Key Messages
Unraveling The Mystery Of Peter Thiel: An In-Depth Look At The Silicon Valley Maverick
Take a dive into the life of Peter Thiel — who, among other things, is a venture capitalist and right-wing provocateur.
Dive deep into his roots, growing up in California with aspirations of J.R.R.
Tolkien.
Better understand the moment of his transformation to a conservative on campus which later propelled him as one of most well-renowned figures in Silicon Valley and more recently onto President Trump’s transition team.
Learn more about his work as a venture capitalist–from introducing new ideas like growth hacking to his lessons through success and failures with companies such as PayPal and Palantir.
He has left an undeniable impact across many facets including technology, media, business, and politics – get to know who he really is!
Peter Thiel Was A Smart, Fantasy-Loving Kid Who Harboured Ambitions To Shape His Own Reality And That Of Others
It’s no secret that Peter Thiel was a smart kid, but did you know he was also an avid fan of fantasy? From playing Dungeons & Dragons to reading science-fiction novels by Isaac Asimov and reciting the works of J.R.R Tolkien, it’s clear that Thiel had a passion for the world of fantasy.
His academic achievements were impressive as well; he was placed on a ‘gifted and talented’ program track and excelled in academics.
He even showcased his triumphs in his friends’ yearbooks!
On top of this, Thiel was a gifted chess player and even had been one of the best players under 13 years old in the country at one point!
But what truly set Thiel apart from other things he enjoyed doing is his haughty attitude – He never hesitated to display his accomplishments with pride.
This tenacity didn’t get him many positive friendships, however it allowed him to control the narrative around him – much like when playing Dungeons and Dragons as he was usually chosen as the leader/narrator of the game.
Thiel combined these two passions with his senior quote for The Hobbit “The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
/ Today and tomorrow are yet to be said,” cementing that creativity and determination need not always work hand-in-hand with conformity or experience – something Pete would continually exemplify throughout life.
Peter Thiel Develops His Political Ideology After Experiencing Stanford’S Liberal “Raucous Reality”
Peter Thiel was an exceptional student and was determined to make the most of his education.
After gaining brilliant grades, he was accepted as a student at Stanford University studying philosophy.
He expected an elite learning environment there; one full of scholars, books and knowledge.
However, what Thiel found instead was very different- whilst the university appeared top on paper, the actual environment there was far more party than pious in nature.
In response to this debauchery, Thiel developed a ritual to demonstrate discipline and superiority to his peers who were often left hungover from the night before.
Every morning he would take a handful of vitamins from the water fountain and walk around his dormitory with pride- only creating further jokes between fellow students at his expense.
This disappointment did not just stop at college either; it also influenced Thiel’s political views.
After reading works by Ayn Rand, he became more right-leaning politically – embracing libertarianism along with other conservative ideologies and giving him further feelings of being an outsider amongst a collegiate elite of liberal thinkers.
To make matters worse even still, when Thiel read that Stanford planned to add black authors into their Western Culture course list, he founded ‘The Stanford Review’ – a right wing tabloid newspaper with strong words against the university’s “left-wing” stance and taking issue with the notion of ‘multiculturalism’ (which later became one of his signature issues).
At Stanford University then, Peter Thiel’s experience caused him great frustration which in turn forged him into becoming a campus conservative – driven by grievances against those that didn’t share his beliefs as well as actually believing that conservatives would be persecuted by “liberal thought police”.
Peter Thiel: From Wall Street To Silicon Valley, Setting The Standard For Ethically Dubious Business Practices
When Peter Thiel returned to California from his various glamorous jobs, he knew immediately that the tech boom was his true calling.
Along with his business partner Max Levchin, they founded PayPal in December of 1998.
What sets PayPal apart from most other companies is that Thiel saw it as more than just a digital wallet; he engineered it with libertarian principles in mind.
For example, PayPal gave everyone the opportunity to have their own virtual Swiss bank account without any interference from the government.
Additionally, PayPal also employed aggressive strategies such as offering $10 rewards for new customers and referrals — tactics taken directly from activist conservative campaigns of the mid-1960s.
Nowadays it’s commonplace to see many Silicon Valley startups using similar techniques to get ahead in the market but back then it was considered ethically suspect .
Through establishing the very successful company of PayPal, Peter Thiel had essentially written a template for a process known today as growth hacking; an impressive feat given its connotations at the time.
Peter Thiel, The Bold Risk-Taker Who Found Financial And Entrepreneurial Success After Leaving Paypal
Following disagreements with fellow entrepreneur Elon Musk, Thiel stepped down as CEO of PayPal in 2002 and sold his shares.
