Jump to content

Peter Thiel

Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Peter A. Thiel)
For the German Olympic skier, see Peter Thiel (cross-country skier). For the Danish philosopher, author and publisher, see Peter Thielst.

Peter Thiel
Thiel in 2022
Born
Peter Andreas Thiel

(1967-10-11) 11 October 1967 (age 57)
Frankfurt, West Germany
Citizenship
  • United States
  • New Zealand
EducationStanford University (BA, JD)
Occupations
Title
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Matt Danzeisen
​
(m. 2017)​

Peter Andreas Thiel (/tiːl/; born 11 October 1967) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist.[1][2][3] A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook.[4][5] As of July 2024, Thiel had an estimated net worth of US$11.2 billion and was ranked 212th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[6]

Thiel has worked as a securities lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, a speechwriter for former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett, and a derivatives trader at Credit Suisse. He founded Thiel Capital Management in 1996 and co-founded PayPal with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek in 1998. He was chief executive officer of PayPal until its sale to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

Following PayPal, Thiel founded Clarium Capital, a global macro hedge fund based in San Francisco.[7] In 2003, he launched Palantir Technologies, a big data analysis company, and has been its chairman since its inception. In 2005, Thiel launched Founders Fund with PayPal partners Ken Howery and Luke Nosek. Thiel became Facebook's first outside investor when he acquired a 10.2% stake in the company for $500,000 in August 2004. He sold the majority of his shares in Facebook for over $1 billion in 2012, but remains on the board of directors.[8] He co-founded Valar Ventures in 2010, co-founded Mithril Capital, was investment committee chair, in 2012, and was a part-time partner at Y Combinator from 2015 to 2017.[9][10][11][12]

Thiel is a conservative libertarian who has made substantial donations to American right-wing figures and causes. He was controversially granted New Zealand citizenship in 2011 after the Fifth National Government intervened on his behalf. Thiel had spent 12 non-consecutive days in the country, a fraction of the normal residency requirement of 1,350 days for citizenship.

Through the Thiel Foundation, Thiel governs the grant-making bodies Breakout Labs and Thiel Fellowship, which fund non-profit research into artificial intelligence, life extension, and seasteading. In 2016, Thiel confirmed that he had funded Hulk Hogan in the Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit because Gawker had previously outed Thiel as gay. The lawsuit eventually bankrupted Gawker,[13] and led to founder Nick Denton's bankruptcy.[14]

Early life and education

Thiel was born in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, on 11 October 1967, to Klaus Friedrich Thiel and his wife Susanne Thiel.[15][16] The family emigrated to the United States when Peter was one year old and lived in Cleveland, Ohio, where his father worked as a chemical engineer.[17] Klaus worked for various mining companies, which created an itinerant upbringing for Thiel and his younger brother, Patrick Michael Thiel.[18] Thiel's mother became a U.S. citizen, but his father did not.[16] Thiel eventually became a U.S. citizen as well.[19]

Before settling in Foster City, California, in 1977, the Thiel family lived in South Africa and South West Africa (modern-day Namibia). Peter changed elementary schools seven times. He attended a school in Swakopmund that required students to wear uniforms and utilized corporal punishment, such as striking students' hands with a ruler. He said this experience instilled a distaste for uniformity and regimentation later reflected in his support for individualism and libertarianism.[20][21]

Thiel played Dungeons & Dragons and was an avid reader of science fiction, with Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein among his favorite authors. He is a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's works, stating as an adult that he had read The Lord of the Rings over ten times.[22] Six firms (Palantir Technologies, Valar Ventures, Mithril Capital, Lembas LLC, Rivendell LLC and Arda Capital) that Thiel founded adopted names originating from Tolkien.[23]

Thiel excelled in mathematics and scored first in a California-wide mathematics competition while attending Bowditch Middle School in Foster City.[24] At San Mateo High School, he read Ayn Rand and admired the optimism and anti-communism of then-President Ronald Reagan. He was valedictorian of his graduating class in 1985.[24][25]

Thiel studied philosophy at Stanford University. The replacement of a "Western Culture" program at Stanford with a "Culture, Ideas and Values" course that addressed diversity and multiculturalism prompted Thiel to co-found The Stanford Review, a conservative and libertarian newspaper, in 1987. The paper received funding from Irving Kristol.[26] Thiel was The Stanford Review's first editor-in-chief until he graduated in 1989.[27] Thiel has maintained his relationship with the paper, consulting with staff, donating to the newspaper, and placing graduating students in internships or jobs within his network.[28]

Thiel enrolled in Stanford Law School and earned his juris doctor degree in 1992.[29] While at Stanford, Thiel met René Girard, whose mimetic theory influenced him.[30][31]

Career

Early career

After graduating from Stanford Law School, Thiel clerked for Judge James Larry Edmondson of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.[32] Thiel then worked as a securities lawyer for Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. He left the law firm in under a year.[33] He then took a job as a derivatives trader in currency options at Credit Suisse in 1993 while also working as a speechwriter for former United States Secretary of Education William Bennett. Thiel returned to California in 1996.[34]

Upon returning to the Bay Area, Thiel capitalized on the dot-com boom. With financial support from friends and family, he raised $1 million toward the establishment of Thiel Capital Management and embarked on his venture capital career. Early on, he experienced a setback after investing $100,000 in his friend Luke Nosek's unsuccessful web-based calendar project. Soon thereafter, Nosek's friend Max Levchin described to Thiel his cryptography-related company idea, which became their first venture called Fieldlink (later renamed Confinity) in 1998.[35][36]

PayPal

Further information: PayPal § Early history

With Confinity, Thiel realized they could develop software to bridge a gap in making online payments. Although the use of credit cards and expanding automated teller machine networks provided consumers with more payment options, not all merchants had the necessary hardware to accept credit cards. Thus, consumers had to pay with exact cash or check. Thiel wanted to create a type of digital wallet for consumer convenience and security by encrypting data on digital devices, and in 1999 Confinity launched PayPal.[37]

PayPal promised to open up new possibilities for handling money. Thiel viewed PayPal's mission as liberating people from the erosion of the value of their currencies due to inflation. Thiel spoke in 1999:

We're definitely onto something big. The need PayPal answers is monumental. Everyone in the world needs money—to get paid, to trade, to live. Paper money is an ancient technology and an inconvenient means of payment. You can run out of it. It wears out. It can get lost or stolen. In the twenty-first century, people need a form of money that's more convenient and secure, something that can be accessed from anywhere with a PDA or an Internet connection. Of course, what we're calling 'convenient' for American users will be revolutionary for the developing world. Many of these countries' governments play fast and loose with their currencies. They use inflation and sometimes wholesale currency devaluations, like we saw in Russia and several Southeast Asian countries last year [referring to the 1998 Russian and 1997 Asian financial crisis], to take wealth away from their citizens. Most of the ordinary people there never have an opportunity to open an offshore account or to get their hands on more than a few bills of a stable currency like U.S. dollars. Eventually PayPal will be able to change this. In the future, when we make our service available outside the U.S. and as Internet penetration continues to expand to all economic tiers of people, PayPal will give citizens worldwide more direct control over their currencies than they ever had before. It will be nearly impossible for corrupt governments to steal wealth from their people through their old means because if they try the people will switch to dollars or Pounds or Yen, in effect dumping the worthless local currency for something more secure.[38]

