NEW YORK (Washington Insider Magazine) – Peter Thiel, the eccentric billionaire software pioneer, and investor has used his riches to urge youth to skip college, sponsor a lawsuit that financially ruined Gawker Media, and contributed to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign while many in Silicon Valley were opposed to him.
Now that Thiel has stepped away from the board of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), he may have more time to focus on his political activities and position himself as a new Republican kingmaker.
Following his departure from Meta, Thiel aims to focus his energies on backing Republican contenders in the US midterm elections, according to many news sites. According to his recent political donations, he wants to appoint a new batch of Trump-aligned Republicans to both chambers of Congress. Leaving Meta frees up Thiel’s chance to explore his political goal, but it may also free him up by removing possible political difficulties for Meta from his actions.
Thiel, 54, made his fortune by founding and investing in a number of multibillion-dollar technology firms. He co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, a data analytics business; he was Facebook’s first outside investment; and he was an early investor in LinkedIn, Yelp, and other key internet companies.
He has established himself as a tech sector power figure, with a network of important friends and investment businesses throughout Silicon Valley. In recent years, he’s started to gain political influence, which has strained his relationships with allies and opponents in the IT business.
Thiel gave $1.25 million to Trump’s campaign and was a delegate and presenter at the 2016 Republican National Convention. According to CNN, Zuckerberg supported Thiel and his position on the board of directors at the time.
After Trump was elected, Thiel joined Trump’s formal transition team and brought in some other members of his inner circle, as well as other Thiel loyalists. During Trump’s administration, Thiel allegedly assisted in the organization of meetings between Trump and tech heavyweights, including Zuckerberg.
Thiel has begun to promote other Republican candidates with similar goals once Trump’s administration ended. This includes several insiders from Thiel’s own network, whose political ambitions he has bolstered.
