Peter Thiel

About

Peter Thiel is an American author, venture capitalist, and businessman. Before its 2002 sale to eBay, he served as CEO of PayPal, which he co-founded in 1998. In addition, he co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 and made early investments in SpaceX and Facebook. In 1989, Thiel graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Stanford University. He then attended Stanford Law School and got his J.D. in 1992. He worked briefly as a lawyer before jumping into tech startups. Thiel lives in Los Angeles, California. He frequently works in Silicon Valley, where he has strong contacts. He was one of the first significant Bitcoin investors in 2011 and supports blockchain initiatives through Founders Fund. Quick Facts: Field Details Full Name Luna (known publicly as “Lunaticoin”) Nationality Spanish Known For Hosting the Lunaticoin Bitcoin podcast in Spanish Crypto Stance Strongly pro‑Bitcoin, focused on self‑custody and privacy tools Career Overview: After graduating from law school, Thiel began his career in banking as a futures trader at Credit Suisse. He departed to start his first business, Confinity, which later merged with X.com to become PayPal. Following eBay's acquisition of PayPal, he founded the hedge fund Clarium Capital, then, in 2005, he founded Founders Fund to invest in breakthrough technology ventures. Thiel supported successful companies, including SpaceX, Airbnb, and Stripe, through Founders Fund. He invested $500,000 for 10% ownership and was a board member of Facebook from 2002 to 2022. His organization oversaw Bitcoin investments as early as 2014, and by 2026, Founders Fund will own major crypto assets as Bitcoin gains institutional traction. Career Highlights & Events of Peter Thiel: • 1998: Co-founded Confinity, which merged into PayPal. • 2002: Sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion; invested $500K in Facebook. • 2003: Co-founded Palantir Technologies for data analytics. • 2005: Launched Founders Fund venture capital firm. • 2011: Became the first outside investor in Bitcoin via Founders Fund. • 2016: Spoke at the Republican National Convention supporting Trump. • 2022: Left Facebook board after 20 years. • 2024: Founders Fund reportedly invests $200M more in Bitcoin as it hits new highs. • 2026: Palantir reaches $100B+ market cap on AI and defense contracts.

Experience

• Role not set

  Clarium Capital Management, LLC

Awards

• Freedom AwardFrom David Horowitz Freedom Center (2020)
• David Packard MedalTechAmerica award for Silicon Valley contributions (2011)
• Thiel FellowshipCreated in 2010, awards $100K to young dropouts
• Forbes Midas ListNamed top tech investor multiple years (2007-2015)

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