GROK
Phoebe Gates participated in a secretive, invitation-only Stanford course formally titled “So You Think You Can Rule the World?” (nicknamed “Rule”), which focuses on understanding and navigating power structures.
It is an unofficial 10-week seminar (not listed in the regular course catalog and without an enrollment code) started by Justin Lewis-Weber (Stanford class of 2020, aeronautics and astronautics graduate) during his junior year. He continues to run it.
stanforddaily.com
Admission is highly selective: only 12 students per cohort (typically balanced 6 men/6 women), requiring a referral from a prior participant plus interviews. Lewis-Weber personally screens applicants, often probing ambitions, worldview, and life purpose.
Content centers on analyzing “the underlying incentive structures and frameworks that govern how the world works,” power dynamics, multipolar traps, prisoner’s dilemma scenarios, commons problems, and (per former students) identifying vulnerabilities or loopholes to “hack” bureaucratic or power systems.
Alumni form a network; former participants (including those with significant collective net worth) often collaborate on businesses or get introductions through Lewis-Weber. The course has been described by participants as gathering ambitious, like-minded people.
Phoebe Gates (Stanford ’24, human biology) was a participant. According to reporting based on Stanford Daily coverage and sources, she has used connections from the group for internal recruiting at her AI shopping startup Phia (co-founded with Sophia Kianni, who was not a member of the class).
Recent context and media framingThis course gained wider attention in August 2026 amid the Phia “cookie stuffing” allegations (claims that the browser extension improperly claimed affiliate commissions on sales it did not drive). Some outlets (e.g., New York Post) highlighted the class’s focus on spotting system vulnerabilities alongside the scandal, noting there is no evidence the course directly caused or instructed the disputed practices. Gates and Lewis-Weber did not respond to related comment requests in those reports.
There is no public evidence of literal “world domination” plans, strategies, or ambitions by Phoebe Gates. The phrase stems from the course’s provocative title and themes of understanding/influencing power systems, which media have connected to her entrepreneurial activities and the recent Phia controversy. The course itself remains a private Stanford networking/discussion group rather than an official university offering.
Stanford Daily:
“It’s filled with people who have very ambitious views of what they want the world to look like and don’t want to climb existing ladders to wait their turn.”
GROK:
One former student described the goal as teaching “how to essentially hack any kind of power structure or bureaucratic structure and get what they want in a system of people.” Lewis-Weber has framed it as understanding the “chessboard” of incentives and systems so students can navigate (and influence) them more effectively. The group also emphasizes networking — alumni reportedly have significant collective wealth/influence, and former students often collaborate on businesses or get introductions through the network.
Bill Gates’ “nepo baby” daughter Phoebe Gates, 23, was spotted hopping off a helicopter in New York City clad in merch repping Phia, her multimillion-dollar startup that was accused of an explosive “cookie stuffing” scandal just days earlier.
The youngest Gates wore a Phia-branded sweatshirt with the words “the future of fashion is nothing new” on the back, gray sweatpants, a blue baseball cap and black ballet flats as she was escorted to a chauffeured limousine, toting along a brown purse and a small Dachshund on a leash. She was joined by a friend and bodyguards.
The photo agency that snapped the shots on Sunday told The Post it suspected the Microsoft princess was returning to NYC after a trip to Westchester County, where her sister Jennifer owns a 124-acre, $16 million North Salem horse farm – a gift from parents Bill and Melinda following her graduation from Stanford University.
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