Welcome to Power Players, The i Paper’s opinion series in which our writers and experts take an in-depth look at the key figures in American politics as the US reshapes itself and the world.
• The ‘swamp creature’ eclipsing JD Vance in the race to succeed Trump• The ‘pro-white nationalist’ whose power over Trump grows every day• Trump’s military cheerleader who is learning about war the hard way• The high-flying lawyer who turned tradwife for JD Vance• The right-wing judge who put Trump above the law• The female firebrand ready to reshape Trump’s America• Tucker Carlson: the hardline Maga kingmaker who turned on Trump• The anti-woke bulldog driving Trump’s fight against progress
Here is a handy rule of thumb: anytime you read about a ridiculous new idea at the intersection of technology, culture, and politics, you can assume that Peter Thiel is somehow involved. The more outlandish the idea, the more likely that it is Thiel-funded. That Peter Thiel is simultaneously one of the most influential figures in US politics today should tell you something about the state of my home country. These are absurd times we are living through.
The highlights of Thiel’s Silicon Valley career are as follows. He co-founded Confinity, the company that became PayPal in 1998, famously quarrelling with and replacing Elon Musk as the company’s CEO in 2000. He also co-founded the digital surveillance company Palantir in 2003. In 2004, he gave Mark Zuckerberg $500,000 (£272,800) in exchange for 10.2 per cent of young Zuckerberg’s company, Facebook. Thiel was Facebook’s first outside investor, and an early mentor to Zuckerberg. Thiel’s fans treat this as evidence of his unique brilliance. The critics point out that a fair bit of luck was involved. (Someone was bound to be Facebook’s first outside investor.)
