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Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

nytimes.com

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Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#171

Post by adventured »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #12

I realize this is a petty and inconsequential question, but does anyone else think that the Forbes estimate of $2.6bn is a little low for a guy that was a key early investor in Facebook and has multiple other holdings like Palantir? Is there a bunch of money Forbes isn’t counting or something?

Bloomberg has Thiel at $8.2 billion. They list $4.x billion in 'cash.' Seems a lot more accurate than the Forbes number. I'm curious where the supposed PayPal IRA money fits into that $8b, and or if it even exists at this point (who knows).

"Thiel owns about 8% of Palantir Technologies, according to an analysis of its April 2021 proxy filing. He's credited with shares held directly as well as those held by Thiel Capital, PLTR Holdings, PT Ventures, STS Holdings II, FF4 Investment, Rivendell 7 and Rivendell 25 because he's the beneficial owner of these entities."

"The billionaire indirectly owns stakes in various companies through his interest in venture capital firm, Founders Fund. His stake in the firm is calculated to be 42.5% based on information in the company's 2021 Form ADV filing. It's valuation assumes insiders own 22% of the $24.5 billion in assets managed across its funds. "

"The value of his cash investments is valued based on proceeds from share sales, carried interest and reported data from Thiel's federal tax returns. It includes the value of his hedge funds."

https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/peter-a-thie...

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#172

Post by zozbot234 »

Barrin92 wrote: post #157
mjfl wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read his book "Zero to One" and I felt like it did learn good things from it, for example that "competition is for losers". Before I thought capitalism was all about competition, but maybe I was a rube in not knowing that.

You weren't a rube at all, that view of capitalism as being characterized by competitive markets is popular and the result of Milton Friedman style ideas being almost propagandized from the 80s onward. His points in the book however do basically go back to Schumpeter who argued the same thing. That oligopolistic markets in which outsized firms earn excess profits, are significantly more dynamic than overly competitiv…

The economic definition of competition, beyond its simplest variety, allows for natural "moats" and differentiated firms. Looking for a "moat" is just engaging in competition on a larger scale than that of a single product - and the "excess" returns involved are ultimately a reward for good positioning. (Of course artificially-created 'moats' are a form of rent seeking and should be eliminated via antitrust regulation, but this can take some time.)

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#173

Post by dennisnedry »

geodel wrote: post #162
clairity wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

> thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, This is true for more than 99% of extremely successful people. It is only worth mentioning when one does not like any particular successful person.

99% of internet posts make claims without sources.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#174

Post by spaetzleesser »

kelp wrote: post #130
clairity wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

He’s actually very Christian and I’m told attends services every week. I’m not sure what denomination though.

Being a Christian usually doesn’t have much impact on how people behave. You can be super greedy, super generous, never cheat on your spouse, cheat all the time and so on. Somehow people find a justification for their behavior within their faith no matter what it is.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#175

Post by vineyardmike »

ALittleLight wrote: post #149
MiscIdeaMaker99 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One doesn't have to defend Gawker to think that what Peter Theil did was atrocious.

So... you think what Gawker did was bad, but Thiel was wrong to stop it?

Gawker did a bad thing, and Thiel funded a massive lawsuit to bury them. Thiel did it because he wanted to silence press that had wronged him. He didn't do it because he wanted to be a savior.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#176

Post by zozbot234 »

xxpor wrote: post #161
golemotron wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. No one on the left does that?

Not to the same extent, simply because the raison d'etre of the left is to (at the extreme end) eliminate those types of people in the first place. Why isn't there a OANN of the left? Sure the MSM has a mainstream liberal bias, but there's hardly any Big Left (as in full on communist) media, at least in the English speaking world. There's a multitude of reasons, but I believe a big part of it is there simply isn't fu…

Because OANN true believers are the kind of people who watch TV, and their closest equivalents on the left do not. The preferred media can differ.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#177

Post by aksss »

weneedctrl wrote: post #61
user249 wrote: post #14

This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims. [1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p... One nitpick; Theil said "We…

> he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself That gave me Epstein-verse vibes.

Only that Epstein was probably more a tool of the political systems and governments than they were tools of his. Symbiotic, I guess, but only one person got suicided in a prison cell while the cameras happened to be offline the guards inattentive.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#178

Post by spaetzleesser »

WFHRenaissance wrote: post #163
clairity wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…

Jeez. I hate to burst your bubble, but Peter is more talented and intelligent than most of the readers/writers on this website. It's easy to make your claim when your perception of the guy is based solely on news articles and hit pieces. I don't agree with him on everything, but there is no denying that he's gotten where he is through maneuvering and foresight.

A lot of people think intelligence means people behave according to their ethics. In reality intelligence doesn’t mean that you are a good guy. A lot of “bad” guys are very intelligent. Not many people could pull off what Pablo Escobar or El Chapo did. Elizabeth Holmes from Theranos is pretty smart.

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#179

Post by tomjakubowski »

clairity wrote: post #156
kelp wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s actually very Christian and I’m told attends services every week. I’m not sure what denomination though.

i suspect a number of narcissistic christians secretly wonder if they're actually the second coming. it wouldn't surprise me if thiel were in that group.

Now I'm curious: do the scriptures say when Jesus became self-aware, that he was (the son of) God?

Re: Peter Thiel to step down from Meta’s board

#180

Post by r00fus »

rr808 wrote: post #152
golemotron wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. No one on the left does that?

here are some names that do more than just donate cash. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/most-influential-dem...

I really doubt you could call any of these billionaires "left".
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