# Peter Thiel

_German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist (born 1967)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/peter-thiel
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Peter Andreas Thiel ( ; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund, he was also the first outside investor in Facebook. As of October 2026, Forbes estimated Thiel's net worth at US$37.7 billion.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 11 October 1967 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Frankfurt ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P19))
- **Citizenship:** New Zealand; Germany ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P27))
- **Occupation:** financier; computer scientist; banker; entrepreneur; chess player; writer ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P106))
- **Political party:** Republican Party ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P102))
- **Education:** Stanford Law School; Stanford University; San Mateo High School ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P69))
- **Spouse:** Matt Danzeisen ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P26))
- **Positions held:** board of directors member (2005–2022); board of directors member (since 2003) ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P39))
- **Awards:** Frank Schirrmacher Award; Axel Springer Award ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P166))
- **X (Twitter):** peterthiel ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P2002))
- **Facebook:** sittingbournerugbyclub ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P2013))
- **LinkedIn:** peterthiel ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525#P6634))

## About

Born in Germany, Thiel moved to the US with his parents when he was an infant. In 1971, his family moved to South African-occupied Namibia, before moving back to the US in 1977. After graduating from Stanford University, Thiel worked as a clerk, a securities lawyer, a speechwriter, and a derivatives trader at Credit Suisse. He founded Thiel Capital Management in 1996 and co-founded PayPal with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek in 1998. He was PayPal's chief executive officer until its sale to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

Thiel then founded Clarium Capital, a global macro hedge fund based in San Francisco. He launched Palantir in 2003, a big data analysis company, and has been its chairman since then. In August 2004, Thiel became Facebook's first outside investor by acquiring a 10.2% stake in the company for $500,000. In 2005, he launched Founders Fund with PayPal partners Ken Howery and Luke Nosek. He co-founded Valar Ventures in 2010, founded Thiel Capital in 2011, co-founded Mithril Capital in 2012, was investment committee chair in 2012, and was a part-time partner at Y Combinator from 2015 to 2017. He was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2011, which became controversial when made public in 2017. Through the Thiel Foundation, he governs the grant-making bodies Breakout Labs and Thiel Fellowship.

Thiel has been variously portrayed as a conservative libertarian and democracy-skeptic authoritarian, and he has made substantial donations to American right-wing figures and causes. Commentators and scholars frequently examine his views,…

## Questions

**When was Peter Thiel born?**  
Peter Thiel was born on 11 October 1967 in Frankfurt.

**What positions has Peter Thiel held?**  
Positions held by Peter Thiel include: board of directors member (2005–2022); board of directors member (since 2003).

**Where did Peter Thiel study?**  
Peter Thiel was educated at Stanford Law School, Stanford University, San Mateo High School.

## Related

- [Shantanu Narayen](https://diginpl.com/people/shantanu-narayen)
- [Muhtar Kent](https://diginpl.com/people/muhtar-kent)
- [Byron Trott](https://diginpl.com/people/byron-trott)
- [Ram Shriram](https://diginpl.com/people/ram-shriram)
- [Nathan Blecharczyk](https://diginpl.com/people/nathan-blecharczyk)
- [Joe Gebbia](https://diginpl.com/people/joe-gebbia)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Peter Thiel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q705525](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q705525) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Peter Thiel by Gage Skidmore.jpg by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Thiel_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Peter Thiel, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Peter Thiel by Gage Skidmore.jpg — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0.

## Cite this page

"Peter Thiel". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/peter-thiel. Retrieved 5 November 2026.