Peter Thiel

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Billionaire Donor Breaks With Trump on Iran War

'We should not have done it,' Peter Thiel says

(Newser) - Billionaire Peter Thiel is backing President Trump but balking at his Iran war. In audio from an Oct. 12 lecture obtained by Politico' s Decoded, the influential GOP donor said he's "skeptical" of the conflict and "we should not have done it," calling it riddled with mistakes...

Bill Ackman Backs 'Daring' Eye Therapy for Daughter

Investor funded treatment that moved mitochondria from her leg to her eyes to try to restore her vision

(Newser) - Bill Ackman didn't discover the world of experimental longevity treatments in a podcast or at Davos—it started on the floor of his daughter's Brooklyn apartment. The Washington Post reports that when 26-year-old Lucy Ackman suffered a brain hemorrhage in February that left her unable to move, speak,...

Peter Thiel's New Plan B: Argentina
Peter Thiel Has a
New Plan B Abroad
May 29, 2026 8:24 AM CDT

Peter Thiel Has a New Plan B Abroad

Billionaire is putting down roots in libertarian Argentina

(Newser) - Peter Thiel is making his next international move just in case things go south with the American experiment, and that move is very far south. The New York Times reports that tech investor and Trump backer Peter Thiel has quietly shifted his family's life to Buenos Aires, where he'...

This New Swimming World Record Has a Big Asterisk

Kristian Gkolomeev's 50m feat at doping-friendly Enhanced Games won't count officially

(Newser) - Las Vegas just hosted a 50-meter swim faster than any the sport has ever officially seen, only it likely will never be official. Greek sprinter Kristian Gkolomeev, a four-time Olympian who's never medaled, clocked 20.81 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle at the inaugural Enhanced Games on Sunday, edging...

Tech Titans See Humanity's Hope in Superbabies
Tech Titans See Humanity's
Hope in Superbabies
longform
May 3, 2026 9:30 AM CDT

Tech Titans See Humanity's Hope in Superbabies

Mother Jones reports on the push to create gene-edited geniuses who might tame AI

(Newser) - If you're worried about AI wiping us out, a number of the people who helped build it think they've found the countermeasure: smarter babies. In Mother Jones , Abby Vesoulis reports on a growing movement among tech elites and biotech startups that sees embryo screening and, eventually, gene editing...

At Bezos' Retreat, Billionaires Live Beyond Consequences

'A certain stratum of billionaires has effectively exited the 'moral universe,'' writes Noah Hawley

(Newser) - Jeff Bezos' exclusive "Campfire" retreat looks less like a brainstorming salon for world-changing ideas and more like a window into what happens when wealth floats above consequences, writes Noah Hawley in the Atlantic . Invited in 2018 as Amazon courted his TV business, Hawley joined 80 or so boldface names—...

Billionaires Are Starting to Cool to the Giving Pledge

New York Times sees a 'backlash' underway

(Newser) - Warren Buffett once predicted his big philanthropy experiment would unleash "trillions" for charity; 15 years later, some of the billionaires it targets are trying to kill it. In the New York Times , Theodore Schleifer charts the rise and stall of the Giving Pledge—Buffett and Bill and Melinda French...

Op-Ed: California Billionaires Need to Suck It Up

Writer argues that a proposed 5% tax on their net worth is a fair request

(Newser) - If it gets enough signatures, a California measure calling for billionaires to pay a one-time tax of 5% of their net worth will be on the ballot this fall. Most of the uber-rich oppose the idea, not surprisingly, but so do some Democrats including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who fear an...

South Park's Thanksgiving Chaos Involves Hegseth

He mistakes holiday marathon for Antifa uprising

(Newser) - South Park takes aim at both the US government and Saudi Arabia in its latest episode, a Thanksgiving special that puts the town's holiday marathon at the center of the chaos. With regular sponsors unable to foot the bill—Stan's Tegridy Weed Farms is out of business, and...

Report: Thiel Calls AI Critics 'Legionnaires of the Antichrist'
Peter Thiel Has Thoughts
on the Antichrist
in case you missed it
Oct 12, 2025 3:25 PM CDT

Peter Thiel Has Thoughts on the Antichrist

'It's someone like Greta,' he said, according to recording obtained by the Washington Post

(Newser) - In a recent series of private lectures in San Francisco, billionaire Peter Thiel took a distinctly theological turn, linking his opposition to tech regulation with warnings of the Antichrist and the potential downfall of the United States, according to recordings reviewed by the Washington Post . Thiel described activists like...

