# Robert Greene (American author)

Robert Greene (born May 14, 1959) is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written seven international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent), Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature, and The Daily Laws.
Born in 1959, Greene studied classical studies and worked a variety of jobs, before publishing his first book in 1998. Greene frequently draws on analyses of past historical figures and events throughout his writing. Greene's works have been referenced by a wide variety of celebrities, political figures, and civil rights activists.

## Early life

The younger son of Jewish parents, Greene grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of California, Berkeley, before finishing his degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.A. degree in classical studies. Prior to becoming an author, Greene estimates that he worked about 50 jobs, including as a construction worker, translator, magazine editor, and Hollywood movie writer. In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school in Italy, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers. Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and wrote a treatment which eventually became The 48 Laws of Power. He would note this as the turning point of his life.

## Books

Greene has published seven books. He is the most banned author in prisons in the United States. Many prisons ban his books as a security measure.

### The 48 Laws of Power

Greene's first book, The 48 Laws of Power, first published in 1998, presents itself as a guide for anyone who wants power, observes power, or wants to arm themselves against power. The laws are derived from the lives of strategists and historical figures like Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Haile Selassie I, Carl von Clausewitz, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, and P.T. Barnum. Each law has its own chapter, complete with a "transgression of the law," "observance of the law," and/or a "reversal."
Greene says the idea behind his first book is that power is amoral, i.e., it is neither good nor evil. He states The 48 Laws of Power is intended to highlight how we conceptualize power and how we behave in different hierarchical institutions.
The 48 Laws of Power has sold more than 1.2 million copies and has been referenced by 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Quincy “QD3" Jones III, Chris Lighty, Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Michael Jackson, Courtney Love, and Will Smith. Busta Rhymes says he used The 48 Laws of Power to deal with problematic movie producers. It has been mentioned in songs by Jay Z, Kanye West, and Drake and in videos by The Kid LAROI and Central Cee. Greene has claimed former Cuban President Fidel Castro had also read the book.
The Sunday Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power has become the "Hollywood back-stabber's bible" and that although the book is reportedly used by some business executives, it is difficult to find people who publicly acknowledge its influence because of the book's controversial nature. Greene responds to this sentiment by stating, "These laws… people might say, 'Oh they're wicked', but they're practiced day in and day out by business people. You're always trying to get rid of your competition and it can be pretty bloodthirsty, and that's just the reality." Greene has also responded to accusations of his book being unethical by saying that he "could count maybe four or five laws that are overtly manipulative" and there are "44 others that are not manipulative at all". He then continues by saying that people cherry pick the "chapters that are most egregious". In December 2024, Spotify announced the book was the 6th top audiobook on their platform globally and the 5th top audiobook in the USA.
In 2020, the rapper Drake stated he was producing a cinematic series on the book.

### The Art of Seduction

Greene's second book, The Art of Seduction, was published in 2001. The book profiles the nine types of seducers (e.g. The Rake, The Siren, and The Charmer) and details aspects of attraction, authenticity, storytelling, and negotiation. Greene uses examples from historical figures such as Cleopatra, Giacomo Casanova, Duke Ellington and John F. Kennedy to support the psychology behind seduction. It has sold more than 500,000 copies.

### The 33 Strategies of War

The 33 Strategies of War is the third book by Greene and was published in 2007. The book is divided into five parts: Self-Directed Warfare, Organizational (Team) Warfare, Defensive Warfare, Offensive Warfare and Unconventional (Dirty) Warfare. The book is a guide to the campaign of everyday life and distills military wisdom from historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, Sun Tzu, Alfred Hitchcock, Alexander the Great and Margaret Thatcher.
The Sunday Times called the book "an excellent toolkit for dealing with business and relationships," and The Independent claims that Greene is "setting himself up as a modern-day Machiavelli" but that "it is never clear whether he really believes what he writes or whether it is just his shtick, an instrument of his will to shift £20 hardbacks." NBA player Chris Bosh stated that his favorite book is The 33 Strategies of War. It has sold more than 200,000 copies.

### The 50th Law

The 50th Law is the fourth book by Greene—written collaboratively with rapper 50 Cent—and was published in 2009. The book mixes talk of strategy and fearlessness by supplementing anecdotes from 50 Cent's rise as both a hustler and as an up-and-coming musician with lessons from various historical figures. Each of the 10 chapters in the book explains a factor of fearlessness and begins by telling how 50 learned this "Fearless Philosophy" in Southside Queens.
The book debuted at #5 on The New York Times Bestseller list and was a USA Today bestseller.

### Mastery

Greene's fifth book, Mastery, was released on November 13, 2012. Mastery examines the lives of both historical and contemporary figures such as Charles Darwin, Paul Graham, the Wright Brothers, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Mozart, and distills the traits and universal ingredients that made them masters. The book is divided into six sections, each focusing on essential lessons and strategies on the path to Mastery.
Mastery reached #6 on The New York Times Bestseller list and was featured in CNN Money, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Business Insider, Forbes, Management Today, and Fast Company.

### The Laws of Human Nature

Greene's sixth book, The Laws of Human Nature, was released in October 2018. Through 18 "laws", the book examines people's conscious and unconscious drives, motivations, and cognitive biases. It also talks about persuasion, rationality and death. He considers it his most complete book and advises for anyone who hasn’t read anything from him to start from here.
The book takes examples from Joseph Stalin, Anton Chekhov, Lyndon Johnson, Leo Tolstoy, Coco Chanel, and others.

### The Daily Laws

The Daily Laws, Greene's seventh book, was released in October 2021. The book features concise texts on wisdom, with each day of the year dedicated to a “Daily Law” and each month focusing on a different day.

## Media

Greene's work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, The New Yorker, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes and the Huffington Post. Greene has also appeared on MSNBC, The Today Show, CNBC, ABC, and MTV News.
In 2013, Greene did a presentation on his book Mastery on Talks at Google. Later in the year, he did a presentation on TED titled "The key to transforming yourself". In 2016, a previous presentation of Robert's was uploaded at Microsoft Research titled "War, Power, Strategy". In 2019, he did another presentation on Talks at Google on his book The Laws of Human Nature.

## Personal life

Greene lives in Los Angeles with his partner Anna Biller, who is a filmmaker. Greene says he can speak five languages and is a student of Zen Buddhism.
Greene is a mentor for Ryan Holiday, bestselling author of Trust Me, I'm Lying, The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, and The Daily Stoic.
When asked in 2012 if he is religious, Greene said "I'm Jewish but I don't have a hardcore spiritual practice. I'm not hardcore Atheist; I'm sort of how Einstein was: He wasn't a believer in the Jewish God. I'm intrigued by the sense that there's something there."
Greene suffered a serious stroke before launching his new book The Laws of Human Nature in 2018. A wasp sting that precipitated a blood clot in his neck caused the stroke, leaving Greene without the use of his left hand and leg for a period of time.

### Politics

On December 16, 2022, during the Mahsa Amini protests, the Neighborhood Youth Alliance of Iran and the Neighborhood Youth of Karaj Group distributed a text that they attributed to Greene, describing strategies for opposing the Islamic Republic governmental system of Iran. The Institute for the Study of War suggested that the text corresponded to a December 7 YouTube video by Greene on the protests. A five-point list of civil disobedience strategies for sustaining the protest movement was distributed with the text.
Greene supported Barack Obama in the 2012 United States presidential election and identifies with liberal politics.