Robert Greene is an American author best known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has penned six international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law (co-written with rapper 50 Cent), Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature.

Greene was born in Los Angeles and pursued his higher education at U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire, and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer. Greene has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona, speaks several languages, and has worked as a translator. In 1995, he was involved in the planning and creation of the art school Fabrica, outside Venice, Italy. There, he met Joost Elffers, the New York book packager, with whom he discussed his idea for a book on power and manipulation.