Peter Thiel, famous for being Facebook's first investor and the co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, is the brains behind the Thiel Foundation. As part of the two-year fellowship, 20 teenagers receive $100,000 to drop out of college and start a company.
As both a VC and entrepreneur, Thiel has been involved with companies like Palantir Technologies, Founders Fund, and Facebook, where Thiel was the social network's first outside investor and director.
Thiel is also the founder and president of Clarium Capital.