He then used the funds to set up a hedge fund called Clarium Capital and increased his wealth at an exponential rate.
It was not only money that intrigued Thiel though; he started investing quietly in tech companies, and one of those companies was headed by Mark Zuckerberg—the young founder of Facebook.
With huge potential from rapid growth across college campuses, Zuckerberg’s venture caught Thiel’s attention, making him the first outside investor for what would soon become one of the world’s biggest companies.
Thiel had reached billionaire status by 2006 and since then became increasingly involved in investing, starting new businesses and heading research projects.
Despite having achieved immense financial success, he continued to be remembered fondly for his involvement with Facebook – something he helped get off the ground when it needed it the most.
Peter Thiel Revealed An Authoritarian Shift With The Creation Of His Surveillance Company Palantir
When Peter Thiel decided to launch his high-tech surveillance company, Palantir, in 2003, he had a strong authoritarian vision in mind.
Thiel was deeply critical of the War on Terror and believed that President Bush’s methods for combatting it were not tough enough.This prompted him to advocate for the use of “extralegal” methods to protect the interests of the western world.
What set Palantir apart from other companies was its name.
Heavily influenced by J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, Thiel named his business after a magical artifact – The Palantiri – which were all-seeing indestructible spheres used by Sauron (the main antagonist) to spy and manipulate people with tremendous power and impunity.
Such an association knowingly invited potential clients who wanted access to such controversial surveillance powers as well as increased criticism from critics like Pulitzer-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald who saw the company as part of a “lawless and unrestrained axis…of government and corporate power” – a criticism which Thiel ultimately agreed with.
Ultimately this indicates that while PayPal had originally begun as an inherently libertarian idea conducting business outside government boundaries, Palantir actively sought partnerships with government bodies and corporations leading Thiel towards an authoritarian shift in his political views – something that is revealed within the company itself.
Peter Thiel Backs Donald Trump As A Pragmatic Decision
In 2016, when Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination, tech investor Peter Thiel saw an opportunity to further his cause against globalization.
Although Thiel had previously flirted with the idea of supporting other candidates like Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz, a dinner conversation with Cruz’s financial chair gave him a revelation: that Trump could win the election due to his promises of bringing back industrial jobs and halting immigration.
Thiel was also attracted to Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and commitment to removing any political correctness.
Recognizing how politically costly it would be if Hillary Clinton won, Thiel decided to pledge his support to Trump in an effort to protect the wealth and interests of fellow billionaires.
Moreover, he believed that out of all the candidates, Trump had the best shot at keeping the Democrats out of power – which in fact, proved true in 2016.
Thiel Exposes Cyber Silicon Valley’S Disheartening Hypocrisy In Trump’S First Meeting With Tech Leaders
Peter Thiel had always been an outlier and outsider in Silicon Valley.
His surprise invitation to join Donald Trump’s transition team – alongside Steve Bannon and Donald Trump Jr – showed just how big a change was taking place, both in Washington and on the West Coast.
Thiel proved to be a thought-provoking presence at the now-famous Trump Tech Summit of December 2016.
He watched as fellow tech leaders, who’d previously opposed and insulted the President-elect on various topics, simply wrote off his controversial views and began thanking him for even being there.
Compromises were also made as Bezos and Sandberg agreed with Trump on the issue of China being a great economic competitor, betraying their own liberal principles in the name of profit.
Finally, Thiel’s support of one company in particular – Facebook – was exposed.
It had played a key role in helping spread right-wing misinformation about Hillary Clinton during the election campaign.
Thiel’s involvement in Silicon Valley was thus all too apparent – yet he still remained unique amongst many other supposedly ‘liberally minded’ CEOs for his staunch backing of Donald Trump throughout every step of his presidency up until then.
It has certainly made Thiel himself stand out as an example who defied convention and pointedly unveiled the hypocrisy that exists among Silicon Valley elites.
Wrap Up
The Contrarian is a book that captures the essence of Peter Thiel, his views and beliefs, his career in Silicon Valley, and how they all come together.
In this book, it’s made clear that Thiel’s controversial personality was shaped to counter what he perceived as the left-wing consensus at Stanford.
As a result, his reactionary views have had a huge influence on him as a venture capitalist and hedge-fund manager – and interestingly enough, these views aren’t too dissimilar from those of the allegedly liberal Silicon Valley!
To conclude, The Contrarian offers readers an enlightening look into Thiel’s life and perspectives.
