Peter Thiel

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[[File:Peter Thiel (2014).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Thiel in 2014]]
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{{cquote|I'd rather be seen as [[evil]] than incompetent.|||Thiel<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|154}}}}
{{cquote|Thiel is a menace to society, and proud of it.|||Pete Shanks<ref>[https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/biopolitical-times/remarkable-ambitions-peter-thiel The Remarkable Ambitions of Peter Thiel] by Pete Shanks(02.23.2022) ''The Center for Genetics and Society''.</ref>}}
'''Peter Andreas Thiel''' {{lived|1967}} is an American billionaire, dark money ATM,<ref>[https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/02/peter-thiel-tied-dark-money-group-helping-bankroll-super-pac-spending-on-2022-election/ Peter Thiel-tied dark money group helping bankroll super PAC spending on 2022 election] by Anna Massoglia (February 22, 2022 1:53 pm) ''Open Secrets''.</ref> the Moriarty to RationalWiki's Sherlock,{{nofact}} and a quintessential example of the dangers of capitalism. He is a citizen of [[Germany]] (by birth), the [[United States]] (by naturalization), and [[New Zealand]] (by [[Money|moolah]]), though there is suspicion about the circumstances under which Thiel became a New Zealand citizen.<ref name="kiwipocalypse">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/15/why-silicon-valley-billionaires-are-prepping-for-the-apocalypse-in-new-zealand|title=Why Silicon Valley billionaires are prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand|last=O'Connell|first=Mark|date=February 15, 2018|publisher=''The Guardian''}}</ref> Strangely enough, New Zealand is thought of as a good place for billionaires to hide out until the coming apocalypse blows over.<ref name="kiwipocalypse"/> Thiel is a hedge fund manager and venture capitalist. He was a co-founder of PayPal and later used the proceeds from the sale of PayPal to make early investments in companies such as [[Facebook]], where he made most of his fortune. His wealth derives mainly from a small number of such gambits and is thus likely based on luck, not competence.{{nofact}} 

Thiel has gained significant publicity from being a [[Homosexuality|gay man]] who openly supports [[GOP|Republican]] politicians (often with stacks of cash money, much of which he gained through tax dodging<ref name=elliott/>), including [[Homophobia|anti-gay]] Vice President [[Mike Pence]]. He has also gained ire in the [[media]] for funding multiple lawsuits against {{wpl|Gawker}} and its subsidiaries, leading to Gawker's bankruptcy.<ref>[http://gawker.com/how-the-gawker-media-bankruptcy-will-work-1782289841 How the Gawker Media Bankruptcy Will Work] by Jonathan Guilford (06/21/16 09:45AM)'' ''Gawker''.</ref> Thiel's fortune has gone to a variety of causes; he has donated to many libertarian and transhumanist projects via his foundation. He has also made investments into conservative pet projects like Rumble (an alternative to YouTube),  [[Candace Owens]]' "anti-woke bank", etc. He and his foundation have made donations to more liberal projects on rare occasions, especially for gay rights and [[marijuana]] legalization. Additionally, he has funded or had links to [[neoreactionary]] entities.

==Companies==
===PayPal===
Thiel made his first large investment by co-founding PayPal in 1999, giving the company $500,000 and taking partial control over its [[business]] decisions. His original goal was to promote PayPal primarily as an online currency exchange,<ref>Jackson, Eric M. (2004). ''The PayPal Wars.'' pp. 321–327.</ref> but its secondary purpose of processing credit cards and wire transfers for eBay was far more popular and, most importantly, more profitable.<ref group=note>Processing credit cards in the United States yields up to a 3% fee, versus a 1% fee or less for currency exchanges and wire transfers.</ref>

Thiel's half-million dollar investment in PayPal grew to $55 million after PayPal's IPO in 2002.<ref>[http://www.secinfo.com/dr6nd.33fd.htm Ebay Inc – ‘S-4’ on 8/6/02]</ref> To date, this is Thiel's highest-yielding investment as an annual percentage.

Paypal was a libertarian's wet dream come true. In 1999, he purchased 1.7 million "founder's shares" of Paypal at $0.001/share using $1700 that he put in a tax-free Roth IRA specifically for that purpose. The shares were worth $5 billion as of 2021, which he will be able to use completely tax free after he turns 60 in 2027.<ref name=elliott>[https://www.propublica.org/article/lord-of-the-roths-how-tech-mogul-peter-thiel-turned-a-retirement-account-for-the-middle-class-into-a-5-billion-dollar-tax-free-piggy-bank 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] by Justin Elliott, Patricia Callahan and James Bandler (June 24, 2021, 5 a.m. EDT) ''ProPublica''.</ref>

===Clarium Capital===
Thiel used the capital gains from his sale of PayPal stock to create Clarium Capital in 2002, a hedge fund that charges large "performance fees" for gains in place of a flat maintenance fee.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/item_bMnscEzYb8bTpTRLMoZsgI "Thiel’s Hedge Fund Plummet". ''The New York Post''.]</ref> The fund made its primary gains by betting on [[oil]] price spikes in the mid-2000s.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125409165677744755.html "Pessimism Exacts a Price on the Skeptics". ''Wall Street Journal''.]</ref>

In 2008, Thiel used [[Praxeology|the Austrian school of economic reasoning]] to predict the following:
# Low interest rates would increase the [[money supply]], thereby causing [[inflation]] and price spikes for oil, natural gas, and [[gold]].
# The S&P 500 index would plummet due to high inflation, an [[energy crisis]], and the election of [[Democratic Party|any non-libertarian President]].
# [[Barack Obama]] would somehow make doing business in the United States impossible.
# U.S. government bonds would lose value, and the Federal government would struggle to pay [[Jimmy Carter|Carter-era]] bond yields of 20% or more.

The opposite happened:
# Low interest rates caused lending rates to plummet, but inflation remained subdued thanks to the majority of consumers depositing excess money in savings accounts. Banks would send excess money to the [[Federal Reserve]], in effect giving the money the Federal Reserve "printed" back to the Federal Reserve.
# A sudden slump in demand for oil due to the [[Great Recession|2008 Financial Crisis]] caused global oil prices to fall from a high of over $140 per barrel to a low of $28 per barrel. Low interest rates financed American natural gas operations, in particular [[hydraulic fracturing|fracking]], causing the price of natural gas to fall from a high of $14 per MMBTU to $2.
# Obama enacted an extremely business-friendly policy for the [[technology]] sector and part of the automotive sector. On a related note, Thiel's former PayPal associate [[Elon Musk]] took advantage of Obama's policies by introducing a luxury electric sports car.<ref group=note>[https://www.irs.gov/businesses/plug-in-electric-vehicle-credit-irc-30-and-irc-30d IRC 30D allows Tesla owners to claim a one-time $7,500 tax credit for buying an electric vehicle.] While commendable, the credit would have phased out faster if Musk had founded a marque for an established automobile company, since the credit only applies to the first 200,000 vehicles sold by a company including all of its marques. The tax credit would phase out faster from sales of the Nissan Leaf, Ford Fusion Energi, or Chevrolet Volt if Musk had partnered with Nissan, Ford, or GM, respectively.</ref>
# Excess savings deposited into banks that were not sent back to the Federal Reserve were used to buy U.S. government bonds. This caused yields to fall to historic lows. As of 2017, the highest yielding Federal bond as of 2017 pays only 3% interest.

