10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is a 45 year old German-American technology entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor. You may know him as the co-founder of PayPal, but Thiel’s accomplishments are legitimately too many to mention.

Thiel is one of the most interesting people on the planet, but a lot remains unknown about the influential gentleman. So without further adieu, here are ten facts you probably didn’t know about Peter Thiel.

10. Peter Thiel got his B.A. in Philosophy and his J.D. from Stanford University. He occasionally returns to the campus to teach classes.

9. Thiel co-produced the satirical drama ‘Thank You For Smoking’.

8. Mr. Thiel is openly gay and has supported GOProud and the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Courtesy of the Seasteading Institute

7. He has invested $1.25 million in the Seasteading Institute with the goal of “establishing permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems”.

6. He’s a devout libertarian; he believes in decreased government and increased individual liberties for all.

5. Has been involved in numerous start-ups and business ventures including LinkedIn, Yelp and Friendster.

4. He was rated a Master by the U.S. Chess Federation; he was one of the highest rated under-21 players in the U.S.

3. Peter Thiel invested $3.5 million towards anti-aging research in 2006 and that continues to be a focus of his.

Courtesy of Inhabitat

2. Thiel recently invested in the development of 3D printed meat.

1. As the first outside investor in Facebook in 2004, Thiel was able to acquire a 10.2% stake for $500,000. After the Facebook IPO this year, he sold a large majority of his shares for over $1 billion in cash.

Peter Thiel is a model businessman, and has shown an uncanny ability to efficiently have his hand in an incredible number of different ventures at the same time. He’s young and full of amazing ideas, so he should be a major player on the world stage for years to come.

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