Tag Archives: Peter Thiel

The New York Times reports: In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies, raising questions over whether he might compile a master list of personal information on Americans that could give him untold surveillance power. Mr. Trump has not publicly talked about the effort since. But behind the scenes, officials …

404 Media reports: Last week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid contracting giant Palantir tens of millions of dollars to make modifications to a powerful ICE database and search tool to allow “complete target analysis of known populations” and to update the tool’s targeting and enforcement priorities, according to procurement records reviewed by 404 Media. The records show that Palantir …

Reuters reports: As the Trump administration intensifies efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark — or take it by force — some Silicon Valley tech investors are promoting the frozen island as a site for a so-called freedom city, a libertarian utopia with minimal corporate regulation, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The discussions are in early stages, but …

The Hill reports: President-elect Trump’s choice for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services is Jim O’Neill, an investor and historically close associate of billionaire Peter Thiel, the president-elect said Tuesday. O’Neill has also held roles as managing director at Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management and principal associate deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services during former President …

CNBC reports: Donald Trump’s presidential running mate JD Vance is urging Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel to “get off the sidelines” and financially support the Republican ticket, Vance told the Financial Times. Vance, in an interview in the key swing state of Wisconsin, told the outlet that he will keep trying to push Thiel, his former boss, to ditch his …

“Christianity is the main religion of the Western world. You know, it always takes the side of the victim and there’s something where it is like some kind of deformation or intensification. And maybe you should think of wokeness as ultra-Christianity or hyper-Christianity. “It’s just like an extreme intensification – maybe there’s no forgiveness and you still have original sin …

Rolling Stone reports: Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who led the charge on a bill that could effectively ban TikTok within the country — on the basis that China can “surveil its users” — plans to take up a post with the American surveillance company and defense contractor Palantir. Gallagher, who currently chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, …

The Atlantic reports: It wasn’t clear at first why Peter Thiel agreed to talk to me. He is, famously, no friend of the media But the impetus for these conversations? He wanted me to publish a promise he was going to make, so that he would not be tempted to go back on his word. And what was that thing …

The Insider reports: Peter Thiel has worn many hats over the years: Silicon Valley founder, Trump megadonor, cryptocurrency booster, democracy skeptic. But there is yet another facet to Thiel, one that has remained secret until now: FBI informant. In the summer of 2021, Insider has learned, Thiel began providing information as a “confidential human source,” or CHS, to Johnathan Buma, …

Bloomberg News reports: Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was formally charged with providing false testimony to a parliamentary committee investigating government corruption. White collar investigators at Austria’s Justice Ministry said Friday that Kurz could face as many as three years in jail if found guilty, according to an emailed statement. Authorities had been probing statements made by Kurz in relation …

The Insider reports: GOP megadonor Peter Thiel thinks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would “make a terrific president.” “If he’s the Republican nominee, I will strongly support him in 2024,” Thiel told podcast host Bari Weiss in an episode of the “Honestly” podcast on Wednesday. “But I do worry that focusing on the woke issue as ground zero is not quite …

Reuters reports: Tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, an early backer of former President Donald Trump who later broke with him, has told associates he is not planning to donate to any political candidates in 2024, according to two people close to the businessman. Thiel is unhappy with the Republican Party’s focus on hot-button U.S. cultural issues, said one …

The Intercept reports: Jeff Thomas, a model and social media influencer who was recently in a long-term relationship with billionaire Peter Thiel, said he spent much of his time with the tech mogul working to persuade him away from his increasingly aggressive pursuit of a culture war — a war that Thomas warned was blowing back on their community. “I …

The Daily Beast reports: Twelve weeks after its rocky launch, conservative dating app The Right Stuff is still failing to seduce large numbers of right-wing users. In October, the Peter Thiel-backed startup managed to generate 40,000 downloads. But between Nov. 1 and Dec. 20, that figure dropped to just 11,000 downloads. The app, cofounded by former Trump administration official John …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Texas startup that sought to build a conservative banking alternative is shutting down. GloriFi has laid off most of its employees and told them that it is closing up shop, according to people familiar with the matter and emails to employees reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.  The company’s fate became clear on Friday, …

The Daily Beast reports: The CEO of an anti-woke banking startup that raised tens of millions in funding and then careened toward bankruptcy has resigned, The Wall Street Journal reported. GloriFi was launched by Toby Neugebauer and Nick Ayers, former chief of staff to Mike Pence, and promoted as an alternative to liberal banks for conservatives. A recent Journal investigation …

The New York Times reports: The British tourist who answered the door of a third-floor apartment had no idea she was staying at the residence of one of the world’s richest men. Peter Thiel, the billionaire and Republican political patron, has declared the two-bedroom apartment that he rents himself as his address while he works toward a goal he has …

The Washington Post reports: Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor who pumped $15 million into a super PAC that helped make Blake Masters the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, is planning to spend as much as $5 million more in the race, according to people familiar with the matter. The additional spending would mark a reversal for Thiel, who had …

Axios reports: Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel has told the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund he is willing to make a multimillion-dollar investment in the Arizona race on the condition the super PAC finds matching funds, Axios has learned. With 28 days until the midterms, a late cash injection of this scale could prove decisive in one of 2022’s key Senate …

The Daily Beast reports: The Grand Canyon Times isn’t a traditional newspaper. It’s part of an opaque media organization that recycles right-wing news articles across a network of hyperlocal-sounding news websites, which are padded out with press releases. As the 2022 midterm elections approach, conservative campaigns have tapped the network to send realistic-looking (and unsolicited) newspapers to voters in critical …