Early Life and Education of Peter Thiel: A Complete Timeline

An overview of the childhood and early education of Peter Thiel, highlighting the experiences that shaped the journey.

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.

Sections (4)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

October 1967: Birth in Frankfurt

On 11 October 1967, Peter Thiel was born in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, then part of West Germany.

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October 1967: Peter Thiel Born

On October 1967, Peter Andreas Thiel was born in Germany.

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1977: Settled in Foster City, California

In 1977, the Thiel family settled in Foster City, California.

1985: Valedictorian

In 1985, Peter Thiel was valedictorian of his graduating class at San Mateo High School.

1987: Co-founded The Stanford Review

In 1987, Peter Thiel co-founded The Stanford Review, a conservative and libertarian newspaper, at Stanford University.

1989: Graduated Stanford

In 1989, Peter Thiel graduated from Stanford University.

1992: Earned Juris Doctor Degree

In 1992, Peter Thiel earned his juris doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

1996: Returned to California

In 1996, Peter Thiel returned to California.

1997: 1997 Asian financial crisis

In 1997, Peter Thiel referred to 1997 Asian financial crisis.

1998: 1998 Russian financial crisis

In 1998, Peter Thiel referred to 1998 Russian financial crisis.

September 2006: Pledged $3.5 million to anti-aging research

In September 2006, Thiel pledged $3.5 million to foster anti-aging research through the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation.

2006: Backed Singularity Challenge donation drive

In 2006, Thiel provided $100,000 of matching funds to back the Singularity Challenge donation drive of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

December 2007: Endorsed Ron Paul for President

In December 2007, Thiel endorsed Ron Paul for President in the 2008 United States presidential election.

2007: Danzeisen as Vice President of BlackRock

By 2007, when they were dating, Matt Danzeisen was Vice President of BlackRock.

2007: Provided matching funds for the Singularity Institute donation drive

In 2007, Thiel provided half of the $400,000 matching funds for the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (now Machine Intelligence Research Institute) donation drive.

April 2008: Pledged $500,000 to the Seasteading Institute

On 15 April 2008, Thiel pledged $500,000 to the newly created non-profit Seasteading Institute, whose mission is to establish autonomous ocean communities for social, political, and legal experimentation.

2008: Contribution to John McCain Campaign

In 2008, after Ron Paul failed to secure the Republican nomination, Thiel contributed to the John McCain campaign.

2009: Spoke at Singularity Summit

At the 2009 Singularity Summit, Thiel said his greatest concern is the technological singularity not arriving soon enough.

2009: Funding of James O'Keefe's "Taxpayers Clearing House" video

In 2009, Thiel helped fund college student James O'Keefe's "Taxpayers Clearing House" video, which satirized the Wall Street bailout. He denied involvement in the ACORN sting videos produced by O'Keefe.

September 2010: Created the Thiel Fellowship

On 29 September 2010, Thiel created the Thiel Fellowship, offering $100,000 (later raised to $200,000) over two years to individuals under 23 to encourage them to drop out of college and pursue their own ventures.

2010: Invited Ann Coulter to Homocon

In 2010, Thiel invited conservative columnist and friend Ann Coulter to Homocon as a guest speaker.

2010: Supported Meg Whitman for California governor

In 2010, Thiel supported Republican Meg Whitman in her unsuccessful bid for the governorship of California, contributing the maximum allowable $25,900 to the Whitman campaign.

November 2011: Creation of Breakout Labs

In November 2011, the Thiel Foundation announced the creation of Breakout Labs, a grant-making program intended to fund innovative research outside of academia, corporations, or government.

2011: Coulter dedicated book to Thiel

In 2011, Ann Coulter dedicated her book, "Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America", to Thiel.

Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America

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2011: Granted New Zealand Citizenship

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.

2011: Donation and Resignation from the Seasteading Institute

In 2011, Thiel donated $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute but resigned from its board the same year.

2011: Donation to Christchurch earthquake appeal fund

In 2011, Thiel made a NZ$1 million donation to an appeal fund for the casualties of the Christchurch earthquake.

January 2012: Support for Endorse Liberty Super PAC

In January 2012, Thiel, along with Nosek and Scott Banister, supported the Endorse Liberty Super PAC, collectively giving $3.9 million to promote Ron Paul. The PAC spent about $3.3 million promoting Paul via YouTube, Google, Facebook and StumbleUpon ads.

