Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Peter Thiel
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Peter Thiel made an impact.
Peter Thiel is a prominent American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist known for co-founding PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund. He was also the first outside investor in Facebook. As of February 2025, his estimated net worth is $20.5 billion, ranking him among the wealthiest individuals globally. Thiel's activities span technology, finance, and politics, making him a significant figure in multiple domains.
1987: Co-founded The Stanford Review
In 1987, Thiel co-founded The Stanford Review, a conservative and libertarian newspaper, at Stanford University.
1993: Joined Credit Suisse as Derivatives Trader
In 1993, Thiel took a job as a derivatives trader in currency options at Credit Suisse.
1996: Founded Thiel Capital Management
In 1996, Peter Thiel founded Thiel Capital Management.
1998: Founded Fieldlink (Confinity)
In 1998, Max Levchin described his cryptography-related company idea to Thiel, which became their first venture called Fieldlink, later renamed Confinity.
1999: Confinity launched PayPal
In 1999, Confinity launched PayPal to create a digital wallet for consumer convenience and security by encrypting data on digital devices.
1999: PayPal launch at press conference
In 1999, PayPal launched at a press conference, receiving $3 million in venture funding.
1999: Purchased PayPal Shares Using Roth IRA
In 1999, Peter Thiel purchased 1.7 million founder's shares in the entity that would become PayPal using $1,700 in a Roth IRA.
May 2003: Incorporated Palantir Technologies
In May 2003, Peter Thiel incorporated Palantir Technologies.
2003: Successful bet on weakening US dollar
In 2003, Thiel successfully bet that the United States dollar would weaken.
August 2004: First Outside Investment in Facebook
In August 2004, Thiel became Facebook's first outside investor, acquiring a 10.2% stake for $500,000.
August 2004: Invested in Facebook
In August 2004, Thiel made a $500,000 angel investment in Facebook for a 10.2% stake.
2004: Thiel writes 'The Straussian Moment'
In 2004, Thiel wrote "The Straussian Moment", an essay considered a fundamental text in his political thinking, arguing for a reexamination of modern politics after the September 11 attacks.
2005: Launched Founders Fund
In 2005, Peter Thiel launched Founders Fund with Ken Howery and Luke Nosek.
September 2006: Donation to Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation
In September 2006, Thiel announced his pledge to donate $3.5 million to the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation to foster anti-aging research, citing the potential for significant advances in health and longevity.
2006: Thiel supports Singularity Institute
In 2006, Thiel provided $100,000 of matching funds to back the Singularity Challenge donation drive of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
2007: Thiel provides matching funds for Singularity Institute
In 2007, Thiel provided half of the $400,000 matching funds for the Singularity Institute's donation drive.
April 2008: Pledged support to the Seasteading Institute
On 15 April 2008, Thiel pledged $500,000 to the Seasteading Institute, which aims to create autonomous ocean communities for social, political, and legal experimentation.
2008: Support to the Committee to Protect Journalists
Beginning in 2008, Thiel has donated over $1 million to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which promotes the right of journalists to report freely.
2009: Thiel speaks at Singularity Summit
At the 2009 Singularity Summit, Thiel said his greatest concern is the technological singularity not arriving soon enough.
2009: Thiel essay on freedom and democracy
In a 2009 essay, Thiel stated he no longer believed freedom and democracy were compatible, focusing on new technologies for a "new space for freedom" beyond current politics, an essay referenced by neo-reactionary theorists.
September 2010: Created the Thiel Fellowship
On 29 September 2010, Thiel established the Thiel Fellowship, which grants $100,000 annually to 20 individuals under 23 to encourage them to leave college and pursue entrepreneurial ventures.
November 2011: Creation of Breakout Labs
In November 2011, the Thiel Foundation announced the creation of Breakout Labs, a grant-making program offering up to $350,000 to science-focused start-ups.
2011: Donation to and Resignation from the Seasteading Institute
In 2011, Thiel donated $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute but resigned from its board that same year.
2011: Donation to Christchurch earthquake appeal fund
In 2011, Thiel donated NZ$1 million to an appeal fund for the casualties of the Christchurch earthquake.
2011: Support to the Human Rights Foundation
In 2011, Thiel was a featured speaker at the Oslo Freedom Forum, organized by the Human Rights Foundation, which the Thiel Foundation sponsored.
2011: Cited contributions to New Zealand economy in citizenship application
In 2011, Thiel's application for New Zealand citizenship cited his economic contributions, including founding a venture capital fund in Auckland and donating to the Christchurch earthquake appeal fund.