When PayPal launched at a press conference in 1999, representatives from Nokia and Deutsche Bank sent $3 million in venture funding to Thiel using PayPal on their PalmPilots. PayPal then continued to grow through mergers in 2000 with Elon Musk's online financial services company X.com, and with Pixo, a company specializing in mobile commerce. These mergers allowed PayPal to expand into the wireless phone market and transformed it into a safer and more user-friendly tool by enabling users to transfer money via a free online registration and email rather than by exchanging bank account information. PayPal went public on 15 February 2002 and was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion in October of that year.[39] Thiel remained CEO of the company until the sale.[5] His 3.7% stake in the company was worth $55 million at the time of acquisition.[40] In Silicon Valley circles, Thiel is colloquially referred to as the "Don of the PayPal Mafia".[41]

Clarium Capital

Further information: Clarium Capital

Thiel used $10 million of his proceeds to create Clarium Capital Management, a global macro hedge fund focusing on directional and liquid instruments in currencies, interest rates, commodities, and equities.[42] Thiel stated that "the big, macroeconomic idea that we had at Clarium—the idée fixe—was the peak-oil theory, which was basically that the world was running out of oil, and that there were no easy alternatives."[24]

In 2003, Thiel successfully bet that the United States dollar would weaken.[43] In 2004, Thiel spoke of the dot-com bubble having migrated, in effect, into a growing bubble in the financial sector, and specified General Electric and Walmart as vulnerable. In 2005, Clarium saw a 57.1% return as Thiel predicted that the dollar would rally.[44][43]

However, Clarium faltered in 2006 with a 7.8% loss. Thereafter, the firm sought to profit in the long-term from its petrodollar analysis, which foresaw the impending decline in oil supplies.[45] Clarium's assets under management grew after achieving a 40.3% return in 2007 to more than $7 billion by the first quarter of 2008, but fell later in the year and again in 2009 after financial markets collapsed.[46][47] By 2011, after missing out on the economic rebound, many key investors pulled out, reducing the value of Clarium's assets to $350 million, two thirds of which was Thiel's money.[48]

Palantir

Further information: Palantir Technologies

In May 2003, Thiel incorporated Palantir Technologies, a big data analysis company named after the Tolkien artifact.[49] He continues as its chairman, as of 2022.[50][51] Thiel stated that the idea for the company was based on the realization that "the approaches that PayPal had used to fight fraud could be extended into other contexts, like fighting terrorism". He also stated that, after the September 11 attacks, the debate in the United States was "will we have more security with less privacy or less security with more privacy?". He envisioned Palantir as providing data mining services to government intelligence agencies that were maximally unintrusive and traceable.[52][53]

Palantir's first backer was the Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel. The company steadily grew and in 2015 was valued at $20 billion, with Thiel being the company's largest shareholder.[54][55]

Facebook

Further information: Facebook § Thefacebook, Thiel investment, and name change

In August 2004, Thiel made a $500,000 angel investment in Facebook for a 10.2% stake in the company and joined Facebook's board. This was the first outside investment in Facebook and valued the company at $4.9 million.[56][57] As a board member, Thiel was not actively involved in Facebook's operations. He provided help with timing the various rounds of funding and Zuckerberg credited Thiel with helping him time Facebook's 2007 Series D, which closed before the 2008 financial crisis.[58]

In his book The Facebook Effect, David Kirkpatrick outlines how Thiel came to make this investment: Napster co-founder Sean Parker, who at the time had assumed the title of "President" of Facebook, was seeking investors. Parker approached Reid Hoffman, the CEO of work-based social network LinkedIn. Hoffman liked Facebook but declined to become lead investor because of the potential for conflict of interest. Hoffman directed Parker to Thiel, whom he knew from their PayPal days. Thiel met Parker and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Thiel and Zuckerberg got along well, and Thiel agreed to lead Facebook's seed round with $500,000 for 10.2% of the company. The investment was originally in the form of a convertible note, to be converted to equity if Facebook reached 1.5 million users by the end of 2004. Although Facebook narrowly missed the target, Thiel allowed the loan to be converted to equity anyway.[59] Thiel said of his investment: "I was comfortable with them pursuing their original vision. And it was a very reasonable valuation. I thought it was going to be a pretty safe investment."[59]

In September 2010, Thiel, while expressing skepticism about the potential for growth in the consumer Internet sector, argued that relative to other Internet companies, Facebook (which then had a secondary market valuation of $30 billion) was comparatively undervalued.[60] Facebook's initial public offering was in May 2012, with a market cap of nearly $100 billion ($38 a share), at which time Thiel sold 16.8 million shares for $638 million.[61] In August 2012, immediately upon the conclusion of the early investor lock-up period, Thiel sold almost all of his remaining stake for between $19.27 and $20.69 per share, or $395.8 million, for a total of more than $1 billion.[62] He retained his seat on the board of directors.[63] In 2016, he sold a little under 1 million of his shares for around $100 million. In November 2017, he sold another 160,805 shares for $29 million, putting his holdings in Facebook at 59,913 Class A shares.[64] As of April 2020, he owned less than 10,000 shares in Facebook.[65]

On 7 February 2022, Thiel announced he would not stand for re-election to the board of Facebook owner Meta at the 2022 annual stockholders' meeting and would leave after 17 years in order to support pro–Donald Trump candidates in the 2022 United States elections.[51][66]

Founders Fund

Further information: Founders Fund

In 2005, Thiel created Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund.[67][7] Other partners in the fund include Sean Parker, Ken Howery, and Luke Nosek.[68]

In addition to Facebook, Thiel made early-stage investments in numerous startups (personally or through Founders Fund), including Airbnb,[24] Slide.com,[69] LinkedIn,[24] Friendster,[70] RapLeaf, Geni.com, Yammer, Yelp Inc., Spotify,[24] Powerset, Practice Fusion, MetaMed, Vator, SpaceX,[24] Palantir Technologies, IronPort, Votizen, Asana, Big Think, CapLinked, Quora, Nanotronics Imaging, Rypple, TransferWise, Stripe, Block.one,[71] and AltSchool.[72] Thiel also backed DeepMind, a UK start-up that was acquired by Google in early 2014 for £400 million.[73]

In 2017, Founders Fund bought about $15–20 million worth of bitcoin. In January 2018, the firm told investors that due to the cryptocurrency's surge the holdings were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.[74]

Also in 2017, Thiel was one of the first outside investors in Clearview AI, a facial recognition technology startup that has raised concerns in the tech world and media for its risks of weaponization.[75][76]

Valar Ventures

Further information: Valar Ventures

Through Valar Ventures, an internationally focused venture firm he cofounded with Andrew McCormack and James Fitzgerald,[77] Thiel was an early investor in Xero, a software firm headquartered in New Zealand.[78] Valar Ventures also invested in New Zealand-based companies Pacific Fibre[79] and Booktrack.[80]

