped force the resignation of Stanford’s president and became the youngest-ever George Polk Award winner.
Now, Baker is out with a New York Times bestselling debut book: “How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University.”
ABC7 Eyewitness News first interviewed Baker in his freshman year. He returned to our studios Wednesday to talk about his book.
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Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s departure comes after accusations of possible manipulated research, first reported by freshman Theo Baker.
It is part humorous memoir and part serious expose, documenting what he calls the “Stanford inside Stanford.” It’s a hidden ecosystem where select freshmen are “plucked” by venture capitalists, ushered into mansion parties, and even invited to a secret, uncredited class run by a Silicon Valley CEO, called “How to Rule the World.”
Baker writes: “You exist in this parallel reality… in which you, the teenager, are the product.”
The book traces Stanford’s transformation from quirky and idealistic to a highpressure launchpad for future founders.
Baker describes a campus vocabulary — “highagency,” “NGMI-not gonna make it,” “wantapreneur” — that reflects a culture obsessed with identifying the next billion-dollar idea and who’s going to make it.
Programs like TreeHacks, Stanford’s massive hackathon that Baker was invited to help organize, serve as pipelines into Silicon Valley, where Baker says teenagers are given extraordinary access to unlimited money, yacht parties, mansion dinners and influence.
Baker’s own reporting journey runs through the book. While navigating this world, he joined The Stanford Daily as a tribute to his recently deceased grandfather and began investigating concerns about scientific research tied to then-President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. The university hired a top law firm to push back, but Stanford’s Board of Trustees ultimately voted unanimously to remove the president.
Baker argues the episode mirrors the same pressures students face in a culture where “fake it ’til you make it” can be rewarded.
He still loves Stanford, but he would like to see changes. And he hopes this book will spark conversations that may lead to transparency, accountability and solutions.
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