Peter Andreas Thiel is a German and American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. According to the New York Times, as of December 2025, Thiel's estimated net worth stood at US$27.5 billion, making him among the 100-richest individuals in the world. Thiel has been described as "perhaps America's leading public intellectual today", or "intellectual architect of Silicon Valley's contemporary ethos". Others debate the consistency or morality of his views.