His philosophy has been perhaps affected more by Ayn Rand\u2019s Objectivism<\/em>, which he encountered during his high school years. Rand was a product of her times who found the notion of lesbians to be \u201cdisgusting\u201d but she was a staunch defender of the individual\u2019s right to be left undisturbed by government regulation of sex. This aspect of her philosophy has held some attraction to LGBTQIA+ readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technocrat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201ctax\u201d virtually every economic transaction. Musk changed X\u2019s 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.\u00a0The two immigrants would exert tremendous influence on business, government, economics and society in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is Peter Thiel Openly Gay?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u20132023). After Thiel cut Thomas off in early 2023, Thomas was seen jumping from the balcony of his Miami apartment to his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does Peter Thiel dislike “Competition”?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thiel has posited, \u201cIs there something about the gay experience, being gay \u2026 that pushes us even more than other people toward competition?\u201d Competition, to Thiel, is not necessarily a good thing, as it diminishes the individual\u2019s chances for success:
\u201cIs 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?\u201d
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.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/queersinhistory.com\/2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/button.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"