Peter Thiel

Hosted a dinner party on 29 July 2016 attended by white nationalist Kevin DeAnna while backing Donald Trump's campaign, and emailed him the next day, according to emails obtained by BuzzFeed News.

“really enjoyed meeting you last night”

Response: Thiel did not respond to BuzzFeed News's request for comment.

• BuzzFeed News ↗
• TheWrap ↗

Acknowledged to The New York Times that he had secretly financed, with about $10 million, Hulk Hogan's privacy lawsuit against the news site Gawker, as part of a years-long plan to fund lawsuits against the company. A Florida jury had awarded Hogan $140 million in damages against Gawker.

“It's less about revenge and more about specific deterrence”

Response: Thiel said: "It's precisely because I respect journalists that I do not believe they are endangered by fighting back against Gawker."

• TechCrunch ↗
• Entrepreneur ↗

Wrote in the essay "The Education of a Libertarian" that he no longer believes freedom and democracy are compatible.

“Most importantly, I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”

• Cato Unbound (primary source) ↗

In the essay "The Education of a Libertarian", cited the extension of the vote to women, together with the growth of welfare beneficiaries, as having turned "capitalist democracy" into an oxymoron.

“Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of "capitalist democracy" into an oxymoron.”

Response: In a later clarification appended to the essay, Thiel wrote: "It would be absurd to suggest that women's votes will be taken away or that this would solve the political problems that vex us. While I don't think any class of people should be disenfranchised, I have little hope that voting will make things better."

• Cato Unbound (primary source) ↗