Mithril Capital

In June 2012, he launched Mithril Capital Management, named after the fictitious metal in The Lord of the Rings, with Jim O'Neill and Ajay Royan. Unlike Clarium Capital, Mithril Capital, a fund with $402 million at the time of launch, targets companies that are beyond the startup stage and ready to scale up.[81][82]

Y Combinator

In March 2015, Thiel joined Y Combinator as one of 10 part-time partners.[83] In November 2017, it was reported that Y Combinator had severed its ties with Thiel.[84]

Business Insider reported that Thiel became an FBI informant in 2021.[85][86]

Gawker lawsuit

Main article: Bollea v. Gawker

In May 2016, Thiel confirmed in an interview with The New York Times that he had paid $10 million in legal expenses to finance several lawsuits brought by others, including a lawsuit by Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) against Gawker Media for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and infringement of personality rights after Gawker made sections of a sex tape involving Bollea public.[87] The jury awarded Bollea $140 million, and Gawker announced it was permanently closing due to the lawsuit in August 2016.[88] Thiel referred to his financial support of Bollea's case as one of the "greater philanthropic things that I've done."[89]

Thiel said he was motivated to sue Gawker after they published a 2007 article publicly outing him, headlined "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people." Thiel stated that Gawker articles about others, including his friends, had "ruined people's lives for no reason," and said, "It's less about revenge and more about specific deterrence."[89] In response to criticism that his funding of lawsuits against Gawker could restrict the freedom of the press, Thiel cited his donations to the Committee to Protect Journalists and stated, "I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations. I think much more highly of journalists than that. It's precisely because I respect journalists that I do not believe they are endangered by fighting back against Gawker."[89]

On 15 August 2016, Thiel published an opinion piece in The New York Times in which he argued that his defense of online privacy went beyond Gawker.[90] He highlighted his support for the Intimate Privacy Protection Act and said that athletes and business executives have the right to stay in the closet as long as they want to.[90]

Political views and activities

This article is part of a series on
Conservatism
in the United States
Schools
Principles
History
Intellectuals
Politicians
Jurists
Commentators
Activists
Literature
Concerns
Parties
Active

Defunct

Think tanks
Media

Newspapers

Journals

TV channels

Websites

Other

Other organizations

Economics

Gun rights

Identity politics

Nativist

Religion

Watchdog groups

Youth/student groups

Miscellaneous

Other

Movements
Related

Political views

This article is part of a series on
Libertarianism
in the United States
Schools
Principles
History
Economics
Intellectuals
Commentators
Politicians
Issues
Culture
Organizations
Literature
See also

Thiel is a self-described conservative libertarian.[91] Since the late 2010s, he has espoused support for national conservatism,[92] and criticized economically liberal attitudes towards free trade[93] and big tech.[92]

In 1995, Thiel and David O. Sacks published The Diversity Myth, a book that criticized political correctness and multiculturalism in higher education. The following year, writing for Stanford Magazine, they argued against affirmative action in the United States, saying that it had hurt, not helped, the "disadvantaged" and had led to increased segregation at Stanford University in the name of "diversity".[94]

"The Straussian Moment", an essay written by Thiel in 2004, is sometimes considered to be a fundamental text in his political thinking and was the subject of a 2019 interview at the Hoover Institution. The essay draws on several thinkers and political theorists and argues that the September 11 attacks upset "the entire political and military framework of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries", and therefore "a reexamination of the foundations of modern politics" was needed.[1]

Thiel explained in a 2009 essay that he had come to "no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible", due in large part to welfare beneficiaries and women in general being "notoriously tough for libertarians" constituencies, and that he had focused efforts on new technologies (namely cyberspace, space colonization and seasteading) that could create "a new space for freedom" beyond current politics.[95] Said essay has been referenced by Curtis Yarvin and Nick Land, the main theorists of the neo-reactionary movement, in their writings.[96]

In a 2015 conversation with Tyler Cowen, Thiel claimed that innovative breakthroughs were happening in computing/IT and not the physical world. He lamented the lack of progress in space travel, high-speed transit, and medical devices. As a cause for the discrepancy, he said: "I would say that we lived in a world in which bits were unregulated and atoms were regulated."[97]

In 2019, Thiel called Google "seemingly treasonous" and urged a government investigation, citing Google's work with China and asking whether DeepMind or Google's senior management had been "infiltrated" by foreign intelligence agencies.[98]

Thiel is a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group,[99] a private, annual gathering of intellectual figures, political leaders, and business executives.[100]

Support for political activism

Thiel, who is gay,[101][102] has supported mostly conservative gay rights causes such as the American Foundation for Equal Rights and GOProud.[103] He invited conservative columnist and friend Ann Coulter to Homocon 2010 as a guest speaker.[104] Coulter later dedicated her 2011 book, Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America, to Thiel.[105] Thiel is mentioned in the acknowledgments of Coulter's ¡Adios, America!: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.[106] In 2012, Thiel donated $10,000 to Minnesotans United for All Families, in order to fight Minnesota Amendment 1[107] that proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples there.

In 2009, it was reported that Thiel helped fund college student James O'Keefe's "Taxpayers Clearing House" video—a satirical look at the Wall Street bailout.[108] O'Keefe went on to produce the ACORN undercover sting videos but, through a spokesperson, Thiel denied involvement in the ACORN sting.[108]

In July 2012, Thiel made a $1 million donation to the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative 501(c)(4) organization, becoming the group's largest contributor.[109] Club for Growth is a conservative organization with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic issues.

Support for political candidates

Thiel speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention

Thiel is a member of the Republican Party.[19] He contributes to both Libertarian and Republican candidates and causes. In December 2007, Thiel endorsed Ron Paul for President.[110] After Paul failed to secure the Republican nomination, Thiel contributed to the John McCain campaign.[111]

In 2010, Thiel supported Meg Whitman in her unsuccessful bid for the governorship of California. He contributed the maximum allowable $25,900 to the Whitman campaign.[112]

In 2012, Thiel, along with Nosek and Scott Banister, put their support behind the Endorse Liberty Super PAC. Collectively they gave $3.9 million to Endorse Liberty, whose purpose was to promote Ron Paul. As of 31 January 2012, Endorse Liberty reported spending about $3.3 million promoting Paul by setting up two YouTube channels, buying ads from Google, Facebook and StumbleUpon, and building a presence on the Web.[113] After Paul again failed to secure the nomination, Thiel contributed to the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan presidential ticket of 2012.[111]

Thiel initially supported Carly Fiorina's campaign during the 2016 GOP presidential primary elections.[114] After Fiorina dropped out, Thiel supported Donald Trump and became one of the California delegates for Trump's nomination. He was a headline speaker during the convention, during which he announced that he was "proud to be gay," for which the assembled Republicans cheered.[115][116] On 15 October 2016, Thiel announced a $1.25 million donation in support of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[117] Thiel stated to The New York Times: "I didn't give him any money for a long time because I didn't think it mattered, and then the campaign asked me to."[118] After Trump's victory, Thiel was named to the executive committee of the President-elect's transition team.[119] In July 2018, he donated $250,000 to the Trump Victory Committee in support of the Republican National Committee during midterm elections and Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.[120]

