Patrick received a bachelor's in philosophy and Asian studies from Dartmouth College, a master's (ethics) from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar, and a doctorate from Stanford University (focusing on political theory, jurisprudence, and economics) . He has taught at the university level and frequently guest-lectures on business, the Internet, leadership and ethics.
Byrne served as chairman and CEO of Centricut, a manufacturer of industrial torch consumables, then held the same positions at Fechheimer Brothers (a Berkshire Hathaway firm that manufactures police, firefighter and military uniforms). Byrne is the founder and former CEO of Overstock.com, Inc., a Utah-based internet retailer that has been publicly traded since 2002. Among numerous projects he did while there, in 2001 Byrne launched Worldstock.com, Overstock.com's socially responsible store for products handcrafted by artisans from developing nations and rural areas of the USA. Funds from that project funded 19 schools internationally that educated over 10,000 students. In 2011 Ernst & Young named Byrne "National Entrepreneur of the Year" for his work in retail.
A classical liberal, Byrne believes that our nation's future depends primarily on a sound educational system and a healthy capital market.
- Regarding education, Patrick served with Rose Friedman as co-chair of the Milton & Rose Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, supporting legislative reform to bring educational choice to parents.
- Regarding capital markets, in 2005 Patrick began a campaign against Wall Street corruption ( e.g., securities manipulation). His stance quickly caught the attention of Wall Street analysts, reporters, and regulators and became a tremendous controversy until the Crisis of '08: after that, Patrick's prescience was widely (if begrudgingly) acknowledged across industry and MSM. The Deep Capture website grew out of that, and during 2008 received won recognition and awards for its investigative journalism.