It was PayPal cofounder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel who introduced his mentee, JD Vance, to President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2021. Three years later—with Trump and Vance just weeks from the White House—it’s Thiel who is sitting pretty as many people within his network head for official or advisory positions in the next administration.
David Sacks—who worked with Thiel at PayPal and wrote for the Stanford Review, the student newspaper Thiel founded as an undergraduate at Stanford University in 1987—was named as the White House’s incoming “AI and crypto czar” on Wednesday. Jim O’Neill, former CEO of Thiel’s personal foundation, has been picked as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Elon Musk, whose financial and vocal support helped elect Trump, will be running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk had worked closely with Thiel at PayPal; and Thiel’s venture fund, Founders Fund, was an early investor in several of Musk’s companies, including space cargo business SpaceX, tunneling firm the Boring Company, and brain-chip startup Neuralink.
Trae Stephens, a general partner at Founders Fund, is reportedly being considered for deputy secretary of defense, according to the Wall Street Journal. And Michael Kratsios, Thiel Capital’s former chief of staff and a director at Founders Fund–backed Scale AI, is reportedly handling tech policy during the Trump transition.
Then, of course, there is Vance, who worked for Thiel at one of his funds, Mithril Capital, then launched a venture fund that Thiel backed. Founders Fund still lists Vance’s venture firm, Narya Capital, as an “affiliate” on regulatory filings.
All of these individuals, including the vice president–elect, sit within powerful Silicon Valley networks with one man at their center: Thiel. There’s the PayPal Mafia, the group of early employees of the digital payments company that includes Thiel and Musk. There’s the conservative student paper, the Stanford Review. There’s Founders Fund, the $12 billion venture capital firm that has invested in the major startups working most closely with the U.S. Department of Defense—SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril. And then there’s also Thiel’s personal endeavors, like his family office, foundation, or other funds.
Trump pulled people from these same networks during his first presidency, when Thiel was the sole voice of Trump support in Silicon Valley—donating more than $1 million and speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2016. During that first administration, Trump selected Ken Howery, a Stanford Review and PayPal alum, as the U.S. ambassador to Sweden (Howery was also reportedly at Mar-a-Lago during the 2024 election night). Trump also appointed Kratsios, Thiel Capital’s former chief of staff, as the White House’s deputy chief technology officer. And Mark Woolway, who was an early employee at PayPal and now works at Sacks’ Craft Ventures, was on Trump’s transition team for the Treasury Department in 2016.
While Thiel still describes himself as pro-Trump, he’s taken a step back compared with previous election cycles. By the time of the 2024 election, Thiel had made a decision not to donate to any campaign, which he told Fortune was because he was no longer convinced money mattered at the federal level and hadn’t been persuaded that this election would focus on “ending our decades-long technological and economic stagnation.”
But while Thiel is no longer a financial supporter, his closeness to those who will soon wield power and influence, including the vice president, is notable—and his longtime investments in companies that work closely with the U.S. government are likely to benefit.
Thiel’s politics are complicated and have evolved—and it’s difficult to place him in a particular bucket, though he’s been described as a conservative libertarian, and is also known for having nationalist tendencies. He is a backer of crypto and crypto companies and has warned against government regulation, particularly in the field of AI.
Thiel seems to already be thinking ahead. In an interview with The Free Press founder Bari Weiss shortly after the election, Thiel gave advice about what Vice President–elect Vance could do to be elected president in 2028, after Trump’s term ends.
