The controversial entrepreneur and long-time counselor to Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, is stepping down from the board of Meta, Facebook’s parent corporation. According to sources in the media, Theil is quitting the company to pursue a career in politics, with the goal of backing Trump-aligned politicians in this year’s midterm elections. Thiel, who has a net worth of £2.8 billion, has decided not to run for re-election to Meta’s Board of Directors, thereby ending his tenure, Meta announced in a statement on Monday.
Thiel is best recognized for being a co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, among his many venture capital endeavors in Silicon Valley. He joined Facebook’s board of directors in April 2005 and has been a powerful voice throughout the company’s ups and downs. “Peter has been an invaluable member of our board, and I’m grateful for everything he’s done for our company,” Zuckerberg said in the release. “Peter is a really original thinker to whom you can bring your most difficult challenges and receive unique solutions.” He’s been on our board for about two decades, and we’ve always knew he’d want to pursue other interests at some point.”
Thiel’s resignation was not explained by Meta, but unidentified sources told the New York Times that he made the choice to focus on political activities ahead of the November 2022 US midterm elections.
Thiel is renowned as one of Silicon Valley’s most outspoken conservatives, in addition to his efforts in technology and business. He has given the Republican Party millions of dollars, including considerable financial support for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Thiel contributed $10 million to the campaigns of two former Trump supporters: Blake Masters, who is running for Senate in Arizona, and J. D. Vance, who is running for Senate in Ohio, last year. Thiel’s political views are often described as conservative-libertarian, with a strong belief in individual liberty and a dislike for “big government.” “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” he asserted in a 2009 essay, which became one of his most famous statements.
“Our world’s fate may be determined by the efforts of a single person who builds or propagates the mechanism of liberty that makes the world safe for capitalism.” His departure from Meta comes at a time when the social media behemoth is beset by issues. It was announced earlier this month that Facebook’s daily user base has dropped for the first time in 17 years, putting a halt to the platform’s unstoppable growth. Meta’s shares fell by 23 percent in early February 2022 as a result of these problems, which included competition from TikTok and Apple’s campaign for advertising privacy.
