Key Takeaways
- • Peter Thiel's relationship with J.D. Vance began in 2011 after a Yale Law School talk, and Thiel later hired Vance at Mithril Capital in 2015, according to Politico and The Washington Post.
- • Thiel donated about $15 million to Vance's 2022 Ohio Senate campaign, the largest amount ever given to a single Senate candidate, according to Forbes' reporting.
- • Thiel reportedly brought Vance to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 to repair his relationship with Donald Trump, and Vance subsequently became more aligned with Trump, who endorsed him in 2022.
- • Thiel, whom Forbes estimates is worth $7.9 billion, said at the Aspen Ideas Festival that he would vote for Trump under duress but would not donate to him.
- • Thiel helped recruit about 10 major donors for Vance, including David Sacks, who gave $1 million, per Politico.
Summary
J.D. Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, has a long-standing relationship with Silicon Valley billionaire and GOP donor Peter Thiel, which Forbes reports has supported Vance from his venture capital career through his tenure as Ohio senator. According to Vance's own blog post for The Lamp, the relationship began in 2011 after a talk Thiel gave at Yale Law School, which Vance described as "the most significant moment of my time" at the institution. Vance later called Thiel "possibly the smartest person" he had met. According to The Washington Post, Thiel became a "pretty good mentor" to Vance.
Vance moved into venture capital, joining Thiel co-founded Mithril Capital as a partner in 2015, according to Politico. He published the memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" in 2016 while still at Mithril. He left Mithril in 2017 to join Washington-based Revolution as a managing director, then launched his own firm, Narya Capital, in 2019. Axios reported that Narya reportedly received backing from Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Eric Schmidt.
According to The New York Times, Thiel brought Vance, then a Trump critic, to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 to smooth over the relationship. Vance subsequently became more sympathetic to Trump, downplayed the January 6 Capitol attack and won Trump's endorsement in his 2022 Senate race. Thiel's support was central to that campaign: according to Forbes, he gave about $15 million, a record for a single Senate candidate. Politico reported that most of Vance's campaign advertising was outsourced to the Protect Ohio Values super PAC, which Thiel funded, and that Thiel helped recruit about 10 major donors, including David Sacks, who gave $1 million.
Forbes estimates Thiel's net worth at $7.9 billion, driven largely by early Facebook investments and his role as a general partner at Founders Fund. Thiel's relationship with Trump has been more reluctant: he donated more than $1 million to Trump in 2016 but has since withdrawn financial support, and at the Aspen Ideas Festival he said, "You hold a gun to my head, I'll vote for Trump." Per OpenSecrets, Thiel has given millions mostly to Republicans since 2010, along with some donations to Democrats such as Gavin Newsom and Ro Khanna.
Vance moved into venture capital, joining Thiel co-founded Mithril Capital as a partner in 2015, according to Politico. He published the memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" in 2016 while still at Mithril. He left Mithril in 2017 to join Washington-based Revolution as a managing director, then launched his own firm, Narya Capital, in 2019. Axios reported that Narya reportedly received backing from Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Eric Schmidt.
According to The New York Times, Thiel brought Vance, then a Trump critic, to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 to smooth over the relationship. Vance subsequently became more sympathetic to Trump, downplayed the January 6 Capitol attack and won Trump's endorsement in his 2022 Senate race. Thiel's support was central to that campaign: according to Forbes, he gave about $15 million, a record for a single Senate candidate. Politico reported that most of Vance's campaign advertising was outsourced to the Protect Ohio Values super PAC, which Thiel funded, and that Thiel helped recruit about 10 major donors, including David Sacks, who gave $1 million.
Forbes estimates Thiel's net worth at $7.9 billion, driven largely by early Facebook investments and his role as a general partner at Founders Fund. Thiel's relationship with Trump has been more reluctant: he donated more than $1 million to Trump in 2016 but has since withdrawn financial support, and at the Aspen Ideas Festival he said, "You hold a gun to my head, I'll vote for Trump." Per OpenSecrets, Thiel has given millions mostly to Republicans since 2010, along with some donations to Democrats such as Gavin Newsom and Ro Khanna.
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