German Roots and an Apartheid education

Peter Thiel was born into a German family in Frankfurt, which was then in “West Germany.” They first came to the US when he was one year old. His father, Klaus Friedrich Thiel (1938–2022), was a chemical engineer employed by various mining companies in US as well as South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia)—both then under the apartheid racial system.
As they moved from place to place, Thiel attended seven elementary schools, including one in Swakopmund—the German colonial outpost "more German than Germany"—that left its mark on young Peter. Strict discipline and corporal punishment seemingly had the opposite of the intended effect, producing a man who claims to rebel against the rules and follow a libertarian philosophy. He is now a billionaire who uses his fortune to support conservative causes, right-wing politicians and the use of “big data analysis” for military and intelligence (spying) operations. Maybe the ruler on the wrist had its intended effect after all.
In 1977, the Thiels settled in Foster City, California, a newly-created upper-class enclave on the San Francisco Bay, which later found itself on the fringes of “Silicon Valley.”

Is Peter Thiel a Fantasy Fan?

Young Thiel traveled into the world of fantasy and science fiction, Dungeons & Dragons, Robert Heinlein and J.R.R. Tolkien. He read The Lord of the Rings many times and has named his business ventures after things and places created by Tolkien: Palantir, Valar, Mithril, Lembas, Arda and Rivendell. He seems to have missed most of the broader messages intended by Tolkien, such as to show kindness and empathy for the ordinary, humble people who struggle against (and ultimately overcome) the threat of oppressive, intrusive and destructive regimes. Thiel does not pursue the life of a Hobbit, an Elf or an Ent.
His philosophy has been perhaps affected more by Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, which he encountered during his high school years. Rand was a product of her times who found the notion of lesbians to be “disgusting” but she was a staunch defender of the individual’s right to be left undisturbed by government regulation of sex. This aspect of her philosophy has held some attraction to LGBTQIA+ readers.

Technocrat

In 1998, with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek, Thiel founded the company that later became Paypal, which innovated the electronic wallet. Their work came to the attention of Elon Musk, who was one of the founders of X.COM, which had set itself up as an online bank. Musk recognized the potential of payments processing, the only operation other than government that can “tax” virtually every economic transaction. Musk changed X’s focus, terminating its non-payments banking functions. Thiel eventually replaced Musk as CEO of X as it went public as Paypal in 2002. eBay then acquired the company for $1.5 billion of eBay stock, launching the greater careers of Thiel and Musk. The two immigrants would exert tremendous influence on business, government, economics and society in the United States.

Is Peter Thiel Openly Gay?

Thiel is openly gay and married Matt Danzeisen (b. ca. 1966) in 2017, but in 2019 he started a relationship with Instagram model Jeff Thomas (ca. 1987–2023). After Thiel cut Thomas off in early 2023, Thomas was seen jumping from the balcony of his Miami apartment to his death.

Does Peter Thiel dislike "Competition"?

Thiel has posited, “Is there something about the gay experience, being gay … that pushes us even more than other people toward competition?” Competition, to Thiel, is not necessarily a good thing, as it diminishes the individual’s chances for success:
“Is this a reason that we (gay people) ended up sometimes underperforming because we are insecure about things, we want to get validated by winning various competitions?”
The path of least resistance seems to be the road that Thiel prefers to follow. If wealth is the gauge of success, Peter Thiel is supremely successful.