By February 2022, Thiel was one of the largest donors to Republican candidates in the 2022 election campaign with more than $20.4 million in contributions. He supported 16 senatorial and congressional candidates, several of whom were proponents of the falsehood that there was significant voter fraud in the 2020 election. Two of said senatorial candidates (Blake Masters and JD Vance) were also tech investors who had previously worked for Thiel.[121]

In 2023, Barton Gellman of The Atlantic wrote in an article interviewing Thiel that Thiel "has lost interest in democracy" and that "he wouldn’t be giving money to any politician, including Donald Trump, in the next presidential campaign".[122]

Thiel has his own political-action committee, Free Forever, which is committed to supporting political candidates who support stricter border control, restrictive immigration policy, funds for veterans, and anti-interventionist foreign policy, among other things.[123][124]

Philanthropy

Further information: Thiel Foundation

Thiel carries out most of his philanthropic activities through the Thiel Foundation.[125][126]

Research

Artificial intelligence

In 2006, Thiel provided $100,000 of matching funds to back the Singularity Challenge donation drive of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (now known as the Machine Intelligence Research Institute), a nonprofit organization that promotes the development of friendly artificial intelligence.[127] He provided half of the $400,000 matching funds for the 2007 donation drive, and as of 2013 the Thiel Foundation had donated over $1 million to the institute.[127] Additionally, he has spoken at multiple Singularity Summits.[128][129][130] At the 2009 Singularity Summit, he said his greatest concern is the technological singularity not arriving soon enough.[129]

In December 2015, OpenAI announced that Thiel was one of their financial backers, a nonprofit company aimed at the safe development of artificial general intelligence.[131]

Life extension

In September 2006, Thiel announced that he would donate $3.5 million to foster anti-aging research through the non-profit Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation.[132][133] He gave the following reasons for his pledge: "Rapid advances in biological science foretell of a treasure trove of discoveries this century, including dramatically improved health and longevity for all. I'm backing Dr. [Aubrey] de Grey, because I believe that his revolutionary approach to aging research will accelerate this process, allowing many people alive today to enjoy radically longer and healthier lives for themselves and their loved ones." As of February 2017, he had donated over $7 million to the foundation.[134]

When asked "What is the biggest achievement that you haven't achieved yet?" by the moderator of a discussion panel at the Venture Alpha West 2014 conference, Thiel said he wants to make progress in anti-aging research.[135] Thiel also said that he is registered to be cryonically preserved, meaning that he would be subject to low-temperature preservation in case of his legal death in hopes that he might be successfully revived by future medical technology, and is signed up with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.[22]

Seasteading

On 15 April 2008, Thiel pledged $500,000 to the newly created non-profit Seasteading Institute,[136] directed by Patri Friedman, whose mission is "to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems."[137][138] At one of the institute's conferences, he described seasteading as "one of the few technological frontiers that has the promise to create a new space for human freedom."[139] In 2011, Thiel gave $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute,[140][141] but resigned from its board the same year.[142] In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Thiel said seasteads are "not quite feasible from an engineering perspective" and "still very far in the future".[143][144]

Thiel Fellowship

On 29 September 2010, Thiel created the Thiel Fellowship, which annually awards $100,000 to 20 people under the age of 23 in order to spur them to drop out of college and create their own ventures.[145][146][147] According to Thiel, for many young people, college is the path to take when they have no idea what to do with their lives:

I feel I was personally very guilty of this; you don't know what to do with your life, so you get a college degree; you don't know what you're going to do with your college degree, so you get a graduate degree. In my case, it was law school, which is the classic thing one does when one has no idea what else to do. I don't have any big regrets, but if I had to do it over I would try to think more about the future than I did at the time... You cannot get out of student debt even if you personally go bankrupt, it's a form of almost like indentured servitude, it's attached to your physical person for the rest of your life.[22]

Breakout Labs

In November 2011, the Thiel Foundation announced the creation of Breakout Labs, a grant-making program intended "to fill the funding gap that exists for innovative research outside the confines of an academic institution, large corporation, or government."[148][149] It offers grants of up to $350,000 to science-focused start-ups, "with no strings attached".[150][151] In April 2012, Breakout Labs announced its first set of grantees.[149][152] In total, 12 startups received funding, for a total of $4.5 million in grants.[150] One of the first ventures to receive funding from Breakout Labs was 3Scan, a tissue imaging platform.[151]

Other causes

The Thiel Foundation is a supporter of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which promotes the right of journalists to report the news freely without fear of reprisal.[153] Beginning in 2008, Thiel has donated over $1 million to the CPJ.[154] He is also a supporter of the Human Rights Foundation, which organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum.[155][156] In 2011 he was a featured speaker at the Oslo Freedom Forum, and the Thiel Foundation was one of the event's main sponsors.[156]

In 2011, Thiel made a NZ$1 million donation to an appeal fund for the casualties of the Christchurch earthquake.[157]

Personal life

Thiel married his long-time partner Matt Danzeisen in October 2017, in Vienna, Austria.[158] Danzeisen works as a portfolio manager at Thiel Capital.[159] Thiel was also in a long-term relationship with Jeff Thomas, a social media influencer, from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic until Thomas's sudden death in March 2023.[160] He resides in San Francisco, California.[7]

Religious views

Thiel is a self-described Christian and a promoter of René Girard's Christian anthropology.[161] He grew up in an evangelical household but, as of 2011, described his religious beliefs as "somewhat heterodox", stating: "I believe Christianity is true but I don't sort of feel a compelling need to convince other people of that."[48] Thiel has participated in Veritas Forum events with the noted theologian N. T. Wright discussing religion, politics, and technology.[162][163]

During his time at Stanford University, Thiel attended a lecture given by René Girard. Girard, a Catholic, explained the role of sacrifice and the scapegoat mechanism in resolving social conflict, which appealed to Thiel as it offered a basis for his Christian faith without the fundamentalism of his parents.[164]

Chess

Thiel began playing chess at the age of six[24] and was at one time one of the top junior players in the United States.[165][166][167] He holds the title of Life Master,[168][169] but he has not competed since 2003.[19] On 30 November 2016, Thiel made the ceremonial first move in the first tiebreak game of the World Chess Championship 2016 between Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen.[166][170][171]

Media appearances

Thiel is an occasional commentator on CNBC, having appeared on both Closing Bell with Kelly Evans, and Squawk Box with Becky Quick.[172] He has been interviewed twice by Charlie Rose on PBS.[173] He has also contributed articles to The Wall Street Journal, First Things, Forbes, and Policy Review, a journal formerly published by the Hoover Institution, on whose board he sits.

