Who is Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire trying to push the U.S. to the right? (2024)

This week, Facebook announced billionaire investor Peter Thiel was stepping down from its board after more than 15 years.

The 54-year-old, whose contrarian and right-wing political views have made him one of the most controversial figures to emerge from Silicon Valley, will focus his time on helping pro-Trump candidates win in November’s midterm elections, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Thiel has been participating in national politics for most of his life, helping create a conservative journal at Stanford University in the 1980s before diving into tech investing and helping found PayPal. He used the money from PayPal’s sale to invest in other tech companies, becoming the first major outside investor in Facebook and seeing his wealth and influence rocket upward as Big Tech’s dominance grew over the past 20 years.

In 2016, Thiel supported Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and later served on his transition team. Now he’s playing an even more direct role in politics, funding the Senate campaigns of two of his close associates, J.D. Vance in Ohio and Blake Masters in Arizona. At the same time, he’s still a force in tech investing and plays a major role in companies including data-harvesting firm Palantir, where he serves as chairman.

Straddling the worlds of Silicon Valley and conservative politics has made Thiel a uniquely influential and polarizing individual, though he’s not as widely known as other well-documented political funders such as the Koch brothers. That’s likely to change as he dives deeper into U.S. politics.

A spokesperson for Thiel did not reply to a request for comment.

Who is Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire trying to push the U.S. to the right? (2024)

FAQs

Is Peter Thiel conservative or liberal? ›

Thiel is a self-described conservative libertarian, though more recently he has espoused support for national conservatism, and criticized economically liberal attitudes towards free trade and big tech.

Are Elon Musk and Peter Thiel friends? ›

Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have known each other for decades, all the way back to when they combined their respective online banking companies, Paypal and X, in 2002. Since then, their relationship has seen plenty of ups and downs and their networths have grown by billions of dollars.

How much Bitcoin does Peter Thiel own? ›

As of the date this article was written, the author owns approximately 0.04 bitcoin and has a long position in PayPal Holdings Inc.

Who has Peter Thiel invested? ›

He has provided early funding for LinkedIn, Yelp, and dozens of startups, many run by former colleagues who have been dubbed the “PayPal Mafia.” He is a partner at Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded companies including SpaceX and Airbnb.

Why is Palantir controversial? ›

Palantir has come under criticism due to its partnership developing software for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Palantir has responded that its software is not used to facilitate deportations.

What do conservative libertarians believe? ›

Conservative libertarianism combines laissez-faire economics and conservative values. It advocates the greatest possible economic liberty and the least possible government regulation of social life whilst harnessing this to traditionalist conservatism, emphasizing authority and duty.

What's Elon Musk's Iq? ›

Elon Musk IQ is close to this starting point, with an estimated score of 155. The typical genius has an IQ of around 140.

What two companies does Elon own? ›

Musk runs Tesla and SpaceX alongside two smaller start-ups, Neuralink and The Boring Company. From building rockets and brain chips to digging tunnels, here's what all of Musk's companies do.

Who is backing Elon? ›

The rest of the money – about $13bn worth – is backed by bank loans, including from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Japanese banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho, Barclays and the French banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas.

Which person owns the most Bitcoin? ›

According to bitcoin-focused asset manager River Financial, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin, is estimated to be the biggest bitcoin holder in possession of more than one million BTC stored in roughly 22,000 addresses.
...
Who owns the most bitcoins?
Long position overnight fee-0.0500%
Spread60.00
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Who owns largest amount of Bitcoin? ›

Bitcoin Billionaires

The four addresses with the most bitcoin belong to Binance, Bitfinex, and another address, whose identity is unknown. These four addresses collectively own more than 663,000 bitcoin. The exchange addresses represent the holdings of many individual investors who are not holding their own keys.

Who owns the most Bitcoin currently? ›

With more than 1,000,000 BTC, Nakamoto — who may be an individual or a group — owns more Bitcoin than any other entity. The four remaining billionaires are estimated to hold around 672,000 BTC altogether. Each individual address is comprised of more than 100,000 BTC and up to over 250,000 BTC.

Is Peter Thiel invested in Crypto? ›

Thiel was also one of the first well known investors to put money into Bitcoin.

What did Peter Thiel call Warren Buffett? ›

Thiel called Warren Buffett a “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.” He also took aim at JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and BlackRock's Larry Fink.

How many Palantir shares does Peter Thiel own? ›

Palantir Technologies is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 7.6%. With 7.0% and 4.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Peter Thiel and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Does the US government use Palantir? ›

In his missive to shareholders, Karp noted also that of $1.3 billion of government contracts Palantir signed during the third quarter, $987 million were with the U.S. government.