Thiel's fund lost over 90% of its value in 18 months.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150212031003/https://gawker.com/5310398/the-quick-gutting-of-peter-thiels-clarium-capital "The Quick Gutting of Peter Thiel's Clarium Capital"] - Ryan Tate (July 8<sup>th</sup>, 2009).  ''Gawker''. Archived.</ref>

===Palantir Technologies===
Founded in 2004, Palantir Technologies is a private software firm that specializes in writing custom software to analyze large sets of data. Its largest sources of revenue include the [[CIA]],<ref name="EpsteinNYT"/> the [[Department of Homeland Security]], the [[National Security Agency]], and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] as customers.<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/11/leaked-palantir-doc-reveals-uses-specific-functions-and-key-clients/ "Leaked Palantir Doc Reveals Uses, Specific Functions And Key Clients".] TechCrunch.</ref> Palantir was sued by the U.S. Department of Labor in September 2016 for systematic hiring discrimination against Asian job applicants.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/palantir-sued-over-alleged-hiring-discrimination-1474928585 Palantir Sued Over Alleged Hiring Discrimination: Labor Department says data-mining firm has shown bias against Asian job applicants since at least 2010] by Tim Higgins (Updated Sept. 27, 2016 1:09 a.m. ET) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>

Palantir has been used by [[ICE]] to determine who to arrest, and some of the largest immigration raids in US history have been determined by Palantir data.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/palantir-directly-powers-ice-workplace-raids-emails-show/|title=Data Company Directly Powers Immigration Raids in Workplace|last=Joseph|first=George|date=July 16, 2019|publisher=WNYC}}</ref> Predictably, this has ended up causing some major fuck-ups, as, in one incident, ICE used the data provided by Palantir to round up thousands of American citizens during their Bronx [[gang]] raid.<ref name="bronxraid">{{cite web|url=https://theappeal.org/raided-part-2-documentary-bronx-gang-raid/|title=New Documentary Reveals Silicon Valley’s Role in Notorious Bronx Gang Raid|last=Davis-Cohen|first=Simon|date=May 21, 2020|publisher=''The Appeal''}}</ref> [[Ironically]], less than half of those arrested in the raid were prosecuted as belonging to a gang.<ref name="bronxraid"/>

The co-founder and CEO, {{wpl|Alex Karp||,}} {{lived|1967}} is unabashedly pro-[[war]] and publicly engages in [[Newspeak]] against [[peace]] activists: "The peace activists are war activists. We are the peace activists."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/17/ai-weapons-palantir-war-technology ‘I’m the new Oppenheimer!’: my soul-destroying day at Palantir’s first-ever AI warfare conference] by Caroline Haskins (17 May 2024 10.00 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Karp and Thiel make for odd bedfellows given Thiel's support for racism and racialism, and the fact that Karp's mother is [[African American]]. Thiel and Karp are purportedly "ideological opposites" but seem to agree on Palantir's unrestrained use of massive espionage. Karp donated $1 million to Trump's second inauguration/slush fund. Despite claiming to be [[Antifa|anti-fascist]] Karp practices [[wilful ignorance]] of Trump's own fascism.<ref name=rose>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/18/fear-really-drives-him-is-alex-karp-of-palantir-the-worlds-scariest-ceo ‘Fear really drives him’: is Alex Karp of Palantir the world’s scariest CEO? His company is potentially creating the ultimate state surveillance tool, and Karp has recently been on a striking political and philosophical journey. His biographer reveals what makes him tick] by Steve Rose (18 Nov 2025 05.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref> Karp's biographer has described him as [[paranoid]] ("Fear is something that really drives him"),<ref name=rose/><ref>''The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State'' by Michael Steinberger (2025) Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1668012952.</ref> but which billionaire isn't?

Palantir has supported both [[Israel]]'s [[genocidal]] retaliation against [[Hamas]]' invasion of [[Gaza]], and [[Ukraine]]'s self-defense against [[Russia]]'s genocidal invasion of Ukraine;<ref name=rose/> Palantir is a company that is quintessentially amoral.

==="Anti-woke" startup escapades===
Thiel is a noted venture capitalist in Silicon Valley; after Thiel's PayPal success, in 2005, Thiel set up a venture capital firm called {{wpl|Founders Fund||,}} which has gone on to help fund many startups. Although most of his venture capital activity is beyond the scope of RationalWiki, in the 2020s, Thiel curiously began to divert some of his funding to several projects whose main distinguishing philosophy was being "anti-[[woke]]". Thiel even stepped down from the board of [[Facebook]] in mid-2022 because, in his opinion, the company was too "woke" for his tastes.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/19/peter-thiel-facebook-new-right/ "Peter Thiel helped build big tech. Now he wants to tear it all down."] by Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post, 2022 June 19</ref>

The resulting "anti-woke" startups have often not exactly been success stories.

====The Right Stuff====
In February 2022, Thiel injected $1.5 million into a seed round for a new dating app targeting "anti-[[woke]]" conservatives, and headed by former [[Donald Trump]] advisor {{wpl|John McEntee (political aide)|John McEntee|.}}<ref>[https://www.axios.com/2022/02/15/peter-thiel-conservative-dating-app-the-rightstuff "Peter Thiel backs conservative dating app The Right Stuff"] by Sara Fischer, Axios, 2022 February 2022</ref> The new app was named "The Right Stuff", despite this name already being used by an {{wpl|The Right Stuff (dating web site)|existing niche dating site}} targeting top-tier university and medical school graduates, as well as a [[The Right Stuff|rather racist blog]]. It is perhaps the only dating application that thinks that the type of profile questions that will spark a romantic relationship are topics like the [[2021 U.S. coup attempt]], your "favorite liberal lie", and your "favorite conservative pundit".<ref>[https://gizmodo.com/the-right-stuff-asks-for-details-about-january-6th-1849620087 "Right Wing Dating App Prompts Users to Share Details About January 6th"] by Lauren Leffer, Gizmodo, 2022 October 5</ref><ref>[https://www.dailydot.com/debug/the-right-stuff-conservative-dating-app/ "‘Jan. 6 was…’: Peter Thiel-backed conservative dating app prompts are exactly what you’d expect"] by Claire Goforth, Daily Dot, 2022 September 30</ref><ref>[https://www.bustle.com/life/i-tried-the-right-stuff-conservative-dating-app "I Tried The Right Stuff, The Conservative Dating App"] by Ginny Hogan, Bustle, 2022 October 10</ref> Naturally (but, considering Thiel's orientation, [[ironically]]), at the time of the launch, only straight people were allowed.<ref>[https://www.them.us/story/gay-billionaire-peter-thiel-is-backing-straights-only-anti-woke-dating-app-the-right-stuff "Gay Billionaire Peter Thiel Is Backing a Straights Only Anti-Woke Dating App" by James Factora, Them, 2022 August 16]</ref> 

After launching in September, early reports indicate relatively low usage (especially by women), in part due to its intense invite-only verification process intended to keep trolls away,<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/peter-thiels-conservative-dating-app-floundering-after-3-months "Peter Thiel’s Conservative Dating App Floundering After 3 Months"] by Noah Kirsch and Zachary Petrizzo, Daily Beast, 2022 December 28</ref> and perhaps also in part due to its strange focus on extremist outrage politics.<ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2022/10/the-right-stuff-dating-app-reviews/ "The Reviews For That Conservative Dating App Are In—and They’re Thrilling"] by Inae Oh, Mother Jones, 2022 October 6</ref>