In The Social Network, Thiel was portrayed by Wallace Langham.[174] He described the film as "wrong on many levels".[175]

Thiel was the inspiration for the Peter Gregory character on HBO's Silicon Valley.[176] Thiel said of Gregory, "I liked him... I think eccentric is always better than evil".[177]

Jonas Lüscher stated in an interview with Basellandschaftliche Zeitung that he based the character Tobias Erkner in his novel Kraft ("Force") on Thiel.[178]

"Right Time to Thiel" by satirist Jan Böhmermann (2022) is a Bond theme–style song and music video; specifically, it seems to be a pastiche of the "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith.[179]

New Zealand citizenship

Thiel was a German citizen by birth and became an American citizen by naturalization.[180] He received permanent residency in New Zealand in 2011, which was not made public until 2017.[181] [182][183] Thiel visited the country on four occasions prior to his application for citizenship[184] and spent 12 days in New Zealand, far fewer than the typical residency requirement of 1,350 days.[185] When he applied, Thiel stated he had no intention of living in New Zealand, which is a criterion for citizenship.[186] Then-Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy waived those normal requirements, under an "exceptional circumstances" clause of the Citizenship Act.[181][184][186]

In 2015, Thiel purchased a 193-hectare estate near Wānaka, which fit the classification of "sensitive land" and required foreign buyers to obtain permission from New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office. Thiel did not require permission, as he was a citizen.[187]

Thiel's application cited his contribution to the economy—he had founded a venture capital fund in Auckland before applying, and he'd invested $7 million in two local companies—as well as a $1 million donation to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake appeal fund.[184] Rod Drury, founder of Xero, also provided a formal reference for Thiel's application.[181] Thiel's case was cited by critics as an example of how New Zealand passports can be bought,[184][188] something the New Zealand government denied.[184] At the time that his citizenship was revealed, The New Zealand Herald came out with the report that the New Zealand Defence Force, the Security Intelligence Service, and the Government Communications and Security Bureau have long-standing links with Thiel's Palantir.[185]

Roth IRA

In 2021, it was revealed by ProPublica that Thiel had purchased 1.7 million founder's shares in the entity that would become PayPal using $1,700 in a Roth IRA in 1999. Due to the rapid growth in the value of the shares as PayPal grew and was later acquired by eBay, Thiel's $1,700 investment grew to over $5 billion as of 2019. Most of this increase in the value of the Roth was due to him re-investing his PayPal proceeds into companies like Palantir and Facebook which grew quickly after his investment. Unlike a traditional IRA, in a Roth IRA, contributions are taxed initially, allowing for later tax-free withdrawal. As such, Thiel paid taxes on his initial $1,700 deposit, allowing him to potentially withdraw the $5 billion balance tax-free after age 59½.[189]

Awards and honors

Books

The Diversity Myth

In 1995, the Independent Institute published The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Intolerance at Stanford, which Thiel co-authored along with fellow tech entrepreneur David O. Sacks, and with a foreword by the late Emory University historian Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.[195] The book is critical of political correctness and multiculturalism in higher education and alleges that it has diluted academic rigor. Thiel and Sacks' writings drew criticism from then-Stanford Provost Condoleezza Rice and then-Stanford President Gerhard Casper in describing Thiel and Sacks' view of Stanford as "a cartoon, not a description of our freshman curriculum",[196] and their commentary as "demagoguery, pure and simple".[197]

In 2016, Thiel apologized for two statements he made in the book: 1) "The purpose of the rape crisis movement seems as much about vilifying men as about raising 'awareness'" and 2) "But since a multicultural rape charge may indicate nothing more than belated regret, a woman might 'realize' that she had been 'raped' the next day or even many days later." He stated: "More than two decades ago, I co-wrote a book with several insensitive, crudely argued statements. As I've said before, I wish I'd never written those things. I'm sorry for it. Rape in all forms is a crime. I regret writing passages that have been taken to suggest otherwise."[198]

Zero to One

In spring 2012, Thiel taught the class CS 183: Startup at Stanford University.[199] Notes for the course, taken by student Blake Masters, led to a book titled Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Thiel and Masters, which was released in September 2014.[200][201][202] Thiel later endorsed Masters' campaign in the 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona, donating more than $10 million.[203][204]

Derek Thompson, writing for The Atlantic, stated Zero to One "might be the best business book I've read". He described it as a "self-help book for entrepreneurs, bursting with bromides" but also as a "lucid and profound articulation of capitalism and success in the 21st century economy."[205]

Tools of Titans

Thiel also has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' self-help book Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.

