Peter
Thiel

Born Peter Andreas Thiel on October 11, 1967, in Frankfurt, West Germany, to Klaus and Susanne Thiel; family emigrated to U.S. when he was one, settling initially in Cleveland.

Family moved to U.S.; naturalized as citizen; father worked as chemical engineer.

Continued early childhood relocations; family emphasized education.

Ongoing development; frequent school changes began.

Lived in South West Africa (Namibia) during apartheid era for father's work.

Attended school in Swakopmund; experienced strict environment.

Returned to U.S. settling in Foster City, California.

Attended Bay Area schools; avid reader of science fiction including Tolkien.

Deepened interest in chess; became competitive player.

Ongoing schooling; excelled in math competitions.

Played Dungeons & Dragons; developed philosophical interests.

Continued education in Palo Alto area schools.

Attended San Mateo High School or similar; libertarian ideas formed.

Intensified chess; ranked highly nationally.

Ongoing high school; influenced by Rand and Reagan.

Deepened intellectual pursuits including philosophy.

Continued competitive chess and academics.

Senior years; graduated valedictorian.

Enrolled at Stanford University studying philosophy.

Co-founded Stanford Review conservative newspaper.

Ongoing studies; influenced by René Girard.

Graduated with B.A. in philosophy.

Attended Stanford Law School earning J.D.

Clerked for federal judge; brief law firm work.

Worked as derivatives trader at Credit Suisse.

Founded Thiel Capital Management.

Co-founded Confinity leading to PayPal.

Served as PayPal CEO initially.

PayPal launched and grew rapidly.

Merged with X.com; continued leadership.

Ongoing PayPal scaling.

Co-founded Palantir Technologies.

eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5B.

First outside investment in Facebook.

Founded Clarium Capital hedge fund.

Co-founded Founders Fund.

Published essays on politics and technology.

Clarium peak performance.

Ongoing venture investments.

Created Thiel Fellowship for young entrepreneurs.

Taught at Stanford; granted New Zealand citizenship controversially.

Published Zero to One based on lectures.

Part-time Y Combinator partner.

Ongoing political support and writings.

Continued Founders Fund leadership.

Publicly came out as gay; endorsed Trump.

Funded legal cases; moved residences.

Married Matt Danzeisen.

Ongoing investments in defense and biotech.

Palantir public offering.

Religious views described as heterodox Christian.

Stepped down from Meta board.

Major crypto sales; political funding.

Revealed as informant; ongoing ventures.

Investments in longevity and defense.

Continued Founders Fund activities.

Family growth via surrogacy.

Political involvement intensified.

Warned on real estate catastrophe impacts; considered leaving California over potential wealth tax; Founders Fund raised massive funds; ongoing Palantir growth and political influence in 2025.