====GloriFi====
Founded by energy investor {{wpl|Toby Neugebauer||,}} co-founded by [[Candace Owens]], and with the backing of Thiel and hedge-fund investor (and [[Reddit|r/wallstreetbets]] arch-nemesis)<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2021/02/04/963995484/ken-griffin-the-hedge-fund-titan-in-the-middle-of-the-reddit-investing-revolt "Ken Griffin: The Hedge Fund Titan In The Middle Of The Reddit Investing Revolt"] by Ryan Kailath, NPR, 2021 February 4</ref> {{wpl|Kenneth C. Griffin||,}} GloriFi aimed to be an "anti-woke" banking alternative for conservatives who think that Wall Street is somehow too liberal.<ref name="forbesglorifi">[https://www.forbes.com/sites/annrutledge/2022/11/25/how-fast-can-a-startup-non-bank-burn-50-mm/ "How Fast Can A Non-Bank Startup Burn $50 MM?"] by Ann Rutledge, Forbes, 2022 November 25</ref> In particular, GloriFi sought to differentiate themselves from many big banks who in recent years pledged token support for [[Socially responsible investing|environmental, social, and governance (ESG)]] principles in their business.<ref name="wsjantiwoke">[https://www.wsj.com/articles/glorifi-how-new-anti-woke-bank-stumbled-11665174704?mod=djemalertNEWS "How a New Anti-Woke Bank Stumbled"] by Rachel Louise Ensign, Peter Rudgeair, and AnnaMaria Andriotis, Wall Street Journal, 2022 October 10</ref> The result was a disaster. Launching in September 2022, the bank shut down in November 2022, having burned through $50 million dollars of capital.<ref name="forbesglorifi"/><ref>[https://www.chron.com/business/article/candace-owens-glorifi-startup-17601803.php "Anti-woke' Texas banking startup GloriFi folds like a lawn chair"] by Michael Murney, Houston Chronicle, 2022 November 21</ref> Reportedly much of the blame for the collapse fell squarely on Neugebauer, who ran the startup from his home, engaged in volatile behavior and frequent bouts of drunkenness, and was more concerned with impractical conservative virtue signaling style marketing than the actual business of running a bank.<ref name="wsjantiwoke"/><ref name="forbesglorifi"/>

====Strive Asset Management====
GloriFi failure aside, in 2022, Thiel was just one of many conservatives pushing back against ESG investing and other sorts of corporate issues that trigger [[Republicans]]. These "triggers", such as [[Renewable energy|wind and solar energy]], diversity training, and reimbursing travel for [[abortion]] care, typically were labeled with the all-purpose 2020s conservative [[snarl word]] "woke", even though many of these topics have been Republican ''bête noires'' for some considerable time. (It is no surprise that the usual suspects such as [[ALEC]] and the [[Heritage Foundation]] have also played a large part in orchestrating these "anti-woke capitalism" campaigns.)<ref>[https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/esg/605184/the-esg-investing-backlash "The ESG Investing Backlash"] by Ellen Kennedy, Kiplinger, 2022 September 6</ref> 

In spring 2022, Thiel backed a startup called ''Strive Asset Management'', headed by former biopharmaceutical CEO (and perpetual complainer about supposed "woke capitalism") [[Vivek Ramaswamy]]. The fund claimed to eschew "short-sighted political agendas that have caused companies to underinvest in American oil, natural gas and other promising forms of energy", and "focus on profits over politics".<ref>[https://financialadvisoriq.com/c/3710744/475634/peter_thiel_backed_startup_rolls_profits_over_politics "Peter Thiel-Backed Startup Rolls Out ‘Profits Over Politics’ ETF"], Financial Advisor IQ, 2022 August 15</ref> 

Unsurprisingly, the fund is hardly "non-political", as the creation of the fund aligned with [[Republican]] efforts to divest state pension funds from major investment firms that had "woke" policies (such as, say, actually being a touch concerned about potential long term risks like [[climate change]]).<ref>[https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/republicans-prepare-to-ramp-up-their-anti-esg-campaign-in-2023 "Republicans Prepare to Ramp Up Their Anti-ESG Campaign in 2023"] by Saijel Kishan and Danielle Moran, Bloomberg News, 2022 December 29</ref> One commentator described the setup as "grift capitalism", as the overall effort was a scheme designed to shift state pension funds from well established passive investing firms like {{wpl|The Vanguard Group|Vanguard}} and {{wpl|BlackRock}} into untested entities over-focused on being "anti-woke", with potential excess exposure to fossil fuels.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/2022/07/05/grift-capitalism-the-gops-brilliant-strategy-for-ripping-off-ordinary-americans/ "Grift Capitalism: The GOP’s Brilliant Strategy For Ripping Off Ordinary Americans"] by Robert G. Eccles, Forbes, 2022 July 5</ref> The ''[[Economist]]'' also noted that these "anti-woke" funds, which tend to be more occupied with bashing ESG-promoting firms than prioritizing shareholder returns and cutting costs, are considerably more expensive investment vehicles to own. For instance, Strive's most popular "anti-woke" energy ETF (DRLL) charged 4 times the yearly fees on assets compared to the largest standard energy ETF (XLE).<ref>[https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/03/02/the-anti-esg-industry-is-taking-investors-for-a-ride "The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride"], The Economist, 2023 March 2nd</ref> Of course, Strive also initiated corporate board campaigns attempting to steer away oil firms away from any emissions reduction mandates.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/investors-ramp-up-pressure-big-oil-firms-set-2030-climate-targets-2022-12-19/ "Investors ramp up pressure on Big Oil firms to set 2030 climate targets"] by Ron Bousso and Sabrina Valle, Reuters, 2022 December 18</ref>

==Dalliances with the alt-right==
{{main|Alt-right}}
{{cquote|[[Milo Yiannopoulos]]: Peter needs guidance on politics for sure.<BR>
[[Curtis Yarvin]]: Less than you might think! I watched [[2016 U.S. presidential election|the election]] at his house … He's fully [[Dark Enlightenment|enlightened]], just [[Crypto-politics|plays it very carefully]].<BR>|||Leaked email exchange<ref name="ReasonWait">Brian Doherty (September 2020). [https://reason.com/2020/08/02/wait-wasnt-peter-thiel-a-libertarian/ "Wait, Wasn't Peter Thiel a Libertarian?"]. ''Reason''.</ref><ref>Joseph Bernstein (October 5, 2017). [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/heres-how-breitbart-and-milo-smuggled-white-nationalism "Here's How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled White Nationalism Into The Mainstream"]. ''BuzzFeed News''.</ref>}}
In a sense, Thiel's affair with alt-right thought predates its existence and goes back to his childhood in what was then called South West Africa (now Namibia) when Thiel was a child. Thiel's [[engineer]] father worked for a [[uranium]] mine there while Thiel attended school there for two and a half years.<ref name=chafkin>''The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power'' by Max Chafkin (2021) Penguin Press. ISBN 1984878530.</ref>{{rp|5-6}} At the time, South West Africa was administered by [[Apartheid]]-era [[South Africa]], which no longer had a [[United Nations]] mandate to do so, hence mineral extraction was effectively illegal.<ref>{{wpa|South West Africa}}</ref> This is not particularly damning for Thiel, since he was a juvenile at that time, except that when he attended Stanford University, he defended Apartheid on at least two occasions, including on one occasion telling an [[African American]] student that denial of civil rights to black Africans in South Africa was 'economically sound'.<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|18-19}}

Although Thiel may have occasionally expressed disdain for the alt-right ("he thought they were losers"<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|203}}), it hasn't stopped him from funding and associating with them. Thiel has funded:
*alt-right activist {{wpl|Charles C. Johnson}} (between $100,000 and $200,000),<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|202}} Thiel has also funded Johnson's company, Traitwell.<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|333}}
*Tlon, failed project, run by his longtime friend and founder of the [[neoreactionary movement]] Curtis Yarvin ("Mencius Moldbug").<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|247,320}}
*He wrote an anti-[[DEI]] blurb for a 2025 [[racialist]] book.<ref>[https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/27/trumps-war-on-woke-and-dei-incubated-by-a-nazi-eugenics-foundation/ Trump’s War on ‘Woke’ and DEI: Incubated by a Nazi Eugenics Foundation] by Nafeez Ahmed (27 February 2025) ''Byline Times''.</ref>

Thiel has also associated himself with [[VDARE]] and [[Kevin DeAnna]], founder of the [[white nationalist]] organization {{wpl|Youth for Western Civilization||.}}<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|203}} {{wpl|Jeff Giesea||,}} Thiel's longtime collaborator, has also funded alt-right endeavors.<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|255,278}} Thiel's connection to the [[Trump]] White House went entirely through [[Steve Bannon]], ending after Bannon left the White House following the [[Unite the Right]] riot.<ref name=chafkin/>{{rp|271-272}}

In the [[2022 midterm elections|2022 midterms]], Thiel notably spent $32.5 million in two Senate campaigns, split between [[J. D. Vance]] in [[Ohio]], and {{wpl|Blake Masters}} in Arizona (the latter of whom once was Chief Operating Officer at Thiel Capital and thus closely aligned with Thiel's vision).<ref>Kelly Kauffman (March 1, 2023). [https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/03/guardian-angel-donors-poured-more-than-440-9-million-into-73-federal-super-pacs-during-2022-cycle/ "'Guardian angel' donors poured more than $440.9 million into 73 federal super PACs during 2022 cycle"]. ''Open Secrets News''.</ref> Results were mixed: Vance won, and Masters lost,<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/12/midterm-results-peter-thiel-picks-masters-vance-see-mixed-results-in-arizona-ohio.html "Peter Thiel’s picks Masters, Vance split key Senate races in Arizona, Ohio after billionaire spent $32 million on 2022 midterms"] by Brian Schwartz, CNBC, 2022 November 12</ref> but in both cases the data showed that both candidates under-performed their expected result. This suggested that both candidates suffered from a "candidate quality problem" (as [[Mitch McConnell]] alluded to in August 2022), where their extremist views repelled voters.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/16/23458896/republicans-senate-candidate-quality-trump "The GOP had terrible Senate candidates and it really did sink them"] by Andrew Prokop, Vox, 2022 November 16</ref>

Naturally, Thiel's reaction to both the mixed results of his hand-picked candidates, and the overall lackluster performance of the GOP (despite many favorable fundamentals) in the 2022 midterms, was not to blame extremist candidates pushed by people like himself, but to blame McConnell and "diversity" in the GOP.<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3775685-peter-thiel-calls-midterms-not-merely-disastrous-but-also-depressing-for-gop/ "Peter Thiel calls midterms ‘not merely disastrous but also depressing’ for GOP"] by Julia Mueller, Hill, 2022 December 14</ref>

===''Thielsphere''===
[[File:The Devil's Darling Met DP884501.jpg|thumb|upright|Thiel tutoring baby 
Napoleon
 Trump for their dictatorial takeover.]]
Thiel has built a sphere of influence across the political/scientific landscape that rivals the one built by the [[Koch brothers]]. There is even some overlap, with the Thiel Foundation granting at least $250,000 to the highly Koch-linked {{wpl|Mercatus Center||,}}<ref name="ThielFoundation990PF2021">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/202213199349109531/full The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2021]. ''ProPublica''.</ref> which is located at [[George Mason University]]. Entities backed by Thiel money are often right-wing (anywhere from libertarian to neoreactionary), or can at least be expected to be syncretic in some way. Others are of a [[transhumanist]] or [[futurist]] bent.

Thiel Fellowships, which are granted to "bright minds" who agree to drop out of or take time off university, would initially seem to be one possible exception, although it may be an extension of Thiel's apparent wish to get young people away from academia, which may be due to a perception that [[Political beliefs of academics|academia is too left-wing]]). The Thiel Fellowships have been called blatently [[anti-intellectualism|anti-intellectual]].<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/peter-thiels-argument-that-silicon-valley-has-been-brainwashed-by-higher-education-is-tired/ Peter Thiel’s argument that Silicon Valley has been ‘brainwashed’ by higher education is tired] by Connie Loizos (9:46 AM PDT · September 18, 2018) ''Tech Crunch''.</ref>

Thiel has also been known to back a small handful of causes less associated with the right-wing, such as gay rights and marijuana legalization. Some of his projects' financial contributions are real head-scratchers — a Thiel associate seems to concur, and once stated: "We fund some weird stuff with the Thiel Foundation."<ref name="RedScarePogue"/> And others would appear to contradict Thiel's interests or beliefs, leaving one to only wonder.

Entities with confirmed significant involvement from Thiel, and/or notable amounts of funding from Thiel and/or his projects (non-exhaustively) include:
{{collist|3|
*The {{wpl|Acton Institute}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2017">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/201813189349101446/full "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2017"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2015">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/201632829349100203/full "Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2015"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/201443169349101309/full "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2013"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref>
*{{wpl|All Saints Anglican Church, Canberra}}{{efn|Bit of an odd one, especially since Thiel does not have Australian citizenship and the other wiki says this is a liberal church. But Thiel is a Christian.}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/>
*{{wpl|American Foundation for Equal Rights}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*The {{wpl|Ayn Rand Institute}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2013_12_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_201212 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2012"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/>
*[[Bilderberg Group|American Friends of Bilderberg]]<ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/>
*Cambridge University (has received at least three Thiel Foundation grants,<ref name="ThielFoundation2016">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/201713179349101526/full "Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2016"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2009">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2012_12_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_201112 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2009"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref> and reportedly there could be additional involvement<ref name="CambridgeNetwork"/>)
*[[Club for Growth]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/><ref>Dave Levinthal (August 20, 2012). [https://www.politico.com/story/2012/08/peter-thiel-gives-1m-to-club-for-growth-super-pac-079904 "Thiel gives tea party super PAC $1M"]. ''Politico''.</ref><ref>Theodore Schleifer (October 18, 2018). [https://www.vox.com/2018/10/18/17998468/peter-thiel-club-for-growth-republican-donation "Peter Thiel cut his largest check to the GOP since Trump’s 2016 win"]. ''Vox''.</ref>
*The {{wpl|Committee to Protect Journalists}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2009"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2008"/>
*[[Ann Coulter]] (a personal friend of Thiel's)<ref>Laura M. Holson (October 8, 2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140413012130/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/fashion/10coulter.html?pagewanted=all "Outflanked on Right, Coulter Seeks New Image"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>Alex Isenstadt (May 17, 2021). [https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/17/peter-thiel-senate-megadonor-488799 "Rise of a megadonor: Thiel makes a play for the Senate"]. ''Politico''.</ref>
*[[Ethereum]], sort of, via a Thiel Fellowship grant to its co-founder
*''[[Evie Magazine]]'''s "28" period-tracking app<ref name="TechCrunch28">Natasha Lomas (August 23, 2022). [https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/23/28-seed-thiel-capital/ "Cycle-focused femtech startup, 28, grabs backing from Thiel Capital"]. ''TechCrunch''.</ref>
*[[Facebook]] (''duh'')<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/156055/facebook-right-wing-company-part-one-million "Facebook Is a Right-Wing Company, Part One Million"] by Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 2019 December 18</ref>
*The [[Federalist Society]] (was president of their Stanford chapter,<ref>[https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=456 "Peter A. Thiel"]. ''Independent Institute''.</ref><ref name="WouldBeKingmaker">Ryan Mac and Lisa Lerer (February 14, 2022). [https://web.archive.org/web/20231225042226/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/technology/republican-trump-peter-thiel.html "The Right’s Would-Be Kingmaker"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref> also granted them at least $250,000 in 2008<ref name="ThielFoundation2008">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2009_08_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_200812 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2008"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref>)
*The {{wpl|Foresight Institute}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*Friends of Universidad Francisco Marroquin ("to support the Free Cities Institute")<ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/>
*GloriFi (anti-"woke" bank co-founded by [[Candace Owens]])<ref> Ryan Hogg (November 24, 2022). [https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-woke-bank-backed-peter-thiel-folds-after-three-months-2022-11 "GloriFi, an 'anti-woke' bank backed by Peter Thiel and Candace Owens, is folding just 3 months after it was set up"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref>
*The {{wpl|Hoover Institution}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2008"/>
*The {{wpl|Hudson Institute}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/>
*The {{wpl|Human Rights Foundation}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*[[Independent Institute]] (funded in 2010, was also a research fellow for them)<ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*[[LessWrong]] (as it's an extension of Yudkowsky's MIRI)
*Leverage Research Inc.<ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/>
*The Mercatus Center at [[George Mason University]]<ref name="ThielFoundation990PF2021"/>
*[[MetaMed]]<ref>[https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/03/01/peter-thiel-backed-metamed-launches-to-provide-you-with-an-on-demand-medical-research-team/ Peter Thiel-backed MetaMed thinks you should have your own on-demand medical research team]. thenextweb.com, 1 March 2013.</ref>
*The {{wpl|Methuselah Foundation}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2012_06_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_201012 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2010"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2009"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2008"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2007">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2008_12_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_200712 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2007"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref>
*New Venture Fund{{efn|This one is liberal according to InfluenceWatch,<ref>[https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-venture-fund/ "New Venture Fund (NVF) (Parent Organization: Arabella Advisors)"]. ''InfluenceWatch''.</ref> making it perhaps unusual that the Thiel Foundation granted it $3 million. There are many potential interpretations, one possibly being that Thiel has moved leftwards.}}<ref name="ThielFoundation990PF2021"/><ref name="NewVentureCNBC">Brian Schwartz (June 28, 2023). [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/28/peter-thiel-nonprofit-apparently-donated-to-left-leaning-group.html "Nonprofit funded by GOP donor Thiel apparently donated to left-leaning group, records show"]. ''CNBC''.</ref>
*[[James O'Keefe]]<ref>Steven Thrasher (September 22, 2009). [https://www.villagevoice.com/conservative-facebook-investor-funded-anti-acorn-videographer/ "Conservative Facebook Investor Funded Anti-ACORN Videographer"]. ''The Village Voice''.</ref>
*[[OpenAI]]<ref>Michael Liedtke (December 15, 2015). [https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/12/15/elon-musk-peter-thiel-reid-hoffman-others-back-1-billion-openai-research-center/ "Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, others back $1 billion OpenAI research center"]. ''The Mercury News'' (''The Associated Press'').</ref>
*Paypal (also ''duh'')
*{{wpl|The Pennsylvania State University}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/>
*[[Vivek Ramaswamy]]'s Strive Asset Management<ref>John Hyatt (August 21, 2023). [https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2023/08/21/how-vivek-ramaswamy-became-a-billionaire/ "How Vivek Ramaswamy Became A Billionaire"]. ''Forbes''.</ref>
*The Randolph Bourne Institute (which publishes ''{{wpl|Antiwar.com||'')}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/>
*Rumble (a conservative [[YouTube]] alternative)<ref>Rachyl Jones (September 22, 2022). [https://observer.com/2022/09/as-peter-thiel-backed-rumble-goes-public-heres-how-to-tell-the-right-wing-social-platforms-apart/ "As Peter Thiel-Backed Rumble Goes Public, Here's How to Tell the Right-Wing Social Platforms Apart"]. ''Observer''.</ref>
*The Salvatori Center and Leo Strauss Project at Claremont McKenna College,<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2008"/> and other grants to the college<ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*The {{wpl|San Francisco Foundation}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2020">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/202123199349109047/full "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2020"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2016"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203846597/201543099349100429/full "Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990PF - Full text of 'Full Filing' for fiscal year ending Dec. 2014"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref>
*[[Libertarian paradise|The Seasteading Institute]]<ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2012_12_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_201112 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2011"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*[[Aubrey de Grey|SENS Research Foundation]]<ref name="ThielFoundation2016"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*{{wpl|Singularity University}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*[[Elon Musk]]'s SpaceX<ref>Dorothy Cucci (December 2, 2022). [https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-elon-musk-relationship-contrarian-book-max-chafkin-2021-9 "Peter Thiel thinks Elon Musk is a 'fraud,' and 6 other unexpected details about the billionaires' love-hate relationship"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref><ref>Anthony Ha (August 6, 2008). [https://venturebeat.com/business/private-rocket-company-spacex-gets-20m-from-the-founders-fund/ "Private rocket company SpaceX gets $20M from The Founders Fund"]. ''VentureBeat''.</ref>
*Stanford University (also his alma mater)<ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/>
*{{wpl|Students for Liberty}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/>
*{{wpl|Students for Sensible Drug Policy}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/>
*The {{wpl|United States – New Zealand Council}}<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/>
*The UCSF Foundation<ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2009"/>
*The University of Chicago (itself and various organs of),<ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2013"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/> including their Leo Strauss Center<ref name="ThielFoundation2011"/>
*[[Eric Weinstein]] (one of Thiel's top lackeys; Weinstein coined the term "[[Intellectual Dark Web]]")
*[[Curtis Yarvin]] (a personal associate of Thiel's)
*[[Eliezer Yudkowsky]]'s Machine Intelligence Research Institute (formerly the Singularity Institute, or Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence)<ref name="ThielFoundation2015"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2014"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2012"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2010"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2009"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2007"/><ref name="ThielFoundation2006">[https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/203846597/2007_06_PF%2F20-3846597_990PF_200612 "The Thiel Foundation (EIN: 20-3846597) - Form 990 for period ending Dec. 2006"]. ''ProPublica''.</ref>
}}

Some of these groups were flagged in a 2013 paper as significant opponents to [[climate change]]-preventative action (period analyzed was 2003–2010).<ref name="Brulle2013">{{Cite journal |last=Brulle |first=Robert J. |date=2013-12-21 |title=Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations |url=https://drexel.edu/~/media/Files/now/pdfs/Institutionalizing%20Delay%20-%20Climatic%20Change.ashx|journal=Climatic Change |language=en |volume=122 |issue=4 |pages=681–694 |doi=10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7 |issn=1573-1480}}</ref> Among the ones listed above that were characterized this way were the Hudson Institute, the Mercatus Center, and the Hoover Institution.<ref name="Brulle2013"/> As he has evolved politically, he's also pulled his support from some of these groups.

Politicians (and PACs supportive of them) who have received significant monetary backing from Thiel:
{{collist|2|
*[[Greg Abbott]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup">[https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=peter+thiel&order=desc&sort=A Donor Lookup - Peter Thiel]. ''OpenSecrets''.</ref>
*[[Ted Cruz]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/><ref name="CruzWeedGay"/>
*[[Carly Fiorina]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
*[[Josh Hawley]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
*Kris Kobach<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/><ref>Daniel Reynolds (August 4, 2020). [https://www.out.com/politics/2020/8/04/peter-thiel-gay-billionaire-funding-anti-lgbtq-republican "Peter Thiel, Gay Billionaire, Is Funding This Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican"]. ''Out''.</ref>
*Blake Masters (close associate of Thiel's)<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/><ref>Harshawn Ratanpal (September 21, 2023). [https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/09/arizona-senate-race-heats-up-as-venture-capitalist-ben-masters-mulls-another-run/ "Arizona Senate race heats up as venture capitalist Blake Masters mulls another run"]. ''OpenSecrets''. Quote: "Peter Thiel contributed $20 million to the super PAC. During his 2022 Senate run, Masters served as the chief operating officer of the investment firm Thiel Capital and president of the Thiel Foundation. Masters received a $450,000 salary from Thiel Capital and $306,000 in royalties from the book he and Thiel wrote together, according to his 2022 financial disclosure report. In 2021, Masters drew a $774,000 salary and received $340,00 in royalties."</ref>
*[[Kevin McCarthy]]<ref name="WouldBeKingmaker"/>
*The Republican National Committee itself<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
*[[Ron Paul]]<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
*[[Donald Trump]] (Thiel was on his 2016 transition team, and a delegate for him in the 2016 primary)<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
*[[J.D. Vance]] (close associate of Thiel's)<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/>
}}