References

  1. ^ a b Wiener, Anna (27 October 2021). "What Is It About Peter Thiel?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  2. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (21 September 2021). "The Alarming Rise of Peter Thiel, Tech Mogul and Political Provocateur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. ^ Purdy, Jedediah (30 November 2016). "The Anti-Democratic Worldview of Steve Bannon and Peter Thiel". Politico Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. ^ Ciralsky, Adam (20 September 2017). "Is Trump Mulling Peter Thiel for a Top Intelligence Advisory Post?". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b Lien, Tracey (15 February 2018). "Peter Thiel's resume includes PayPal, Facebook and supporting Trump. And he's coming to L.A." Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Peter Thiel". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Mann, Jyoti. "Peter Thiel paid staff an extra $1,000 a month if they lived close to the office so they were more likely to work late, book says". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  8. ^ Feiner, Lauren (17 December 2019). "Peter Thiel reportedly pushed Facebook not to vet fake political ads". CNBC. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Y Combinator Cuts Ties With Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program". BuzzFeed News. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  10. ^ "The PayPal Mafia: Who are they and where are Silicon Valley's richest group of men now?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  11. ^ Waters, Richard (20 December 2013). "Lunch with the FT: Peter Thiel". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  12. ^ Hook, Leslie (11 November 2016). "Tech elite discovers it may need Peter Thiel". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  13. ^ Drange, Matt. "Peter Thiel's War On Gawker: A Timeline". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  14. ^ Sterne, Peter (1 August 2016). "Gawker founder Nick Denton files for bankruptcy". Politico. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  15. ^ O'Dea, Meghan. "Peter Thiel". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Peter Thiel's application for New Zealand citizenship" (PDF). New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. p. 65. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 February 2019.
  17. ^ Wiener, Anna (27 October 2021). "What Is It About Peter Thiel?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  18. ^ Ratnesar, Romesh (3 February 2011). "Peter Thiel: 21st Century Free Radical". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Schwab, Florian (18 July 2018). "Interview of the Week: Peter Thiel". Die Weltwoche. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  20. ^ Packer 2013, pp. 120–121
  21. ^ Jenkins, Holman W. Jr. (9 October 2010). "Technology=Salvation". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  22. ^ a b c Brown, Mick (19 September 2014). "Peter Thiel: the billionaire tech entrepreneur on a mission to cheat death". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  23. ^ "Who is Peter Thiel and why is he advising Donald Trump?". BBC News. BBC News. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h Parloff, Roger (4 September 2014). "Peter Thiel disagrees with you". Fortune. Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  25. ^ Daetz, Ama (22 September 2014). "Billionaire weighs in on Silicon Valley's future". ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  26. ^ Packer 2013, p. 125
  27. ^ Bahareth, Mohammad (2012). Kings of the Internet: What You Don't Know About Them?. iUniverse. p. 71. ISBN 978-1469798424.
  28. ^ Granato, Andrew (27 November 2017). "Stanford Politics". stanfordpolitics.org. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Paypal, Inc, Form S-1/A, Filing Date Jan 31, 2002". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  30. ^ Feloni, Richard (10 November 2014). "Peter Thiel explains how an esoteric philosophy book shaped his worldview". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  31. ^ Girard, René (1987). Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World. Stanford University Press. pp. 7, 26, 307.
  32. ^ Roberts, Jeff John (15 September 2016). "Rumor About Trump's Supreme Court Pick Causes a Stir But Appears Untrue". Fortune. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  33. ^ Stanford Law School. "Articles Archive". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  34. ^ "Big Bucks From Bubble Fears". Bloomberg.com. 8 November 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  35. ^ Parloff, Roger (4 September 2014). "Peter Thiel disagrees with you". Fortune. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  36. ^ Odell, Mark (30 September 2014). "Timeline: The rise of PayPal". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  37. ^ "When PayPal was young: the early years". VatorNews. 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  38. ^ Jackson, Eric M. (2004). The PayPal Wars. p. Kindle Locations 321–327.
  39. ^ "eBay picks up PayPal for $1.5 billion by Margaret Kane". CNET News. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2008. On Monday, eBay said it is acquiring online payments company PayPal in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.
  40. ^ "SEC Info – Ebay Inc – S-4 – on 8/6/02". Archived from the original on 14 December 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  41. ^ O'Brien, Jeffrey M. (14 November 2007). "The PayPal mafia – November 14, 2007". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  42. ^ "Peter Thiel | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  43. ^ a b "The life and rise of billionaire investor Peter Thiel, Trump's biggest Silicon Valley supporter—who might be moving to Los Angeles". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  44. ^ Savitz, Eric J. (13 February 2006). "A Second Payday for PayPal Founder". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  45. ^ Mackintosh, James (7 May 2007). "Clarium Capital bets on rates to rise more". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  46. ^ Hamilton, Dane (4 April 2008). "Hedge fund Clarium takes 9.9 pct hit in March-note". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  47. ^ Comstock, Courtney (11 January 2010). "Peter Thiel: Down 25% In 2009, And 10% In December Alone". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  48. ^ a b Packer, George. "No Death, No Taxes: The libertarian futurism of a Silicon Valley billionaire". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  49. ^ Wexner, David (4 August 2018). "The hidden logic of Peter Thiel's "Lord of the Rings"-inspired company names". Quartz. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  50. ^ "Palantir's Hotly Anticipated IPO Set to Slide to 2020". Bloomberg.com. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  51. ^ a b Feiner, Lauren; Levy, Ari (7 February 2022). "Peter Thiel to step down from board of Facebook parent Meta". CNBC. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  52. ^ "Palantir, the War on Terror's Secret Weapon". Bloomberg.com. 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  53. ^ Andy Greenberg. "How A 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  54. ^ Mac, Ryan (11 December 2014). "Palantir Aiming To Raise $400 Million In New Round". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  55. ^ Buhr, Sarah (23 December 2015). "Palantir Has Raised $880 Million At A $20 Billion Valuation". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  56. ^ "Shareholder trading values Facebook at more than $33bn". the Guardian. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  57. ^ Caulfield, Brian; Perlroth, Nicole (14 February 2011). "Life After Facebook". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  58. ^ Kirkpatrick, David (8 June 2010). The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. Simon and Schuster. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-4391-0212-1.
  59. ^ a b Kirkpatrick, David (2010). The Facebook Effect. Simon & Schuster. pp. 87–88. ISBN 978-1-4391-0212-1.
  60. ^ Geron, Tomio. "Peter Thiel: Why Facebook Is Like Ford Motors In The 1920s". Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  61. ^ "Peter Thiel Sells Almost All of His Facebook Stock, Donates $1 Million to a Tea Party PAC | Betabeat". 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  62. ^ Oreskovic, Alexei (19 August 2012). "Facebook director Thiel sold 20 million shares after lock-up". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  63. ^ Boorstin, Julia (20 August 2012). "Investor Peter Thiel Sells Facebook Shares". CNBC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  64. ^ "Peter Thiel sells most of remaining Facebook stake". Reuters. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  65. ^ Shinal, John (22 November 2017). "Peter Thiel just sold more Facebook shares, but his big mistake was dumping them in 2012". CNBC. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  66. ^ "Peter Thiel to leave Meta board to pursue Trump political agenda". The Jerusalem Post. 8 February 2022. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  67. ^ "Block.one Closes Strategic Investment Round Led by Peter Thiel and Bitmain". Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  68. ^ Siu, Eric (25 August 2015). "What Types of Companies Is Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Actually Investing In?". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  69. ^ Kirkpatrick, Marshall (17 December 2008). "PayPal Reunion: Dave McClure Joins Founders Fund". ReadWrite. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  70. ^ Rivlin, Gary (15 October 2006). "How Friendster lost chance for a jackpot - Business - International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  71. ^ "Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Startup Pays Out 6,567% Return". Bloomberg.com. 22 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  72. ^ Adams, Susan. "Can AltSchool—The Edtech Startup With $174M From Billionaires Like Zuckerberg And Thiel—Save Itself From Failure?