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2.41 MB
Extraction Summary
6
People
7
Organizations
2
Locations
2
Events
4
Relationships
6
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
News article / house oversight committee document
File Size:
2.41 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a page from a profile or article about Peter Thiel, included in a House Oversight Committee production. It details Thiel's continued support for Donald Trump despite perceived shortcomings, contrasting Trump with Hillary Clinton. The text explores Thiel's philosophical influences, specifically René Girard's mimetic theory, linking this philosophy to his early investment in Facebook. It also mentions a conflict with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings regarding Thiel's political alignment.
People (6)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Thiel | Subject/Interviewee |
Investor, Facebook board member, Trump supporter discussing his political views and business history.
|
| Donald Trump | US President |
Discussed as the candidate Thiel endorsed.
|
| Hillary Clinton | Former Candidate |
Mentioned by Thiel as a worse alternative to Trump.
|
| Ayn Rand | Author |
Author of 'Atlas Shrugged', book found in Thiel's apartment.
|
| René Girard | Philosopher/Professor |
French philosopher who taught at Stanford; major influence on Thiel regarding mimetic theory.
|
| Reed Hastings | Netflix CEO / Board Member |
Criticized Thiel's support of Trump in a memo.
|
Organizations (7)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Republican Party |
Mentioned in context of the convention and 'Republican zombies'.
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| The White House |
Did not respond to request for comment.
|
|
| Stanford University |
Where Thiel was an undergraduate and Girard taught.
|
|
|
Company Thiel invested in; discussed regarding its mimetic nature and stock sales.
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||
| Netflix |
Company where Reed Hastings is chief executive.
|
|
| The New York Times |
Publication where the Hastings memo appeared.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Source of the document production (inferred from footer).
|
Timeline (2 events)
15 year period (historic)
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location where the interview/observation took place.
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Academic institution.
|
Relationships (4)
Thiel touted Trump at convention; has no regrets about endorsement.
Thiel sat in on study group for 15 years; Girard was a deep influence.
Fellow board members; Hastings wrote critical memo regarding Thiel's politics.
Thiel owns Atlas Shrugged but describes his philosophy (via Girard) as 'anti-Ayn Rand'.
Key Quotes (6)
"end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country"Source
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Quote #1
"There are all these ways that things have fallen short"Source
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Quote #2
"It’s still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies"Source
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Quote #3
"It’s very anti-Ayn Rand: There are no self-contained autonomous figures"Source
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Quote #4
"Our desires are not our own. They get shaped powerfully by the society around us."Source
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Quote #5
"catastrophically bad judgment"Source
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Quote #6
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,046 characters)
The Trump whom Mr. Thiel touted at the Republican convention was a candidate who would “end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country,” move us past “fake culture wars” and start projects the equivalent of the Apollo space program. That does not seem to be the president he got.
“There are all these ways that things have fallen short,” Mr. Thiel said. But he said he had no regrets about his endorsement. “It’s still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies,” he said, referring to the other candidates.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Thiel is routinely labeled a libertarian. On a bookshelf in the apartment, as if in confirmation, is a hardback copy of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” the bible of the movement. A gift, he said.
A lesser-known but possibly deeper influence was the French philosopher René Girard, who taught at Stanford University when Mr. Thiel was an undergraduate there. For 15 years, on and off, Mr. Thiel sat in on a study group about Mr. Girard’s ideas. Mr. Girard believed human beings were deeply mimetic, which is to say they copy one another.
“It’s very anti-Ayn Rand: There are no self-contained autonomous figures,” Mr. Thiel said. “Our desires are not our own. They get shaped powerfully by the society around us.”
It was this illumination that helped him see the potential of Facebook — where people could find out in intimate and addictive detail what their friends were up to — when it was barely a year old. He was the first outside investor, buying 10 percent of the company for $500,000.
He sold most of his holdings in 2012 as Facebook went public. A few months ago, with Facebook’s market capitalization at about $500 billion, he sold most of what he had left.
Last summer, there was a flap when a memo by a fellow board member, Reed Hastings, the chief executive of Netflix, appeared in The New York Times. In the memo, Mr. Hastings wrote to Mr. Thiel that he displayed “catastrophically bad judgment” in supporting Mr. Trump.
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029454
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