Peter Thiel, Gay Republican Billionaire, Won't Donate to 2024 Candidates: Report

Peter Thiel, the gay tech billionaire who was once a major supporter of Donald Trump, is backing away from political donations, sources have told Reuters.

Thiel won’t fund any candidates in the 2024 races, according to a business associate and others who spoke with the news service. They said he wasn’t happy with the Republican Party’s emphasis on culture-war issues, such as its opposition to abortion rights and attempts to restrict which public restrooms transgender people can use. As a libertarian, he’d rather see a focus on economic matters, the sources said.

Thiel founded PayPal and Palantir, and he was an early investor in Facebook. He has amassed a fortune of about $4.2 million. Since 2000, he has contributed $50 million to various candidates, and he was the 10^th largest individual donor in the 2022 election, Reuters reports.

He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in support of Trump and contributed $1.25 million to his campaign. But Thiel did not donate to Trump in 2020. “Thiel liked some of Trump's policies while in office but disapproved of the chaos surrounding the former reality TV star's presidency,” according to the Reuters article.

In the 2022 midterms, Thiel contributed a combined $35 million to 16 federal-level Republican candidates, 12 of whom won. Two of them were his former employees — J.D. Vance, who won a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio, and Blake Masters, who lost a Senate race in Arizona to Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly. Former employees will be an exception to his no-donations decision for 2024, the sources said.

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Model Jeff Thomas, who died, reportedly by suicide, in Florida last month, had claimed to have been Thiel’s “kept man.” The Reuters article did not mention this event in relation to Thiel’s decision about donations, although it did say he was worried about his family’s safety. Thiel is married to Matt Danzeisen, a businessman, and they have two children.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 is for people of all ages and identities. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.