Peter Thiel Won’t Fund Candidates in 2024, Sources Say

Tech Billionaire Peter Thiel Not Planning to Donate to Political Candidates in 2024

According to sources close to Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire and Republican megadonor who was an early supporter of former President Donald Trump but later broke with him, he has no plans to donate to any political candidates in 2024. Thiel is reportedly unhappy with the Republican Party’s focus on hot-button cultural issues, such as abortion and transgender rights, and believes they should be more focused on spurring innovation and competing with China.

Thiel’s Political Plans

Thiel’s plans for the Republican primary and general election have not been previously reported, but sources say he is taking a step back from U.S. politics. This decision underlines how the Republican Party’s swing to the right on social issues is alienating some prominent, business-minded donors.

Donor Hesitation

Several top donors have said they are hesitant to support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a run for the White House soon, after he signed a bill into law that bans most abortions after six weeks in Florida. None said they intended to sit out the entire 2024 election cycle as a consequence.

Thiel’s Political Contributions

Thiel has contributed around $50 million to state and federal political candidates and campaigns since 2000, and he was the 10th largest individual donor to either party in the 2022 midterm congressional elections. In 2020, Thiel did not financially back Trump’s re-election efforts, but in the 2022 election cycle, he emerged as a potential Republican kingmaker, contributing more than $35 million to 16 federal-level Republican candidates, 12 of whom won.

Thiel could still change his mind on political contributions for the 2024 cycle, but sources familiar with his donation plans said they had heard him declare on multiple recent occasions that he had withdrawn from U.S. politics. The source who knows Thiel personally said he had cautioned that he could still support candidates who have worked for him, as he did in 2022.

Concerns About Family’s Safety

Thiel is married to businessman Matt Danzeisen, with whom he has two toddlers. Concerns about his family’s safety have weighed in Thiel’s decision to step back from politics, according to the source who knows him personally.

(Reporting by Anna Tong, Alexandra Ulmer and Jeffrey Dastin, Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell)