Venture capitalist billionaire Peter Thiel (Wikipedia profile), Facebook’s first foreign investor, is no longer on Facebook’s parent company Meta board. The decision was announced by Meta on Monday (February 8th), confirming long-running speculation that he would step away after nearly two decades of close involvement.
Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement that “Thiel has been working with Meta for almost 20 years. But we also knew that after a certain period of time, he would focus on his other goals.”
Why Peter Thiel is leaving Meta now
Although neither Meta nor Thiel have commented on why he is abruptly withdrawing from Meta, the US-based Wall Street Journal and the New York Times say that he is seeking to invest money behind Republican candidates in the forthcoming election. Earlier, the investor had emerged as a staunch supporter of former US President Donald Trump.
It is expected that Thiel will officially leave Meta at the Meta shareholders’ board meeting in May this year.
Peter Thiel is basically the first outside investor of Facebook. According to US media reports, he received millions of dollars in dividends from his investment in Meta in 2005.
Peter Thiel’s investment journey from PayPal to SpaceX
Thiel originally started his journey in 1997 through the online payment company PayPal. He later built up a mountain of wealth by investing in heavyweight companies like Airbnb, Affirm, Stripe, and SpaceX.
This influential investor in the tech world was a direct supporter of the Republicans in the 2016 US election. He came into the discussion by investing about one and a half million dollars in the Republican campaign in that election. For more context on the wealthiest tech founders behind these moves, see our list of the 10 richest people in the world.
Although Thiel had a long association with Zuckerberg, he distanced himself from Zuckerberg in his Silicon Valley activities. Speaking about Zuckerberg, he said, “Mark Zuckerberg is an intelligent, prudent and hardworking man. I believe that Meta will go a long way by holding his hand.”
Zuckerberg’s Meta recently embarked on a journey into Silicon Valley and the Metaverse’s dream of a huge technology world. Not only Facebook but also popular media like WhatsApp and Instagram are included in Meta — making Peter Thiel’s exit a notable end of an era.
For More Tech Related Posts: Click here
