Peter Andreas Thiel

Entrepreneur • Venture Capitalist • Political Activist

Born: October 11, 1967 (Frankfurt, Germany) • Net Worth: $20.5B (2025)

Deep Dive PDF

Education

  • Stanford University - BA Philosophy (1989), JD Law (1992)
  • Founded The Stanford Review (1987)
  • Chess prodigy: Life Master (2,342 rating)

Career Highlights

  • Co-founded PayPal (1998), sold to eBay for $1.5B (2002)
  • Founded Palantir (2003), big data analytics firm
  • First outside investor in Facebook (2004), $500K for 10.2% stake
  • Co-founded Founders Fund (2005)
  • Created Thiel Fellowship (2010)

Controversies

  • Linked to Neoreactionary (NRx) movement
  • Criticized diversity as a "distraction" (2023)
  • Apologized for 1990s comments on race and rape
  • Funded events accused of promoting scientific racism
  • Major donor to 2022 elections ($20.4M)

Political Views

  • Shifted to National Conservatism
  • Criticizes Google, China, and U.S. universities
  • Supports anti-DEI initiatives
  • Claims to have "lost interest in democracy" (2023)
  • Funded Seasteading Institute

Key Relationships

  • Elon Musk: PayPal rivalry, $20M SpaceX investment (2008)
  • Donald Trump: Major donor, network in Trump admin
  • JD Vance: Close ally, urged Thiel to fund Trump’s 2024 campaign
  • Curtis Yarvin: NRx figure, funded Urbit
  • Patri Friedman: Funded Seasteading Institute

Investments

  • Facebook: $500K for 10.2% stake (2004), sold for $1B+
  • SpaceX: $20M investment (2008)
  • Palantir: Government contracts
  • Founders Fund: Backed Airbnb, Spotify, Stripe
  • Valar Ventures: Focused on fintech startups
Deep Dive PDF

Sources: 8 verified public records • Data current as of 2025 Q1 • Optimized for single-page printing