Billionaire Peter Thiel is something of a spectral presence in American politics, media and culture: He is seemingly everywhere, but rarely seen. Recently, Thiel reportedly led the second-largest bank run in U.S. history, leading to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and one other financial institution, and necessitating the bailout of several others. He has backed or bankrolled a number of far-right Republican candidates, including newly-elected Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and losing Senate candidate Blake Masters in Arizona. He supported Donald Trump conspicuously in 2016, and then much more quietly, and perhaps hesitantly, in 2020.
Thiel became exceedingly rich as a venture capitalist and then widely known for his sometimes bizarre notions. He started the notorious data-mining firm Palantir, its name drawn from an all-seeing magical-tech gizmo in "Lord of the Rings." He made a fortune on PayPal and Facebook, sued the satirical muckraking publication Gawker into its grave and has spent the last several years funding or building a nearly invisible media empire.