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  73. ^ Shead, Sam. "How DeepMind convinced billionaire Peter Thiel to invest without moving the company to Silicon Valley". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  74. ^ Cheng, Evelyn (2 January 2018). "Bitcoin rises after report says early Facebook investor Peter Thiel is buying massive amounts". CNBC. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  75. ^ Hill, Kashmir (18 January 2020). "The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  76. ^ Hill, Kashmir (18 January 2020). "The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  77. ^ Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel (14 January 2011). "Billionaire Facebook Investor Peter Thiel Pours Money Into His "Utopia," New Zealand". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  78. ^ Drury, Rod (21 October 2010). "Peter Thiel to Invest in Xero". Xero. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  79. ^ Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. "Billionaire Facebook Investor Peter Thiel Pours Money Into His "Utopia," New Zealand". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  80. ^ Lawler, Ryan (17 December 2012). "Booktrack Raises $2 Million From Peter Thiel, Park Road, And Others To Add Soundtracks To E-books". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  81. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (20 June 2012). "Facebook investor Peter Thiel opens Mithril venture capital fund". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  82. ^ Cutler, Kim-Mai (19 June 2012). "Peter Thiel Launches Mithril: A New $402 Million Late-Stage Fund". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  83. ^ "Welcome Peter". Y Combinator Posthaven. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  84. ^ Coren, Michael J. (17 November 2017). "Peter Thiel is no longer affiliated with star accelerator Y Combinator". Quartz. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  85. ^ Schwartz, Mattathias (19 October 2023). "Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  86. ^ Robertson, Adi (19 October 2023). "Peter Thiel was reportedly an FBI informant". The Verge. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  87. ^ McBride, Sarah; Somerville, Heather (25 May 2016). "Tech billionaire Thiel helps Hulk Hogan". Yahoo Tech. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  88. ^ Davey Alba (18 August 2016). "Peter Thiel Just Got His Wish: Gawker Is Shutting Down". Wired. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  89. ^ a b c Sorkin, Andrew Ross (26 May 2016). "Peter Thiel, Tech Billionaire, Reveals Secret War With Gawker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  90. ^ a b Thiel, Peter (15 August 2016). "Peter Thiel: The Online Privacy Debate Won't End With Gawker". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  91. ^ Street, Aaron (2 March 2013). "Peter Thiel on the Role of Technology and Globalization in Our Economy". Politics Law & Economics Blog. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  92. ^ a b "Peter Thiel Explains the New 'National Conservatism'". Reason. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  93. ^ "Peter Thiel's Oddly Conventional Defense of Trump". The New Yorker. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  94. ^ Sacks, David; Thiel, Peter (1 September 1996). "The Case Against Affirmative Action". Stanford Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  95. ^ "The Education of a Libertarian". Cato Unbound. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  96. ^ Smith, Harrison; Burrows, Roger (2021). "Software, Sovereignty and the Post-Neoliberal Politics of Exit". Theory, Culture & Society. 38 (6): 143–166. doi:10.1177/0263276421999439. hdl:1983/9261276b-8184-482c-b184-915655df6c19. ISSN 0263-2764. S2CID 234839947.
  97. ^ Baer, Drake (8 April 2015). "Peter Thiel says tech innovation is outpacing everything else for one simple reason". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  98. ^ "Peter Thiel Urges U.S. Probe of Google's 'Seemingly Treasonous' Acts". Bloomberg. 15 July 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  99. ^ "Steering Committee". 1 May 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  100. ^ Cadwalladr, Carole (21 September 2014). "Peter Thiel: 'We attribute too much to luck. Luck is an atheistic word for God'". The Observer. p. 8. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  101. ^ Kitroeff, Natalie (7 October 2014). "Peter Thiel on Creativity: Asperger's Promotes It, Business School Crushes It". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  102. ^ Kantor, Jodi (23 December 2014). "For Stanford Class of '94, a Gender Gap More Powerful Than the Internet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  103. ^ Weisberg, Jacob (16 October 2010). "Hyper-libertarian Facebook billionaire Peter Thiel's appalling plan to pay students to quit college". Slate. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  104. ^ "Outflanked on Right, Coulter Seeks New Image". The New York Times. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  105. ^ Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America. Library Thing. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  106. ^ Coulter, Ann (2015). ¡Adios, America! : The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hell Hole. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-62157-606-8. OCLC 949987257. Others who have helped with this book, mostly by reading chapters and voting on titles, but in other ways, as well, are: Bill Armistead, Jon Caldara, Peter Brimelow, Rodney Conover, Mallory and Thomas Danaher, David Friedman, James Fulford, Ron Gordon, Kevin Harrington, David Limbaugh, Jay Mann, Jim Moody, Dan Travers, Jon Tukel, Marshall Sella, Peter Thiel, Kelly Victory, and Younis Zubchevich.
  107. ^ "Who is funding the marriage amendment fight?". Minn Post. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  108. ^ a b Steven Thrasher (22 September 2009). "The Money Trail – Conservative Facebook Investor Funded Anti-ACORN Videographer". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  109. ^ Gregory Giroux (20 August 2012). "Thiel's $1 Million Tops Donors to Club for Growth Super-PAC". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  110. ^ "Endorsements » Blog Archive » Peter Thiel". Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  111. ^ a b Peter Thiel Political Campaign Contributions (CampaignMoney.com)
  112. ^ Fost, Dan. "Old (Pay)Pals: Peter Thiel backs Meg Whitman". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  113. ^ Selyukh, Alina (31 January 2012). "PayPal co-founders fund pro-Paul Super PAC". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  114. ^ Kim, Susanna (10 May 2016). "Billionaire Paypal Co-Founder Peter Thiel on List of Trump Backers". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  115. ^ Selyukh, Alina (21 July 2016). "'I Am Proud To Be Gay,' Tech Investor Peter Thiel Tells GOP Convention". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  116. ^ Margolin, Emma (2016). "Peter Thiel Makes History at RNC: 'I'm Proud to be Gay'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  117. ^ Streitfeld, David (15 October 2016). "Peter Thiel to Donate $1.25 Million in Support of Donald Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  118. ^ Dowd, Maureen (11 January 2017). "Peter Thiel, Trump's Tech Pal, Explains Himself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  119. ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (11 November 2016). "Silicon Valley Investor Peter Thiel Will Join Trump's Transition Team". Fortune. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  120. ^ Schwartz, Brian (16 October 2018). "Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel makes a big midterm splash with $250,000 donation to Trump fund". CNBC. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  121. ^ Mac, Ryan; Lerer, Lisa (14 February 2022). "The Right's Would-Be Kingmaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  122. ^ Gellman, Barton (9 November 2023). "Peter Thiel Is Taking a Break From Democracy". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  123. ^ "About – Free Forever PAC". Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  124. ^ Rob Copeland; Keach Hagey; Tripp Mickle (2 July 2020). "Tech Tycoon Peter Thiel Shies From Trump Re-Election Campaign". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  125. ^ "Thiel Foundation website". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  126. ^ "Peter Thiel". Inside Philanthropy. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  127. ^ a b "A Singular Sort of Cult". HuffPost UK. 17 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  128. ^ Gardiner, Bryan. "Peter Thiel Explains How to Invest in the Singularity". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  129. ^ a b "Singularity Summit – Peter Thiel On His Single Greatest Fear". h+ Media. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  130. ^ "Back to the Future: Peter Thiel on Technology and Investment Strategy at the NYC Singularity Summit". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  131. ^ Priestly, Theo (11 December 2015). "Elon Musk And Peter Thiel Launch OpenAI, A Non-Profit Artificial Intelligence Research Company". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  132. ^ "The Mprize-PayPal Founder pledges $3.5 Million to antiaging research". Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  133. ^ Davidson, Keay (18 September 2006). "Entrepreneur backs research on anti-aging". SFGate. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  134. ^ "How Silicon Valley Is Trying to Hack Its Way Into a Longer Life". Time. 16 February 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  135. ^ Reilly, Richard Byrne (8 October 2014). "Billionaire Peter Thiel embarks on anti-aging crusade". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  136. ^ Gelles, David (13 November 2017). "Floating Cities, No Longer Science Fiction, Begin to Take Shape". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  137. ^ "Introducing The Seasteading Institute". Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  138. ^ Hodgkinson, Tom (6 October 2016). "How Utopia shaped the world". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  139. ^ Floating Island Project Pushes On, Without Peter Thiel's Support Archived 17 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Bloomberg
