Thiel cofounded the big data firm Palantir in 2003. He was the first major outside investor in Facebook and contributed early funding to Yelp and LinkedIn, along with a number of other ventures launched by his PayPal peers. Thiel continues to serve as a partner of Founders Fund.
Thiel has also drawn criticism in recent years for his support of President Donald Trump and for secretly funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media, which resulted in the company shutting down Gawker and selling the company's assets.
In October, The Wall Street Journal reported Founders Fund is raising nearly $3 billion across two funds, one of which will pump money into late-stage startups that want to delay an IPO. Thiel is also dabbling in the growing cryptocurrency market. Fortune recently reported he was part of a $50 million investment in Layer1, a San Francisco-based Bitcoin-mining startup.