April 2012: Announced first set of Breakout Labs grantees

In April 2012, Breakout Labs announced its first set of grantees, totaling 12 startups and $4.5 million in grants. One of the first ventures to receive funding was 3Scan.

July 2012: $1 million donation to the Club for Growth

In July 2012, Thiel donated $1 million to the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative organization, becoming their largest contributor.

2012: Donation to Minnesotans United for All Families

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.

2013: Thiel Foundation's donation to Singularity Institute

As of 2013, the Thiel Foundation had donated over $1 million to the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (now the Machine Intelligence Research Institute).

2013: Thiel Stops Attending World Economic Forum

Peter Thiel has not attended the World Economic Forum since 2013, because he considers it a place without individuals, only representatives of companies, governments and NGOs.

2014: Expressed interest in anti-aging research and cryonic preservation

At the Venture Alpha West 2014 conference, Thiel expressed his desire to make progress in anti-aging research. He also stated that he is registered for cryonic preservation with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

December 2015: Financial Backer of OpenAI

In December 2015, OpenAI, a nonprofit company aimed at the safe development of artificial general intelligence, announced that Thiel was one of its financial backers.

October 2016: $1.25 million donation to Donald Trump's campaign

In October 2016, Thiel announced a $1.25 million donation in support of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, after supporting Carly Fiorina's campaign initially.

2016: Funded Hulk Hogan Lawsuit

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.

2016: Expressed Interest in Parabiosis

In 2016, Thiel expressed interest in the science of parabiosis, including young blood transfusion, for potential health benefits, noting that the technology had been found to work on mice before being dropped after the 1950s.

February 2017: Donation to Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation

As of February 2017, Thiel had donated over $7 million to the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation to foster anti-aging research.

October 2017: Marriage to Matt Danzeisen

In October 2017, Thiel married his long-time partner Matt Danzeisen in Vienna, Austria.

2017: Ambrosia denies contact with Thiel

In 2017, Ambrosia founder Jesse Karmazin told TechCrunch that they had never been contacted by Thiel or Thiel Capital regarding young blood transfusions, despite initial reports from 2016.

2017: Seasteads are not quite feasible

In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Thiel said seasteads are "not quite feasible from an engineering perspective" and "still very far in the future".

July 2018: Donation to the Trump Victory Committee

In July 2018, Thiel donated $250,000 to the Trump Victory Committee in support of the Republican National Committee during the 2018 midterm elections and Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.

2020: Support for candidates with Voter Fraud Claims

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.

2020: Support for Trump's Re-election Campaign

In 2020, Thiel supported Trump's re-election campaign by donating to the Trump Victory Committee in July 2018.

2020: Free Forever PAC activity

In 2020, Thiel's political-action committee, Free Forever, was active only during the 2020 election cycle and only in support of Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach's failed U.S. Senate bid. Almost all contributions were from Thiel.

2021: Danzeisen's role at Bridgetown

By 2021, Matt Danzeisen was Chairman of Bridgetown 1 and Bridgetown 2, sponsored by Thiel Capital and Richard Li's Pacific Century Group.

2021: Reported as FBI informant

In 2021, Business Insider reported that Thiel became an FBI informant.

February 2022: Donations to Republican candidates

By February 2022, Thiel was one of the largest donors to Republican candidates in the 2022 election campaign with more than $20.4 million in contributions. He supported 16 senatorial and congressional candidates, some of whom promoted false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election.

February 2022: Thiel Steps Down from Meta Board

On 7 February 2022, Peter Thiel announced his decision not to seek re-election to the board of Meta, Facebook's parent company, at the 2022 annual stockholders' meeting. He planned to leave after 17 years to support pro-Donald Trump candidates in the 2022 United States elections.

2022: Burgis characterizes the blood transfusion story as a deliberate attempt by Thiel to portray himself as an "evil genius"

In 2022, Ben Burgis characterizes the blood transfusion story as part of a deliberate attempt by Thiel to portray himself as an "evil genius".

2022: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Daniel Ek's Prima Materia invested in Helsing three months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

2023: Lost interest in democracy and Republicans focus on cultural issues

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.