Controversies are a part of history. Explore the biggest scandals linked to Peter Thiel.
Peter Thiel is a German-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 May 2025, his net worth is estimated at $20.8 billion, ranking him among the wealthiest people globally. Thiel's influence spans technology, finance, and politics, making him a notable figure in contemporary society.
In 2007, Gawker published an article publicly outing Peter Thiel, headlined "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people."
In 2011, Peter Thiel was controversially granted New Zealand citizenship after the Fifth National Government intervened on his behalf, despite only spending 12 non-consecutive days in the country.
In May 2016, Peter Thiel confirmed that he had paid $10 million in legal expenses to finance lawsuits, including one by Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) against Gawker Media.
In August 2016, Gawker announced it was permanently closing due to a lawsuit financed by Peter Thiel.
In 2016, Thiel confirmed that he had funded Hulk Hogan in the Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit after Gawker had previously outed Thiel as gay. The lawsuit eventually bankrupted Gawker, and led to founder Nick Denton's bankruptcy.
In 2017, Peter Thiel was one of the first outside investors in Clearview AI, a facial recognition technology startup known for raising concerns about weaponization risks.
Since 2018, the startup Kleo-Connect received investments from investors associated with China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).
By February 2022, Thiel supported candidates that had promoted the falsehood that there was significant voter fraud in the 2020 election, as part of his Republican campaign contributions.
In 2021, Business Insider reported that Thiel became an FBI informant.
In 2022, Ben Burgis characterizes the blood transfusion story as part of a deliberate attempt by Thiel to portray himself as an "evil genius".
In 2022, Rivada Space Networks was formed, drawing personnel mainly from Kleo-Connect, after the German government banned the sale of Kleo-Connect to China. Karl Rove participated as an investor and lobbyist.
In 2023, Barton Gellman of The Atlantic wrote that Thiel "has lost interest in democracy" and won’t donate to any politician in the next presidential campaign. According to Reuters, this occurred after he disagreed with the Republican party's focus on cultural issues. In the same Atlantic interview, he stated that the first Trump administration failed even his initial low expectations.
In 2024, Thiel described Trump as a clown whom Reid Hoffman's lawsuit turned into a martyr.
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