Category: Public Figure — Major Political Donor / Corporate Director / Venture Capitalist Role: Co-Founder and Director, Palantir Technologies Inc. Board Tenure: 2003 (founding) – present Committee Memberships: Not disclosed (co-founder director role) Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership) + Anchor C (Documented Political Spending)

Basis for Inclusion: Peter Thiel holds a documented governance role at Palantir Technologies Inc. Palantir Technologies Inc. is a major data analytics and artificial intelligence company that provides surveillance and intelligence platforms to U.S. defense, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies. Palantir made documented political donations to Trump-aligned entities while its CEO Alex Karp and co-founder Peter Thiel have had documented close relationships with the Trump administration. Palantir’s U.S. government revenue constitutes approximately 55% of total revenue. Additionally, Thiel personally donated approximately $15 million to Trump-aligned political action committees during the 2022–2024 election cycles and served on President Trump’s 2016–2017 Presidential Transition Team. This profile documents both the factual governance relationship and Thiel’s documented personal political spending and advisory role.

Subject Classification: Public Figure / Corporate Director / Major Political Donor. His board role, political spending, and government advisory role are matters of public record.

What is NOT the basis for inclusion: Personal political opinions, party affiliation, or protected speech are NOT the basis for inclusion. The documented basis includes: (1) board governance role at Palantir, a major government contractor; (2) approximately $15 million in documented personal political donations to Trump-aligned PACs; and (3) documented service on Trump’s Presidential Transition Team — creating accountability-relevant relationships between his personal political activities and Palantir’s government contracting interests.

Biographical Overview

Peter Andreas Thiel is a German-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. He co-founded PayPal (with Elon Musk, Max Levchin, and others), served as its CEO, and sold it to eBay in 2002. He was an early investor in Facebook, earning an estimated $1 billion from that investment. He co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 with Alexander Karp, Stephen Cohen, and others, providing the initial seed funding and serving as its first outside investor (through Founders Fund and personal investment). He is the managing partner of Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. He is the author of Zero to One (2014), a business philosophy book.

Documented Trump Administration Relationships:

• 2016 Presidential Transition Team: Thiel served on President-elect Trump’s Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee from November 2016 through January 2017, providing direct advisory access to the incoming administration during the period when federal agency priorities and contractor relationships were being established.
• 2016 RNC Speech: Thiel delivered a prime-time speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention endorsing Donald Trump, becoming the first openly gay person to address the RNC in support of a Republican presidential nominee.
• 2022–2024 Political Spending: Thiel donated approximately $15 million to Trump-aligned PACs and political operations during the 2022–2024 election cycles, including major contributions to JD Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign (Vance, whom Thiel endorsed and financed, became Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate in 2024).

Conflict of Interest Context: Thiel’s personal political spending and advisory relationships with the Trump administration create accountability-relevant questions regarding Palantir’s government contracting activities. Palantir’s U.S. government revenue — approximately 55% of total company revenue — depends on federal contracting decisions made by agencies that were staffed and directed by the administration Thiel helped elect and advise.

Board Role and Governance Authority

• Company: Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR)
• Board tenure: 2003 (founding) – present
• Role: Co-founder director — holds disproportionate voting rights through Palantir’s multi-class share structure; a major institutional shareholder through Founders Fund

Other Current Board Memberships and Investments (if applicable)

Thiel is Managing Partner of Founders Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm. He has served on the boards of multiple portfolio companies. He was previously on the board of Facebook (Meta), which he departed in 2022.

Parent Corporate Donor Profile

This profile is a governance-accountability companion to the Palantir Technologies corporate donor profile.

Factual correction requests: If you believe information in this profile is incorrect, please contact factcheck@patriot.university with your name (optional), the specific claim, and any supporting documentation. We review all submissions and correct verified errors promptly.

Investigative trail pointers (public records)

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Sources

• Palantir Technologies Inc. Annual Report / Proxy Statement, 2024–2025; SEC EDGAR
• FEC campaign finance records — personal PAC donations (public)
• Trump Presidential Transition Team records, November–December 2016 (public record)
• 2016 Republican National Convention proceedings (public)
• Media reporting on Thiel political spending, 2022–2024 (public record)