Beware Tech Tycoons with Piranha Tanks - with Katie Prescott episode artwork

EPISODE · May 1, 2026 · 40 MIN

Beware Tech Tycoons with Piranha Tanks - with Katie Prescott

from Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford · host Pushkin Industries

Mike Lynch was often lauded as Britain's answer to Bill Gates. Born into a working-class family, Lynch's incredible intellect and passion for computers led him to become a billionaire tech entrepreneur. But behind the scenes, Lynch was a bully who couldn't bear criticism and was prone to creative accounting. When computer giant Hewlett Packard bought his company, Autonomy, it triggered one of the biggest fraud scandals in Silicon Valley history. Tim talks to Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor at The Times and author of the book The Curious Case of Mike Lynch, about the lessons we can take from a story no one could have predicted. For a list of sources see timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Beware Tech Tycoons with Piranha Tanks - with Katie Prescott

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