Epstein Records Turn Spotlight on Musk, Bannon, Thiel

Oversight Dems release documents that also name Bill Gates, point to massages for 'Andrew'

(Newser) - Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a set of documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate that reference several high-profile individuals, including Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel, Prince Andrew, and Bill Gates. The six pages, part of a much larger batch of 8,544 records, include pieces...

FBI Raids NYC Home of Betting Firm's CEO

Shayne Coplan calls development 'discouraging' after Polymarket correctly predicted a Trump win

(Newser) - Polymarket, the betting market that drew attention by correctly predicting a win by Donald Trump in the 2024 election, is now earning new headlines for a stickier reason. The New York Post reports that early Wednesday, the FBI raided the Manhattan residence of CEO Shayne Coplan, with a source telling...

Report: Peter Thiel Was FBI Informant

He focused on foreign influence in Silicon Valley, according to political activist Charles Johnson

(Newser) - Tech billionaire Peter Thiel has bankrolled Republican politicians who've publicly attacked the FBI, from former President Donald Trump to Sen. JD Vance. It's somewhat surprising then that a new report from Insider alleges he has served as an FBI informant. Alt-right political activist Charles Johnson claims he helped...

Peter Thiel Will Be Cryogenically Frozen, Isn't 'Convinced It Works'

But tech billionaire says it's the sort of thing we need to be trying

(Newser) - Yes, Peter Thiel has signed up to be cryogenically frozen after his death. No, the billionaire does not seem to have a lot of faith he'll actually be brought back to life someday. Asked on Bari Weiss's podcast last week whether he had actually signed up for the...

Peter Thiel to Leave Facebook for Politics

Longtime director, a mentor to Zuckerberg, will support Trump candidates

(Newser) - Peter Thiel, a longtime member of Facebook's board known for his sometimes-contrarian views, will leave the company this year to focus on politics. He was an early investor in the company and joined the board in 2005, one year into the small startup's existence, CNN reports. He was...

Senate Candidate: Donate $5.8K, Get an NFT
Senate Candidate
Offers $5.8K NFT
Dec 27, 2021 2:29 PM CST

Senate Candidate Offers $5.8K NFT

Blake Masters' token comes with party invite

(Newser) - A Republican Senate candidate in Arizona is hoping to raise more than $570,000—and highlight his Silicon Valley connections—with an NFT. Blake Masters tells Axios that he hopes to gain support "from folks who are less conventional political donors and more founders and builders who want to...

He's a 'Strange, Strange Boy' Who Became Wildly Influential

Max Chafkin excerpts his new book on the PayPal, Palantir founder Peter Thiel

(Newser) - Peter Thiel was "a strange, strange boy," Max Chafkin quotes a former classmate as saying. After reading the piece Chafkin adapted from his new biography of the PayPal and Palantir founder for New York Magazine , some stronger adjectives and descriptions might come to mind. The excerpt zeroes in...

High-Profile Data Company Makes Unusual Investment

Palantir buys $51M worth of gold as a hedge against 'black swan event'

(Newser) - In its latest SEC filing, the data analytics firm Palantir revealed what Bloomberg calls an "unusual investment strategy." The company bought $51 million worth of gold bars. "You have to be prepared for a future with more black swan events," chief operating officer Shyam Sankar tells...

Hillbilly Elegy Author Now Regrets Bashing Trump

JD Vance, now a Senate candidate, says he was wrong about the 'good president'

(Newser) - JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, has announced his bid to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio's 2022 Senate election, and is now walking back past criticism of former President Trump. "Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016," the Republican venture...

How Peter Thiel Used Loophole to Amass $5B in His Roth IRA

It amounts to 'Bermuda-style tax haven right here in the US'

(Newser) - ProPublica is continuing its investigative series on how the richest of the rich avoid paying taxes, and the latest story is surprising in that it revolves around a "relatively humdrum retirement" tool—the Roth IRA. The idea behind the Roth is that modest earners can sock away money...

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