What does Palantir do for the US government? ›

Secretive though it may be, Palantir has been clear about one major pivot from its CIA roots: health care. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Palantir assisted with domestic and international vaccine rollout. It has partnered with the CDC, NIH, and FDA in the U.S., as well as England's NHS.

Will Palantir stock ever recover? ›

Investors holding Palantir shares need not worry about the company blowing up or running into solvency issues. However, there isn't a lot to suggest those lofty expectations of early 2021 will return anytime soon.

Is libertarian socialism left or right? ›

Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing, anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarian political philosophy within the socialist movement which rejects the state's control of the economy under state socialism.

What do libertarians think about gun control? ›

This article contends that handgun controls would give the police and military a monopoly on arms, deprive minority groups of a needed means of protection, and fail to reduce violent crime.

What is the opposite of libertarian? ›

Bottom left – Statism. The opposite of libertarianism, corresponding with those supporting low economic and personal freedom.

What is Bill Gates IQ? ›

Bill Gates IQ was set at 160 IQ, which put him ahead of Warren Buffet and Elon Musk in the most recent rankings.

What is Kim Kardashian IQ? ›

Kim Kardashian IQ is estimated to be 190. Although some people are known to have IQs above 200, the theoretical maximum IQ in the world is 200. This IQ demonstrates that Kim is among the smartest people in the world. With a $1 billion net worth, Kim Kardashian is ranked 17th on the Forbes World Billionaires list.

What is Jeff Bezos IQ? ›

Jeff Bezos' IQ has never been confirmed publicly but is considered to likely be over 150.

What does Elon Musk drive? ›

Tesla Model S Performance

The range can be increased to 539 km if you choose the Long Range model. Elon Musk has confessed that his Tesla Model S is the car he drives the most.

Does Elon Musk own eBay? ›

X.com merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002. With $175.8 million, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, a spaceflight services company.
...
Elon Musk.
Elon Musk FRS
BornElon Reeve Musk June 28, 1971 Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)
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Where does Elon Musk's money come from? ›

Elon Musk is arguably the most high-profile billionaire on the planet. Not only does he boast a net worth larger than those of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, but Mr Musk also owns famous businesses like electric car company Tesla, space exploration business SpaceX - and now, social media platform Twitter.

Who is Elon Musk's right hand person? ›

For Musk, it is his secretive right-hand person, Jared Birchall, who is also the CEO of Neuralink. For Elon Musk, Birchall seems to be the most reliable person because he trusts him with his vast wealth.

What did Biden say about Elon? ›

Biden said, “Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at.

What banks are supporting Musk? ›

Morgan Stanley took the lead and organized a syndicate of banks—including Bank of America and Barclays—that committed to lending Musk $13 billion.

What government owns Bitcoin? ›

Around 8% of all the Bitcoin in the world is owned by governments and companies. That's about 1.6 million BTC, which is worth roughly 45.8 billion dollars. Bulgaria is the country that holds the highest number of BTC, 213,519 Bitcoin, valued at around 6.27 billion dollars.

Who is the owner of 1 million Bitcoin? ›

How Much Is Satoshi Nakamoto Worth? Nakamoto reportedly holds 1 million bitcoins. The total value depends upon market conditions and Bitcoin's price.

How much Bitcoin is left to mine? ›

The maximum number of bitcoins that can ever exist is 21 million, and as of March 2023, over 19 million bitcoins have already been mined. This means that there are only around 2 million bitcoins left to be mined, and once that limit is reached, no more bitcoins will be created.

Who owns the most land in the US? ›

1. EMMERSON FAMILY. The nation's largest private landowners, California's Emmerson family, are a prime example of this trend. Through their Sierra Pacific Industries, the Emmersons increased their landholdings by more than 100 square miles to over 2.4 million acres.

Who owns the most land in the world? ›

1. The Family Of Queen Elizabeth II Of Great Britain. Although recently deceased, the Queen's royal family will inherit the leadership, which makes them the technical owners of the country. The total size of the British Commonwealth is an astounding 6.75 Billion acres.

Who is the real creator of Bitcoin? ›

Key Takeaways. Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym used by the creator or creators of Bitcoin. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is not publicly known. One of the first major public investigations ended with Dorian Nakamoto being identified as Bitcoin's creator, but he continues to decline the claim.

How much Bitcoin does US government own? ›

The US government now owns over 214,000 bitcoin (BTC), accounting for more than 1% of the total capped bitcoin supply.
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Recently added.
NamePrice
AGIXAGIX$0.3080 -5.73%
CANTOCANTO$0.2706 -1.47%
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Dec 14, 2022

What happens when Bitcoin runs out? ›

Bitcoin mining fees will disappear when the Bitcoin supply reaches 21 million. After that, miners will likely earn income only from transaction processing fees rather than a combination of block rewards and transaction fees.