Notable entities with (a) confirmed prior or current minor link(s) to Thiel and/or his projects (a more significant link may be suspected but unproven) — not necessarily via direct funding — include (highly non-exhaustively):
{{collist|2|
*[[Cambridge Analytica]]<ref>Trudy Ring (March 28 2018). [https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/3/28/heres-how-peter-thiel-connected-facebook-ploy-elect-trump "Here's How Peter Thiel Is Connected to the Facebook Ploy to Elect Trump"]. ''Advocate''.</ref><ref> Jim Edwards (March 28, 2018). [https://www.businessinsider.com/emails-peter-thiel-palantir-facebook-cambridge-analytica-2018-3 "Emails link Peter Thiel's Palantir and Eric Schmidt's daughter to Facebook's Cambridge Analytica fiasco"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref><ref>Natasha Lomas (March 28, 2018). [https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/28/palantir-confirms-a-staff-link-with-cambridge-analytica/ "Palantir confirms a staff link with Cambridge Analytica"]. ''TechCrunch''.</ref><ref>Jack Morse (March 22, 2018). [https://mashable.com/article/facebook-peter-thiel-cambridge-analytica "Facebook board member Peter Thiel helped fund Cambridge Analytica's work"]. ''Mashable''.</ref>
*Kevin DeAnna (co-founder of [[Youth for Western Civilization]])<ref>Hannah Gais (March 18, 2021). [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/03/18/white-nationalist-who-met-peter-thiel-admired-terroristic-literature "White Nationalist Who Met With Peter Thiel Admired Terroristic Literature"]. ''Hatewatch'' (''Southern Poverty Law Center'').</ref><ref>Blake Montgomery (September 11, 2020). [https://www.thedailybeast.com/peter-thiel-hosted-a-white-nationalist-during-2016-trump-campaign-report "Peter Thiel Hosted a White Nationalist During 2016 Trump Campaign: Report"]. ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>
*[[GOProud]]<ref>(January 13, 2011). [https://www.queerty.com/billionaire-goproud-loving-gay-peter-thiel-is-losing-his-friends-billions-20110113 "Billionaire GOProud-Loving Gay Peter Thiel Is Losing His Friends’ Billions"]. ''Queerty''.</ref><ref>Tim Mak (July 12, 2017). [https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-implosion-of-goproud-the-rights-most-notorious-pro-gay-group "Inside the Implosion of GOProud, the Right’s Most Notorious Pro-Gay Group"]. ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>
*[[Jeffrey Epstein]] (yes, that guy)<ref>Chas Danner, Benjamin Hart, and Matt Stieb (December 19, 2023). [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/who-are-the-newly-revealed-jeffrey-epstein-associates.html "Who Are the Newly Revealed Jeffrey Epstein Associates?"]. ''Intelligencer'' (''New York'').</ref><ref name="EpsteinNYT">Matthew Goldstein and Ryan Mac (May 18, 2023). [https://web.archive.org/web/20231020094007/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/business/jeffrey-epstein-peter-thiel.html Peter Thiel Is Latest Billionaire Said to Have Met With Jeffrey Epstein]. ''The New York Times''.</ref>

*[[Jordan Peterson]]<ref>Wesley Yang (May 1, 2018). [https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a19834137/jordan-peterson-interview/ "The Passion of Jordan Peterson"]. ''Esquire''.</ref><ref name="CambridgeNetwork"/>
*[[Milo Yiannopoulos]]<ref>Madison Malone Kircher (October 6, 2017). [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/10/4-key-takeaways-from-the-monster-milo-yiannopoulos-leak.html "4 Key Takeaways From the Monster Milo Yiannopoulos Document Leak"]. ''Intelligencer'' (''New York'').</ref><ref name="ReasonWait"/>
}}

Entities reportedly linked to Thiel, but not well confirmed:
{{collist|2|
*[[James Damore]]<ref>Moira Weigel (December 20, 2021). [https://newrepublic.com/article/164768/peter-thiel-networks-contrarian-book-review "The Making of Peter Thiel’s Networks"]. ''The New Republic''.</ref>
*[[Douglas Murray]]<ref name="CambridgeNetwork"/>
*[[Jack Posobiec]]<ref>Hayden, [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/07/08/jack-posobiecs-rise-tied-white-supremacist-movement Jack Posobiec’s Rise Tied to White Supremacist Movement], Southern Poverty Law Center.</ref>
*Red Scare Podcast<ref name="RedScarePogue">James Pogue (April 20, 2022). [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets "Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets"]. ''Vanity Fair''.</ref>
*[[Toby Young]]'s "Free Speech Union"<ref name="CambridgeNetwork"/>
}}

==Beliefs==
===Economics===
Thiel considers himself a [[libertarian]] who subscribes to the [[Austrian school|Austrian school of economics]]. This is [[ironic]], considering the most outspoken member of the Austrian school is [[Hans-Hermann Hoppe]], an extreme [[homophobe]]. Also, much of Thiel's income comes directly from being a contractor for the American government.<ref group=note>However, getting government money and being a libertarian are compatible with [[objectivism]].</ref>

He is a proponent of what has been coined ''technofeudalism'' by scholarship.

===Social issues===
Thiel also has a [[Misogyny|disdain for women]].<ref group=note>Gay men typically ''support'' [[women's rights]]. Thiel's hatred for women is almost at [[Dr. Strangelove]]-level insanity.</ref> In a 2009 essay written for [[Cato Institute|''Cato Unbound'']], Thiel theorized that [[Women's suffrage|giving women the right to vote]] set the United States on a downward spiral:

{{quote|The 1920s were the last decade in American history during which one could be genuinely optimistic about politics. Since 1920, the vast increase in [[welfare]] beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of "[[capitalist]] [[democracy]]" into an [[oxymoron]].|Peter Thiel <ref>Thiel, Peter. [http://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian "The Education of a Libertarian".] Cato Unbound.</ref>}}

Among Thiel's more liberal (or libertarian) positions, two of his better known ones are his support for gay rights and marijuana legalization.<ref name="OpenSecretsLookup"/><ref name="CruzWeedGay">Jay Root (July 3, 2012). [https://www.texastribune.org/2012/07/03/ted-cruzs-gay-billionaire-donor-draws-criticism/ "Cruz Mega-Donor is Gay, Pro-Pot Billionaire"]. ''The Texas Tribune''.</ref>

===Medicine===
Peter Thiel subscribes to various [[woo]], having grown up in [[California]], and believing he is [[Dunning-Kruger effect|smarter than everyone else]].

