Apart from Elon Musk, it’s Peter Thiel — the bold, controversial billionaire and PayPal co-founder — who stands as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters.
Peter Andreas Thiel, now 57, gained fame as the first outside investor in Facebook, making an indelible mark on Silicon Valley.
Musk connection
His connection to Musk began dramatically in 2000 when their companies, Confinity and X.com, clashed before merging to form PayPal, a global payments giant that would later be acquired by eBay, forever transforming online commerce.
Their collaboration was short, but it laid the foundation for their influential careers in technology and entrepreneurship.
With a net worth estimated at $12.6 billion (as per Forbes), he saw in Trump an ideological ally. Thiel was born in 1967 in Frankfurt, West Germany before he migrated to the US.
Anti-establishment
Thiel, like Musk, is known to have strong anti-establishment views.
Thiel’s opinions diverge sharply from the prevailing progressive and globalist sentiments. Thiel has long argued that technological progress, particularly outside of software, has stagnated.
He coined the phrase: “We wanted flying cars; instead, we got 140 characters,” to highlight the lack of groundbreaking innovation in fields like energy, space, and biotech compared to the mid-20th century.
He worries that without substantial technological breakthroughs, economic growth will remain sluggish, and societal progress will stall.
Maverick
Thiel went to Stanford University (1989), and Stanford Law School (1992).
Besides being a co-founder of PayPal, he has also helped build Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund.
Thiel’s single most notable advice is to avoid the pack mentality.
Our task today is to find singular ways to create the new things that will make the future not just different, but better—to go from 0 to 1… The essential first step is to think for yourself. Only by seeing our world anew, as fresh and strange as it was to the ancients who saw it first, can we both re-create it and preserve it for the future.
Thiel is known as an investment genius, he has also authored “The Diversity Myth”, “Zero to One”, as well as German-language “Literarisches Jahrbuch” and “Von Wort, Zu Wort”.
Highlighting the value of independent thought in entrepreneurship, rather than simply going against popular trends, he was once quoted as saying: “The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.”
Thiel believes that each successful business is based on unique opportunities that can’t simply be replicated, adding: “Every moment in business happens only once.”
Innovation backer
He puts his money where his mouth is: Thiel has invested heavily in frontier technologies like artificial intelligence, space exploration (e.g., SpaceX), and biotech (e.g., his involvement with companies like Palantir and various life extension projects).
Based on his investment moves, Thiel has emerged as is a big innovation backing. He has been quoted as saying: “Competition is for losers.”
It’s a provocative statement on why true success comes from creating unique, dominant products – rather than competing in crowded markets.
Laundry list
His laundry list of things to “fix” includes the US higher education system. Thiel has in the past assailed the system as being too commercialised and lacked a fierce innovative spirit that wouldl help America stay on top.
Despite his successes as a technopreneur, or perhaps because of it, Thiel has criticised “Big Tech”, the US education system and the “globalists” – particularly due to their impact on American workers.
His views have aligned with the rising “America First” movement, focusing on strengthening national sovereignty and reducing the influence of global institutions.
He has also argued that unchecked global competition is hurting American competitiveness.
He believes that universities have become overvalued and contribute to a “higher education bubble”, leading many students into debt without providing practical skills or valuable outcomes.
Trump, during the election campaign and in post-election speeches, has vowed to overhaul US higher education, starting with the firing “Marxist maniacs” among the education regulators.
Thiel Fellowship: Quit university
Thiel has a distinct view of education, and belongs to a league of his own: the “Thiel Fellowship” (founded in 2011), offers $100,000 to young entrepreneurs to drop out of college and pursue innovative projects instead.
You can have agency not just over your own life, but over a small and important part of the world. It begins by rejecting the unjust tyranny of chance. You are not a lottery ticket.
This initiative reflects his belief that practical, real-world experience is often more valuable than a college degree in today’s economy.
Thiel was one of the few high-profile Silicon Valley figures to back Trump in 2016, even speaking at the Republican National Convention (RNC).
Despite being an early investor in Facebook, Thiel has voiced concerns over the monopolistic power of Big Tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta.
He believes their dominance stifles competition and innovation. Thiel also worries about the increasing censorship and ideological bias within these platforms – arguing that they have too much control over information and public discourse.
Thiel’s political activities include substantial donations to conservative and populist candidates, reflected in his ongoing influence in the political landscape.
Decentralisation
Thiel supports decentralication efforts, such as cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, which aim to reduce the power of centralised tech giants and foster greater individual freedom.
In recent years, Thiel’s political views have shown a shift from pure libertarianism towards a more nationalistic, populist approach.
He advocates for a stronger national security stance, with a focus on safeguarding critical technologies and reducing dependence on outside manufacturing.
