Over a dozen people linked to the PayPal co-founder hold positions within the administration, the media outlet estimates
Tech mogul and billionaire Peter Thiel exerts considerable influence over US President Donald Trump’s administration, a Bloomberg article has claimed. Unlike Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, however, he prefers to keep a low profile.
More than a dozen individuals connected to Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, have been integrated into the Trump administration, Bloomberg wrote on Friday. This group includes “current and former employees of his companies, as well as people who have helped manage his fortune or benefitted from his investments and charitable giving.”
The outlet listed 15 individuals within the government who are seen as having ties to the entrepreneur, five of whom serve in the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Among the officials are Vice President J.D. Vance and AI and crypto czar David Sacks. According to Bloomberg, the former had worked at Thiel’s Mithril Capital, while Thiel reportedly acted as Vance’s “mentor” and sponsor. The tech tycoon is also said to have helped Vance make inroads with Trump in 2021 after the then-Ohio senator publicly criticized the Republican firebrand. Sacks, a longtime associate of Thiel, is also a PayPal co-founder.
Thiel, 57, does not hold any official position in the administration.
Bloomberg quoted Quinn Slobodian, professor of international history at Boston University, as describing the extent of prominent big tech figures’ supposed influence on the US government as “unprecedented in the modern era.” The scholar suggested that these individuals are more interested in executing a “bottom-up renovation of how the government operates” as opposed to merely “profiting from state contracts.”
The outlet pointed out that Musk, the prime crusader against government waste and bureaucracy in the Trump administration, also has long had ties to Thiel.
On Friday, meanwhile, the New York Times alleged that rifts between Musk and other members of the Trump team had become apparent recently. According to the newspaper, Musk locked horns with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an “extraordinary” White House cabinet meeting the day before.
The billionaire reportedly accused Rubio of failing to properly implement staffing cuts, with the president having to intervene to end the spat, according to the media outlet.
Speaking to reporters, Trump, however, denied the episode, insisting that “Elon gets along great with Marco and they’re both doing a fantastic job.”
