# Peter Thiel

> Peter Andreas Thiel (born October 11, 1967 in Frankfurt, West Germany) is one of the most consequential and controversial figures in the history of technology and venture capital. A Stanford philosophy graduate and law school alumnus, Thiel co-founded PayPal in 1998, pioneering online digital payments before selling it to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. He then made what became arguably the greatest angel investment in tech history — a $500,000 bet on a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook in 2004 that ultimately returned over $1 billion. In 2003 he co-founded Palantir Technologies (now valued at over $400 billion), and in 2005 he launched Founders Fund, a venture capital firm managing approximately $17 billion that was among the first institutional investors in SpaceX, Palantir, Stripe, Airbnb, and Spotify. Thiel's 2014 book Zero to One became a defining text on startup theory, articulating his core belief that genuine innovation is far more valuable than incremental improvement. A self-described libertarian, Thiel surprised Silicon Valley when he endorsed Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He is also known for secretly funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker Media after the outlet outed him as gay. Through the Thiel Fellowship, which awards $250,000 to young people who skip or defer college, he has championed entrepreneurship over credentialism — producing billionaire alumni including Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin and Figma's Dylan Field. As of December 2025, Thiel's net worth is estimated at $27.5 billion.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Partner at Founders Fund
- **Organizations:** Founders Fund, Palantir Technologies, Thiel Capital, Thiel Fellowship, Valar Ventures, Mithril Capital
- **From:** Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- **Nationality:** American, German, New Zealander
- **Education:** High School Diploma (Valedictorian), San Mateo High School, B.A. in Philosophy, Stanford University, Juris Doctor (J.D.), Stanford Law School
- **Known for:** Co-founded PayPal, pioneering digital payments infrastructure used globally, First outside investor in Facebook — $500K returned over $1 billion, First institutional investor in SpaceX via Founders Fund

## Career timeline

- **1987** — Co-founds The Stanford Review, a conservative campus newspaper
- **1992** — Graduates Stanford Law School; clerks at U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
- **1993-1996** — Works as derivatives trader at Credit Suisse; speechwriter for Education Secretary William Bennett
- **1996** — Founds Thiel Capital Management, his first investment vehicle
- **1998** — Co-founds Confinity (later PayPal) with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek
- **2000** — Confinity merges with Elon Musk's X.com; Thiel leads as CEO of the combined entity
- **2002** — eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion; Thiel nets ~$55 million; founds Clarium Capital hedge fund
- **2003** — Co-founds Palantir Technologies with Alex Karp, naming it after Tolkien's seeing-stones
- **2004** — Becomes first outside investor in Facebook, putting in $500,000 for 10.2% stake
- **2005** — Co-founds Founders Fund with Ken Howery and Luke Nosek
- **2010** — Founds Valar Ventures; Clarium Capital shrinks 90% after bad macro bets
- **2011** — Launches Thiel Fellowship; obtains New Zealand citizenship
- **2012** — Co-founds Mithril Capital with Ajay Royan
- **2014** — Publishes Zero to One with Blake Masters; becomes global bestseller
- **2016** — Speaks at Republican National Convention backing Trump; funds Hulk Hogan lawsuit that bankrupts Gawker Media
- **2017** — Marries Matt Danzeisen; New Zealand citizenship publicly revealed
- **2020** — Palantir goes public via direct listing on NYSE
- **2022** — Steps down from Meta (Facebook) board after 18 years
- **2026** — Founders Fund closes $6 billion growth fund; Thiel Fellowship grant increased to $250,000

## Achievements

- Co-founded PayPal, pioneering digital payments infrastructure used globally
- First outside investor in Facebook — $500K returned over $1 billion
- First institutional investor in SpaceX via Founders Fund
- Co-founded Palantir Technologies, now valued at $400+ billion
- Founded Founders Fund, managing ~$17 billion AUM
- Published Zero to One (2014), a seminal startup theory book
- Founded Thiel Fellowship, producing 11+ unicorn company founders
- Keynote speaker at 2016 Republican National Convention
- Successfully funded litigation that brought down Gawker Media (2016)
- Granted New Zealand citizenship (2011)
- Valedictorian of San Mateo High School (1985)
- Named to Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People
- Thiel Fellowship alumni include Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum), Dylan Field (Figma), Austin Russell (Luminar)

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Founders Fund announces closing a $6 billion growth fund.
- **2026-04** — Thiel-backed AI startup launches platform to evaluate journalism quality.
- **2026-01** — Emails reveal Valar Ventures accepted $40 million from Jeffrey Epstein; Thiel corresponded with Epstein for five years.
- **2025-12** — Net worth estimated at $27.5 billion by The New York Times.
- **2025-10** — Backs Enhanced Games — a sports venture permitting performance-enhancing drugs.
- **2025-01** — Founders Fund and Palantir collaborate with Trump administration's DOGE initiative.
- **2026-01** — Thiel Fellowship increases grant to $250,000 per fellow (up from $100,000) for 2026 cohort.

## Links

- Website: https://peterthiel.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/peterthiel

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/peter-thiel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05