Peter Thiel: Donald Trump’s ally in Silicon Valley

JIMMIE JOHNSON: THIS GERMAN-AMERICAN BILLIONAIRE AND VENTURE CAPITALIST HAS SEAMLESSLY MERGED HIS PASSION FOR HI-TECH AND POLITICS. 

ONCE HIGHLY REGARDED AMONG SILICON VALLEY ELITES, NOW CONSIDERED AN OUTSIDER DUE TO HIS CONSERVATIVE LEANINGS AND TRUMP TIES.

THAT’S WHAT MAKES PETER THIEL JUST ONE NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY. 

THIEL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUCCESS OF SOME OF THE MOST PROSPEROUS TECH COMPANIES, INCLUDING PAYPAL, WHICH HE CO-FOUNDED, AND FACEBOOK. 

HE WAS ONE OF THE SOCIAL NETWORK’S FIRST OUTSIDE INVESTORS AND A LONGTIME BOARD MEMBER. 

BLOOMBERG NEWS ANCHOR: “Peter Thiel’s presence on that board has been controversial for quite some time. We know he was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump. He appears now to be moving on to pursue whatever that political agenda is going to be.” 

JIMMIE: AS NEWS BROKE ABOUT HIS SEPARATION FROM FACEBOOK’S PARENT COMPANY META, REPORTS SURFACED ABOUT THIEL INVESTING ONE-POINT-FIVE MILLION INTO A NEW TECH VENTURE. A CONSERVATIVE DATING APP CALLED ‘THE RIGHT STUFF.’ 

MAX CHAFKIN: ”He’s not just this tech guy, this guy that’s kinda helped create Silicon Valley as it exists today, but he’s had this really long history and decades-long career in conservative politics.” 

JIMMIE: IN 20-16, THE NAME PETER THEIL RANG THROUGH THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION BECOMING THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN TO GIVE A SPEECH AND ENDORSE THEN-CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT.

THIEL: ”I’m not a politician, but neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it’s time to build America.”

JIMMIE: THIEL DONATED MILLIONS TO FILL TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN COFFERS AND CONTINUES TO PUSH THE MAGA MESSAGE. 

THIEL: “I urge all my fellow Americans to stand up and vote for Donald Trump.” 

MEDHI HASAN:  “it’s really that man you just heard, Peter Thiel, speaking at the RNC in 2016 who could be credited with inspiring the anti-democratic, hyper-capitalist, and unabashedly dangerous expansion of a now over-mighty and very tech industry.”

JIMMIE: THE BILLIONAIRE’S DEEP POCKETS AND INFLUENCE ARE EXPECTED TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE UPCOMING MIDTERM RACES AS TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES AIM TO TAKE OVER CONGRESS.

OUTSIDE OF POLITICS, THIEL IS KNOWN FOR HIS TAKEDOWN OF GAWKER. 

IN 2007, THE ONLINE MEDIA SITE OUTED HIM FOR BEING GAY. THIEL SLAPPED THE PUBLICATION WITH MULTIPLE LAWSUITS AND DRAGGED IT THROUGH A DECADES-LONG COURT BATTLE. HE WON, FORCING THE COMPANY TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY. 

 NICK DENTON: ”The idea that there would be someone behind this. That there would be some longstanding plan for someone to be spending 10 million dollars, maybe more than 10 million dollars funding, looking for cases, funding all sorts of cases, against the media company because he didn’t like critical coverage.” 

WHEN THIEL IS NOT AT WAR, HE’S ADDING COMPANIES TO HIS SAN FRANCISCO-BASED VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM CALLED FOUNDER’S FUND. 

A PORTFOLIO THAT CONSISTS OF SPACE X, FACEBOOK, AND AIRBNB.

HE ALSO OWNS PALANTIR, WHICH WAS AT THE CENTER OF CONTROVERSY FOR USING THE PERSONAL DATA OF MILLIONS OF FACEBOOK USERS WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT DURING TRUMP’S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. 

HIS PERSONAL INTERESTS INCLUDE – BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES LIKE UNITY BIOTECHNOLOGY, A START-UP THAT AIMS TO “SLOW, HALT, OR REVERSE DISEASES OF AGING”, AND LIFE EXTENSION, A RESEARCH COMPANY HE HOPES WILL ALLOW HIM TO LIVE FOREVER.

TUCK EVERLASTING MOVIE: “Don’t be afraid of death Winnie, be afraid of the unlived life.” 

JIMMIE: PETER THIEL, THE MODERN-DAY TUCK EVERLASTING…JUST ONE NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY.