🔥 Hot Topics & Stances

Funding of Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker

"Secretly funded the lawsuit that ultimately bankrupted the media outlet Gawker. Thiel stated it was "specific deterrence" against a publication that had outed him as gay in 2007."

Source: The New York Times

Palantir's Surveillance Technology

"Palantir, which he chairs, is a major contractor for the CIA, NSA, and ICE. Its data-mining software is highly controversial among privacy and civil liberties advocates."

Source: The Intercept

Political Patronage of the "New Right"

"A highly influential donor who uses his wealth to back nationalist and populist Republican candidates, including Blake Masters and J.D. Vance."

Source: FEC Records

Views on Democracy

"Famously wrote in an essay, "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible," a statement that has been central to analysis of his political philosophy."

Source: Cato Unbound

Life Extension and Radical Science

"Has invested in and expressed significant interest in anti-aging research and life-extension technologies through organizations like the Methuselah Foundation."

Source: Vanity Fair

💼 Career Highlights

  • 1998: Co-founded PayPal and served as its CEO, leading to its $1.5 billion sale to eBay in 2002.
  • 2003: Co-founded Palantir Technologies, a secretive data analytics firm with deep government ties.
  • 2004: Became the first outside investor in Facebook with a $500,000 investment that became worth billions.
  • 2005: Co-founded Founders Fund, a venture capital firm that invested in companies like SpaceX and Airbnb.
  • 2016: Became one of the few Silicon Valley figures to publicly endorse and support Donald Trump's presidential campaign.