How many people have 1 Bitcoin? ›

A share of Bitcoin is owned by about 46 million Americans, or about 22% of the adult population. On Blockchain com, which enables buying Bitcoin, about 85 million people had made individual Bitcoin wallets as of November 2022.
...
Recently added.
NamePrice
CANTOCANTO$0.2879 +7.61%
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Nov 29, 2022

Who is the biggest crypto market maker in the world? ›

Amid the surge in crypto prices, Wintermute made $582 million in profits in 2021 as revenues surged from just $40.4 million in 2020 to $818.5 million. Wintermute has emerged to be a leading global algorithmic market maker in the crypto space.

Who is the most famous crypto investor? ›

  • Barry Silbert.
  • Michael Saylor.
  • Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
  • Elon Musk.
  • Michael Novogratz.

Who makes the most money off crypto? ›

Let us meet some of the most successful crypto billionaires in the following list.
  • Changpeng Zhao. ...
  • Sam Bankman-Fried. ...
  • Brian Armstrong. ...
  • Gary Wang. ...
  • Chris Larsen. ...
  • Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. ...
  • Song Chi-Hyung. ...
  • Barry Silbert.
Oct 18, 2022

Are Peter Thiel and Elon Musk friends? ›

Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have known each other for decades, all the way back to when they combined their respective online banking companies, Paypal and X, in 2002. Since then, their relationship has seen plenty of ups and downs and their networths have grown by billions of dollars.

Why didnt Buffett invest in technical? ›

Over the years, Buffett has at times expressed a reluctance to invest in tech stocks, considering the industry to be outside his circle of maximum competence as an investor.

Who owns the most Palantir stock? ›

Vanguard Group, Inc.

Who are Palantir biggest customers? ›

Palantir Metropolis is used by hedge funds, banks, and financial services firms. Palantir Foundry clients include Merck KGaA, Airbus and Ferrari.

What companies has Palantir invested in? ›

Palantir invested $41 million in Lilium and Lilium signed a five-year contract that paid Palantir $50 million. In another deal, online grocery-delivery company Boxed Inc. received $20 million and signed a five-year, $20 million contract.

What side of the political spectrum is conservative? ›

Right-wing parties include conservatives, Christian democrats, classical liberals, and nationalists, as well as fascists on the far-right.

What are some of the reasons why Peter Thiel believes that everyone should not go to college? ›

In the 30 years since Thiel was a freshman, college has become a much more expensive place to find oneself. "For some people, it's still worth it," he says. "But a lot of graduates can't get good jobs; they're saddled with debt and moving back home with their parents.

Who coined the term libertarian? ›

The use of the term libertarian to describe a new set of political positions has been traced to the French cognate libertaire, coined in a letter French libertarian communist Joseph Déjacque wrote to mutualist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in 1857.

What do liberals stand for? ›

Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various views depending on their understanding of these principles.

Is liberal Conservative left or right? ›

Liberalism can mean different things in different contexts, being sometimes on the left (social liberalism) and other times on the right (conservative liberalism or classical liberalism). Those with an intermediate outlook are sometimes classified as centrists.

What does the left mean in politics? ›

Ideological groupings

Generally, the left wing is characterized by an emphasis on "ideas such as freedom, equality, fraternity, rights, progress, reform and internationalism" while the right wing is characterized by an emphasis on "notions such as authority, hierarchy, order, duty, tradition, reaction and nationalism".

What is the acceptance rate for Thiel Fellowship? ›

The Thiel Fellowship is extremely competitive. Its acceptance rate is a mere 0.1% (compared to Harvard's 4%, Yale's 5.3%, and Stanford's 3.9%).

Is Thiel Fellowship worth it? ›

Answer: The Thiel Fellowship is meant for young entrepreneurial people who want to create something new. The fellowship is for two-year and is worth a $100,000 grant.

How much money does Peter Thiel have? ›

What does Warren Buffet think of cryptocurrency? ›

The billionaire investor doesn't like Bitcoin because he considers it an unproductive asset. Buffett has a well-known preference for stocks of corporations whose value — and cash flow — come from producing things. But cryptocurrencies don't have real value, Buffett said in a CNBC interview in 2020.

Do libertarians believe in socialism? ›

Libertarian socialism rejects the concept of a state. It asserts that a society based on freedom and justice can only be achieved with the abolition of authoritarian institutions that control specific means of production and subordinate the majority to an owning class or political and economic elite.

What is opposite of libertarian? ›

Bottom left – Statism. The opposite of libertarianism, corresponding with those supporting low economic and personal freedom.

What percentage of libertarians vote Republican? ›

Presidential candidate performance
Party%
Othersnil
Majority23.2
Total votes100%
Republican hold
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