April 2012: Breakout Labs announces its first grantees
In April 2012, Breakout Labs announced its first set of grantees, providing funding to 12 startups, totaling $4.5 million in grants.
May 2012: Thiel sells Facebook shares in IPO
In May 2012, during Facebook's initial public offering, Thiel sold 16.8 million shares for $638 million.
June 2012: Thiel launches Mithril Capital Management
In June 2012, Thiel launched Mithril Capital Management with Jim O'Neill and Ajay Royan, targeting companies beyond the startup stage ready to scale up, with an initial fund of $402 million.
July 2012: Thiel donates to Club for Growth
In July 2012, Thiel made a $1 million donation to the Club for Growth, becoming the group's largest contributor.
August 2012: Thiel sells remaining Facebook stake
In August 2012, Thiel sold almost all of his remaining stake in Facebook immediately after the lock-up period concluded, earning $395.8 million, totaling over $1 billion from Facebook shares. He retained his seat on the board of directors.
2012: Thiel donates to fight Minnesota Amendment 1
In 2012, Thiel donated $10,000 to Minnesotans United for All Families to fight Minnesota Amendment 1, which proposed banning marriage between same-sex couples.
2012: Taught CS 183: Startup at Stanford University
In spring 2012, Thiel taught the class CS 183: Startup at Stanford University.
2013: Thiel Foundation donates over $1 million to the Singularity Institute
As of 2013, the Thiel Foundation had donated over $1 million to the Singularity Institute.
September 2014: Publication of "Zero to One"
In September 2014, "Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" by Thiel and Blake Masters was released.
2014: Thiel backs DeepMind
In early 2014, Thiel backed DeepMind, a UK start-up that was acquired by Google for £400 million.
March 2015: Thiel joins Y Combinator as a partner
In March 2015, Thiel joined Y Combinator as one of 10 part-time partners.
December 2015: Thiel backs OpenAI
In December 2015, OpenAI announced that Thiel was one of their financial backers.
2015: Thiel discusses innovation with Tyler Cowen
In a 2015 conversation with Tyler Cowen, Thiel claimed innovative breakthroughs were happening in computing, not the physical world, lamenting the lack of progress in space travel and medical devices.
2016: Thiel sells additional Facebook shares
In 2016, Thiel sold a little under 1 million of his Facebook shares for around $100 million.
February 2017: Donation to Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation exceeded $7 million
As of February 2017, Peter Thiel had donated over $7 million to the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation, supporting anti-aging research.
November 2017: Thiel sells more Facebook shares
In November 2017, Thiel sold another 160,805 shares of Facebook for $29 million, reducing his holdings to 59,913 Class A shares.
November 2017: Y Combinator severs ties with Thiel
In November 2017, it was reported that Y Combinator had severed its ties with Thiel.
2017: Founders Fund invests in Bitcoin
In 2017, Founders Fund invested about $15-20 million in Bitcoin.
2017: Thiel invests in Clearview AI
In 2017, Thiel became an early outside investor in Clearview AI, a facial recognition technology startup that has raised concerns due to its potential for weaponization.
2017: Views on the Feasibility of Seasteads
In a 2017 interview, Thiel stated that seasteads are "not quite feasible from an engineering perspective" and "still very far in the future."
January 2018: Bitcoin holdings increase in value
In January 2018, Founders Fund informed investors that their Bitcoin holdings were worth hundreds of millions of dollars due to the cryptocurrency's surge in value.
2019: Roth IRA Grew to $5 Billion
As of 2019, Thiel's $1,700 investment in PayPal shares through a Roth IRA grew to over $5 billion, primarily due to reinvestments in companies like Palantir and Facebook.
2019: Thiel discusses 'The Straussian Moment' at Hoover Institution
In 2019, Thiel's essay, "The Straussian Moment", was the subject of an interview at the Hoover Institution.
April 2020: Thiel's Facebook holdings decrease
As of April 2020, Thiel owned less than 10,000 shares in Facebook.
2021: ProPublica revealed Thiel's Roth IRA
In 2021, ProPublica revealed that Peter Thiel's Roth IRA, initially funded with $1,700 in 1999, had grown to over $5 billion by 2019 due to investments in PayPal and other companies.
February 2022: Thiel to Leave Meta Board
In February 2022, Thiel announced he would not seek re-election to Meta's board at the 2022 annual meeting, ending his 17-year tenure to support pro-Donald Trump candidates in the 2022 United States elections.
2022: Endorsed Blake Masters' Senate campaign
In 2022, Thiel endorsed Blake Masters' campaign in the United States Senate election in Arizona, donating more than $10 million.