Thiel believes that frequent blood transfusions from young orphans can extend his life indefinitely.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/08/peter-thiel-wants-to-inject-himself-with-young-peoples-blood Peter Thiel Wants to Inject Himself With Young People's Blood.] by Maya Kosoff (August 1, 2016) ''Vanity Fair''.</ref><ref>[https://www.gawker.com/peter-thiel-is-interested-in-harvesting-the-blood-of-th-1784649830?rev=1470074599426 Peter Thiel Is Interested in Harvesting the Blood of the Young] by J. K. Trotter (08/01/16 01:00PM) ''Gawker''.</ref> This is the modern equivalent of [[bloodletting]] (or perhaps [[Vampire|vampirism]]) and is nothing more than a [[panacea]]: "young blood" only replaces old blood, something the human body already does hundreds of times a day.<ref>Israel, Brett. [http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/11/22/young-blood-does-not-reverse-aging-in-old-mice-uc-berkeley-study-finds/ "Young blood does not reverse aging in old mice, UC Berkeley study finds".] ''Berkeley News''.</ref>

Thiel also prescribes [[human growth hormone]] to himself, believing that it reverses aging.<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2014-12-17/peter-thiel-im-on-the-humangrowthhormone-pill "Peter Thiel: I'm on the Human-Growth-Hormone Pill".] Bloomberg.</ref> The NIH condemns this practice, citing instances of diabetes, colon [[cancer]], prostate cancer, and Hodgkin's lymphoma, among other side effects.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16249424?dopt=Abstract Provision or distribution of growth hormone for "antiaging": clinical and legal issues.] NIH.gov.</ref>

Thiel wasted $500,000 on a failed [[LessWrong]]-inspired medical advice project called [[MetaMed]].<ref name=frank>[https://harpers.org/archive/2015/01/come-with-us-if-you-want-to-live/ Come With Us If You Want to Live: Among the apocalyptic libertarians of Silicon Valley] by Sam Frank (January 2015) ''Harper's''. [https://www.dropbox.com/s/lsvb8d3l9tgr2rk/2015-frank.pdf# mirror]</ref>

===Eugenics===
By scholars at the ''Center for Genetics and Society'', he has been accused of endorsing the many evils of [[eugenics]], in that:
:"Old-fashioned eugenicists wanted to improve the herd by culling the weak and mating the worthy. Their modern successors don’t even bother with the unworthy rabble; they just want to make themselves and their offspring “better” — smarter, stronger, healthier. The implicit assumption is that the aristocrats deserve their status and the peons should be grateful for table scraps. Not that anyone (except perhaps Peter Thiel) would say so exactly."<ref>Pete Shanks. (02.23.2022). "The Remarkable Ambitions of Peter Thiel" https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/biopolitical-times/remarkable-ambitions-peter-thiel</ref>

===Seasteading===
Like many libertarians, he has flirted with [[seasteading]], the concept of building a libertarian society in international waters, before deciding it's a stupid idea.<ref>[http://uk.businessinsider.com/french-polynesia-ends-agreement-with-peter-thiel-seasteading-institute-2018-3 An island nation that told a libertarian 'seasteading' group it could build a floating city has pulled out of the deal], Business Insider, Mar 14, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/15/peter-thiel-founded-floating-island-plan-sunk-by-the-government-of-paradise/ Peter Thiel-founded floating-island plan sunk by the government of paradise?], The Mercury News, Mar 15, 2018</ref>

==Feud with Gawker==
Thiel funded several lawsuits against Gawker, most notably ''Gawker Media LLC v. Bollea'', a.k.a [[Hulk Hogan]] {{lived|1953|2025}}.<ref>[http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1655148.html GAWKER MEDIA LLC v. BOLLEA LLC LLC LLC KFT]. Retrieved from FindLaw.</ref> Bollea won the case and was awarded $140 million in damages.<ref>Madigan, Nick. [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/us/hulk-hogan-vs-gawker-suit-over-sex-tape.html Jury Tacks On $25 Million to Gawker's Bill in Hulk Hogan Case"]. The New York Times.</ref>

Proponents of Thiel celebrate the verdict as a victory over [[tabloid]] [[journalism]], while opponents consider the victory a chilling effect on freedom of the press. Either conclusion is extreme and is a result of the [[hostile media effect]].

===Arguments for Thiel===
Defenders of Peter Thiel's actions typically refer to two events: Gawker "outing" Thiel as gay and Gawker publishing a recording of Terry Bollea as illegal [[voyeurism]].

====Homosexual "outing"====
Before Gawker published its now-infamous article, ''Peter Thiel is totally gay, people'', in 2007, writer Owen Thomas contacted Thiel, requesting a comment. Thiel did not object to the publishing of the article at the time. The article was not an attempt to demonize Peter Thiel; rather, it was a ''celebration'' of a homosexual who appeared to be a wealthy, well-adjusted individual succeeding in a world dominated by [[Bible thumper|Bible-thumping]] Wall Street stiffs.

Thiel's objection to Gawker came only after his hedge fund company, Clarium Capital, lost billions of dollars in 2008 and 2009. In private, Thiel blamed the Gawker article for scaring away potential investors in the [[Middle East]]. Thiel was a [[overconfidence effect|very confident individual]] who considered himself too smart to lose money. Rather than blame his loss of billions of dollars on his own bad ideas, he sought a [[scapegoat]].

Unfortunately for Thiel, suing a media company for calling him a homosexual would have gotten him nowhere. He could not sue for libel, since it's technically true that he is a homosexual.<ref group=note>In the United States, truth is an absolute defense against a libel claim.</ref> Thiel could not sue under any [[California]] [[privacy]] statute, since Thiel himself had admitted to being gay before the Gawker article was released.

====Hulk Hogan sex tape====
Peter Thiel defends his funding of Terry Bollea's legal action against Gawker, claiming that "a single digit millionaire" could not afford a proper legal offense against a large media company.<ref>Podnar, Rachel. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/10/31/blog-log-weep-for-the-single-digit-millionaires-and-bust-out-your-holiday-gear/ Blog Log: Weep for the ‘single-digit millionaires’ and bust out your holiday gear]. The Washington Post</ref> This is patently false, particularly in [[Florida]], where Terry Bollea's former friend {{wpl|Bubba The Love Sponge}} (a.k.a., Todd Alan Clem)<ref group=note>Born Todd Alan Clem, he legally changed his name to "Bubba The Love Sponge Clem" after receiving the nickname on his eponymous radio show, ''The Bubba The Love Sponge Show''.</ref> is also a single-digit millionaire. Clem brags that his litigation team has never lost a case, though nearly all of those cases feature "Bubba The Love Sponge" as a defendant.

Clem was a defendant in a separate case involving the sex tape.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/693505-bollea-v-clem-at-al-hearing-before-judge Bollea v Clem]</ref> Though "Bubba The Love Sponge" has a name that makes him sound like a dolt, he was smart enough to settle the case out of court for a mere $5,000.<ref>Mitchell, Houston. [http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/29/sports/la-sp-sn-hulk-hogan-lawsuit-20121029 Hulk Hogan settles lawsuit with Bubba the Love Sponge]. ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>

Clem has a unique position in the sex tape scandal because he is not just an accomplice: '''he is also a victim'''. The sex tape itself was part of Clem's home security system. Clem alleges that his former co-workers, Michael "Cowhead" Calta, and Matthew "Spice Boy" Lloyd, stole the recording and searched for a tabloid to sell it to.<ref>[http://www.btls.com/news/spice-boy-is-a-thief.html Spice Boy is a Thief]. ''Bubba The Love Sponge''</ref><ref group=note>Unfortunately, neither Calta nor Lloyd legally changed their names to "Cowhead" or "Spice Boy".</ref> Clem also alleges Calta and Lloyd brokered the sale of the sex tape to Gawker through Don Buchwald. Calta and Lloyd were asking for "millions" but only received $8,000.

Peter Thiel has declined to fund any legal case against Michael Calta or Matthew Lloyd. Apparently, Bubba The Love Sponge Clem isn't enough of a "single-digit millionaire" to warrant Thiel's help.

===Arguments against Thiel===
Journalists and media company executives — notably, former Gawker CEO Nick Denton — argue that litigating against media companies for publishing unsavory information about public figures has a "chilling effect" that will lead to [[censorship]]. Denton is correct, to a point.

====Freedom of speech====
"[[Whistleblower]] laws" already exist to defend journalists, employees, and activists in general from litigation for illicitly recording a newsworthy event. However, these laws only offer protection when the recorded act is illegal. Had the recording in Bubba The Love Sponge Clem's house actually recorded a crime, Denton may have had a valid defense in court. [[Open marriage|Having sex with your best friend's wife]] is not illegal in Florida.

====Vexatious litigation====
Nick Denton does have a point about Peter Thiel's choice of action. The act of funding Terry Bollea's lawsuit against Gawker appears to be part of a larger action to destroy Gawker by any means necessary, a textbook example of "[[utilitarianism|the ends justifying the means]]".

Thiel has funded another lawsuit against Gawker: a defamation case filed for Shiva Ayyadurai. Ayyadurai claims he invented email in 1978 (not Ray Tomlinson in 1971 as consensus reality has it), and claims that Gawker's refuting of Ayyadurai's claim had hurt his reputation.<ref group=note>Ayyadurai wrote a software program in 1979 called EMAIL that only operated in one office for one internal network. {{wpl|Ray Tomlinson}} is widely accepted as the actual inventor of email, having sent the first "user@domain" message over the Internet in 1971.</ref> Gawker settled the case for $750,000, but only to close the case so that Gawker could be sold.<ref>Morris, David Z. [http://fortune.com/2016/11/05/gawker-settlement-email-inventor/ The $750,000 Gawker Settlement That Could Distort Internet History]</ref>

==Does "the worm turn", or not?==
[[File:Escabène demi-dure.jpg|thumb|Silicon Valley [[fascist]] captured in a rare stage of its life cycle.{{nofact}}]]
There have been reports since as far back as 2020 that Thiel may be growing discontented with the state of the Republican Party (or for 2020 in specific, Donald Trump),<ref>Nick Statt (July 2, 2020). [https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/2/21312154/peter-thiel-trump-2020-election-campaign-shying-away-distancing "Tech billionaire Peter Thiel may ditch Trump because he thinks Trump will lose"]. ''The Verge''.</ref><ref>Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng, and Lachlan Cartwright (May 17, 2020). [https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaire-maga-fan-peter-thiel-has-had-it-with-trumps-covid-19-response "Billionaire MAGA Fan Peter Thiel Has Had It With Trump’s COVID-19 Response"]. ''The Daily Beast''.</ref> but his involvement in right-wing projects appears to have continued following said reports. Reuters reported in 2023 that Thiel would avoid donating to political campaigns in 2024, and that: "Thiel is unhappy with the Republican Party's focus on hot-button U.S. cultural issues, said one of the sources, a business associate, citing abortion and restrictions on which [[Transphobia and public restrooms
|bathrooms]] [[transgender]] students can use in schools as two examples."<ref>Anna Tong, Alexandra Ulmer and Jeffrey Dastin (April 26, 2023). [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-wont-fund-candidates-2024-sources-2023-04-26/ "Exclusive: Peter Thiel, Republican megadonor, won’t fund candidates in 2024, sources say"]. ''Reuters''.</ref><ref>Caleb Ecarma (April 26, 2023). [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/04/peter-thiel-reportedly-doesnt-want-to-give-republicans-any-more-money-for-very-confusing-reasons "Peter Thiel Reportedly Doesn’t Want to Give Republicans Any More Money, for Very Confusing Reasons"]. ''Vanity Fair''.</ref> Having a bone to pick with right-wing culture warriors is well in line with some of Thiel's past rhetoric,<ref>Mike Murphy (July 22, 2016). [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/peter-thiel-at-rnc-fake-culture-wars-distract-from-broken-economy-2016-07-21 "Peter Thiel at RNC: ‘Fake culture wars’ distract from broken economy"]. ''MarketWatch''.</ref> though perhaps not some of the projects he's funded.

Thiel seemed to confirm the Reuters report in an interview with ''Fortune'', saying he would donate less to national political campaigns for "a lot of different, complicated reasons." He added he was "unpersuaded that this election will focus on the issue that matters most: ending our decades-long technological and economic stagnation."<ref>Jessica Mathews (August 28, 2023). [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-peter-thiel-explains-decision-180000251.html "Exclusive: Peter Thiel explains his decision not to fund any presidential candidates in 2024"]. ''Fortune'' (republished via ''Yahoo! News'').</ref> He stated that [[Ron DeSantis]] "would make a terrific president", but threw some shade at his over-focus on cultural issues considering economic problems in [[Florida]].<ref>Julia Mueller (May 3, 2023). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3986761-thiel-says-desantis-would-make-a-terrific-president/ "Thiel says DeSantis ‘would make a terrific president’"]. ''The Hill''.</ref> Another point to mention is that in 2021, the Thiel Foundation indeed provided $3 million to a liberal political group, the New Venture Fund.<ref name="ThielFoundation990PF2021"/><ref name="NewVentureCNBC"/> Considering that he also provided funds to very right-wing candidates in the 2022 midterms, this is quite confusing. CNBC provides a couple possible explanations: "Thiel's listed donation to the New Venture Fund could have been earmarked for a less partisan organization that the fund helps finance"; or "accountants for the Thiel Foundation may have filled out the forms incorrectly."<ref name="NewVentureCNBC"/> But what if it's an initial sign that Thiel's politics have begun to shift? He's clearly discontented with the right's culture war antics to reduce his direct donations to GOP candidates — but is it enough for him to switch sides? Time will tell... one can hardly expect such a miracle. But then again, {{wpl|even a worm will turn||.}}

In 2025, Thiel left little doubt about where his political affiliations lay, he cited unrepentant [[Nazi]] jurist {{wpl|Carl Schmitt}} as one of his main influences.<ref name=bhuiyan/>

==Christianity==
Thiel has claimed that he is a "small-o Orthodox Christian", which simply means that he is unaffiliated with any church.<ref name=bhuiyan>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-lectures-antichrist Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel's off-the-record lectures about the antichrist. The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’] by Johana Bhuiyan et al. (10 Oct 2025 11.24 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

Thiel has reportedly backed a network of anti-[[liberal]] [[Christianity|Christians]] at Cambridge University, many of whom have links to [[Racism|racist]] and [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] ideas and figures such as [[Toby Young]].<ref name="CambridgeNetwork">[https://bylinetimes.com/2021/12/10/peter-thiels-free-speech-for-race-science-crusade-at-cambridge-university-revealed/ Peter Thiel’s Free Speech for Race Science Crusade at Cambridge University Revealed] by Nafeez Ahmed (10 December 2021) ''Byline Times''.</ref>

Thiel has billed himself as an expert on the [[antichrist]] by giving a series of babbling ("meandering musings") lectures on the topic.<ref name=bhuiyan/><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-antichrist-lectures Peter Thiel’s off-the-record antichrist lectures reveal more about him than Armageddon: Silicon Valley titan desperately tries to detach self from power in amateurish talks attempting to ape his favorite philosopher] by Adrian Daub (10 Oct 2025 11.24 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> if nothing else, the lectures showed that he is yet another billionaire (e.g., Musk, Trump, Jeff Bezos) with incapacity for introspection (summarized by ''[[The Guardian]]''):
{{blockquote|'''Question''': How can the antichrist, a single mortal person, achieve world domination?<BR>

'''Answer''': They can do it if they're young&nbsp;– or&nbsp;– get rich young, since "money has this remarkable velocity".}}

==Hypocrisy==
{{main|Hypocrisy}}
{{cquote|For example, the 13<sup>th</sup> chapter of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] has me ruling the world for 42 months, less than one presidential term. Thiel helped Donald Trump win two terms. I’m also not a hypocrite&nbsp;— unlike Thiel. He’s an immigrant who funds anti-immigrant [[nationalist]] politicians, and a graduate of San Mateo High and Stanford who rails against [[public education]] and discourages people from going to college. A man who grew wealthy from being able to start businesses in your free and democratic country now opposes women voting.|||The Antichrist as channeled through Joe Mathews<ref>[https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/antichrist-peter-thiel-silicon-valley-21116574.php An exclusive interview with the Antichrist: 'I can be scary, but nothing like Peter Thiel'] by The Antichrist, as told to Joe Mathews (Oct 26, 2025) ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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