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Meet Peter Thiel, the controversial tech billionaire and GOP kingmaker
- Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley's controversial billionaire has become a powerful GOP kingmaker and is known for his outspoken political views. He actively supported Trump in 2016 and helped in VP-elect JD Vance's rise to election, securing his position as a conservative kingmaker and one of tech's most powerful political players. Thiel is a former PayPal CEO and venture capitalist who has spent his career as a connector, mentor, and invested in early-stage tech startups. His personal politics and contrarian streak define Thiel, setting him apart from the largely Democrat Bay Area.
- Thiel's net worth jumped after Trump's re-election, reaching a record high of $14 billion on Friday, making him a billionaire with silo political and economic interests. Interestingly, although he did not donate to the 2020 presidential campaigns, Thiel has become a major GOP donor and has supported more than a dozen Conservative candidates for senate, and other political offices in 2022.
- Thiel has been known as a mentor and helped create the Thiel Fellowship which gave $100K and two years of support to founders under 20. His political beliefs are those of a Libertarian. He hates confiscatory taxes, totalitarian collectives, and the idea of the inevitability of the death of every individual.
- Thiel's relationship with Vance goes back to at least 2011 when Thiel visited Yale Law School, where Vance was a student. Vance, who praised Thiel's Christianity, called the talk where Thiel discussed the achievement rat race, the most significant moment of his time at Yale Law School. Thiel went on to champion Vance's career, writing a blurb for Vance's 2016 'Hillbilly Elegy' book, hiring him to work at his VC firm Mithril Capital, and investing in Vance's own venture fund, Narya Capital.
- Thiel was pivotal in turning Vance, who was once a Never-Trumper into a MAGA Republican. He helped bankroll Vance's campaign, pouring at least $15 million into his 2022 senatorial bid, aiding him in securing an endorsement from Trump following a 2021 Mar-a-Lago meeting where he introduced Vance to Trump.
- Thiel is also known for his involvement with PayPal Mafia, one of tech's most influential groups, which includes Elon Musk, Keith Rabois, David Sacks, and Reid Hoffman. He also has early investments in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Palantir, a startup he co-founded. Thiel's venture capital firm, Founders Fund has invested in SpaceX and Airbnb, where he remains a partner. He also cofounded Valar Ventures and Mithril Capital.
- Thiel's feud with Gawker led to a attack on free speech, causing rifts with others in the tech world. Reed Hastings at that time, on Facebook's board with Thiel, called Thiel's Trump support 'catastrophically bad judgment,' and there were calls for Y Combinator, where Thiel worked as an advisor, to fire him. He also called Silicon Valley a 'one-party state' at a 2018 talk at Stanford.
- Thiel is now one of tech's most powerful political players and conservative kingmakers. With Vance in the White House, it remains to be seen what Thiel's relationship with Trump will be.
- Thiel's contrarian point of view is proving right at least this time. His involvement with JD Vance is likely to continue and he will remain a controversial figure in both tech and politics.
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