  140. ^ Milton Friedman's Grandson to Build Floating Libertarian Nation Archived 1 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Chicago
  141. ^ Peter Thiel's Strangest Projects Archived 1 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Inverse
  142. ^ Robinson, Melia. "A Silicon Valley billionaire's dream of a floating libertarian utopia may have finally been killed". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  143. ^ Dowd, Maureen (11 January 2017). "Peter Thiel, Trump's Tech Pal, Explains Himself". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 22 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  144. ^ Robinson, Melia. "Tech billionaire Peter Thiel no longer thinks his dream of a floating libertarian utopia is realistic". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  145. ^ "The Thiel Fellowship". 20 Under 20. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  146. ^ "Peter Thiel Launches Fellowship Program". silicontap.com. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  147. ^ Kolodny, Lora (18 December 2013). "Why a Nonprofit Backs Dropping Out of School". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  148. ^ "About Us". Breakout Labs. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  149. ^ a b "Nature News Blog: PayPal co-founder's Breakout Labs issues first grants : Nature News Blog". 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  150. ^ a b Mac, Ryan. "Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs Turns More Science Projects Into Businesses". Forbes. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  151. ^ a b Loizos, Connie (14 September 2017). "Breakout Ventures, spun out of Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs, has closed its debut fund with $60M". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  152. ^ "Breakout Labs press release on first batch of grantees". 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  153. ^ Supporters of Press Freedom. "Supporters of Press Freedom – About CPJ – Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  154. ^ Holiday, Ryan (2018). Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. Penguin Books. p. 45. ISBN 978-0735217669.
  155. ^ "Freedom Project page on Thiel Foundation website". Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  156. ^ a b "Peter Thiel Urges Investing in Human Rights - TheStreet". Thestreet. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  157. ^ van Beynen, Martin; Kuprienko, Dasha (25 January 2017). "Billionaire Donald Trump supporter Peter Thiel sending more of his mates our way". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  158. ^ Primack, Dan; Allen, Mike (16 October 2017). "Peter Thiel got married over the weekend". Axios. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  159. ^ "Billionaire Peter Thiel gets married to Matt Danzeisen". Express Digest. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  160. ^ Grim, Ryan (23 March 2023). "The Death of Peter Thiel's "Kept" Romantic Partner Is Being Investigated as a Suicide". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  161. ^ Salai, Sean (1 October 2014). "Faith & Technology: Q&A with Peter Thiel". America. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  162. ^ "Reshaping Our View of God". The Veritas Forum. 5 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  163. ^ Anderson, Max. "Peter Thiel, N.T. Wright On Technology, Hope, And The End Of Death". Forbes. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  164. ^ Paul, Elie. "America's Problem: Mimetic Desire". Everything That Rises. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  165. ^ Hook, Leslie (11 November 2016). "Tech elite discovers it may need Peter Thiel". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  166. ^ a b Leland, John (30 November 2016). "Magnus Carlsen Overwhelms Challenger in Tiebreakers to Win World Chess Championship". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  167. ^ "24 executives who are exceptional at chess". ChessBase. 7 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  168. ^ Staff writer(s). "USCF Ratings History Graph for 12056150: Peter Thiel". United States Chess Federation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  169. ^ Giang, Vivian (16 July 2012). "Entrepreneur Challenges Peter Thiel To Million Dollar Chess Game". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  170. ^ Leswing, Kif (1 December 2016). "Peter Thiel made a rare public appearance at a chess tournament". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  171. ^ Staff writer(s) (30 November 2016). "Magnus Carlsen retained the title". FIDE. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  172. ^ "News Headlines". CNBC. 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  173. ^ "Peter Thiel". Charlie Rose. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  174. ^ Shaffer, Matthew (20 January 2011). "Back to the Future with Peter Thiel". National Review. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  175. ^ Wauters, Robin (19 November 2010). "Peter Thiel: Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Did A Poor Job, Got Rich Anyway". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  176. ^ Bort, Julie (28 April 2014). "A Guide To The Best Inside Jokes On HBO's Hit Comedy 'Silicon Valley'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  177. ^ Dowd, Maureen (11 January 2017). "Confirm or Deny: Peter Thiel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  178. ^ Schuppisser, Raffael (16 April 2017). "Trend-Autor Jonas Lüscher: 'Die Reichen werden unsterblich und der grosse Rest überflüssig'". Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  179. ^ "Right Time to Thiel". YouTube. 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  180. ^ Drange, Matt. "Peter Thiel Obtained New Zealand Citizenship Possibly Because Of 'Exceptional Circumstances'". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  181. ^ a b c Nippert, Matt (1 February 2017). "Revealed: How Peter Thiel got New Zealand citizenship". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  182. ^ Novet, Jordan (29 June 2017). "Peter Thiel got New Zealand citizenship after spending 12 days there in five years". CNBC. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  183. ^ Streitfeld, David; Williams, Jacqueline (1 February 2017). "New Zealand Is 'the Future,' Peter Thiel Said in His Push for Citizenship". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  184. ^ a b c d e "How Peter Thiel Became a New Zealander". The Economist. 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  185. ^ a b Nippert, Matt (28 June 2017). "Controversial billionaire Peter Thiel made a Kiwi after two-week holiday". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  186. ^ a b Biddle, Sam (2 February 2017). "Billionaire Trump Adviser Peter Thiel Bought His New Zealand Citizenship, Documents Show". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  187. ^ Nippert, Matt (25 January 2017). "Facebook billionaire Peter Thiel a Kiwi citizen, owns Wanaka estate". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  188. ^ Mac, Ryan. "The Many Contradictions Of Peter Thiel's New Zealand Citizenship". Forbes. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  189. ^ Bandler, James; Elliott, Justin; Callahan, Patricia (24 June 2021). "Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  190. ^ "The Association of Private Enterprise Education". Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  191. ^ "List of Active Young Global Leaders". The Forum of Active Young Global Leaders. World Economic Forum. 26 January 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  192. ^ "Honorary Doctoral Degrees at Universidad Francisco Marroquín". Archived from the original on 1 May 2011.
  193. ^ "Peter Thiel at #ISFLC12: 'You are the Entrepreneur of Your Life'". 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  194. ^ Congratulations Crunchies Winners! GitHub Wins Best Overall Startup Archived 24 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. TechCrunch (31 January 2013). Retrieved on 23 October 2013.
  195. ^ "The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus". The Independent Institute. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  196. ^ Bill Workman; Chronicle Peninsula Bureau (11 October 1995). "Stanford President Condemns Opinion Piece / Former students ridiculed school in Wall Street Journal". SFGate. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  197. ^ "Taking aim at Stanford". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  198. ^ Bort, Julie (25 October 2016). "VC Peter Thiel and Zenefits CEO David Sacks apologize for writing a book that downplayed rape". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  199. ^ Mac, Ryan (7 June 2012). "Ten Lessons from Peter Thiel's Class On Startups". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  200. ^ "Zero to One". Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  201. ^ Masters, Blake. "Notes Essays – Peter Thiel's CS183: Startup – Stanford, Spring 2012". Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  202. ^ Buhr, Sarah (8 September 2014). "Peter Thiel Tweets". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  203. ^ Isenstadt, Alex (26 April 2021). "Peter Thiel makes $10M bet on associate in Arizona Senate race". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  204. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac (13 October 2022). "Peter Thiel to put more money behind Masters as McConnell group balks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  205. ^ Thompson, Derek (24 September 2014). "Peter Thiel's Zero to One Might Be the Best Business Book I've Read". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

Bibliography

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Peter_Thiel&oldid=1264367480"