Matt Drange

Matt Drange joined OCCRP in 2025 as a U.S.-based reporter. He previously worked as a staff writer for Business Insider, Forbes magazine and the Center for Investigative Reporting, among others. Matt's reporting on educator sexual misconduct prompted the passage of a 2025 California law to better protect students, as well as numerous resignations, civil lawsuits, and criminal probes. His reporting on nondisclosure agreements in the tech industry, meanwhile, spurred corporate and regulatory change. Matt has often focused on issues revolving around money and power, with his stories sparking Congressional inquiries, state investigations, and dropped contracts by local governments. With a colleague, he broke the story that billionaire investor Peter Thiel had secretly bankrolled a crippling lawsuit against Gawker Media, brought by wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Matt's work has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including a Free Speech & Open Government Award from the First Amendment Coalition, a Sidney Award from the Hillman Foundation and multiple Best in Business awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing & Writing (SABEW). In 2019, he was named by SABEW as the "Best Young Business Journalist" in the United States, and in 2024 was a finalist for the Livingston Award for National Reporting. Matt sits on SABEW's First Amendment Committee and is a longtime member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). He graduated from Humboldt State University and holds a master's degree from the Columbia Journalism School. He teaches investigative reporting at Laney College in Oakland, California.