Billionaire Peter Thiel: 'Single-digit millionaires’ have it so hard
Peter Thiel is fighting for the little guy, the everyday people who maybe only have a few million in the bank and therefore aren't entitled to their day in court.
That's the reasoning Thiel gave during a question-and-answer session with the National Press Club on Monday.
When asked about the lawsuit he funded against Gawker, which bankrupted the company and forced founder Nick Denton to put it up for sale, Thiel argued that the case was justified because Gawker did not practice journalism and often bullied people.
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He then said that he felt it reasonable to fund Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker because the former professional wrestler was only a "single-digit millionaire."
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Forbes puts Thiel's net worth at around $2.7 billion. A high-profile figure in the world of venture capital, Thiel helped found Paypal and Palantir Technologies and was one of the early investors in Facebook. He remains a board member at Facebook.
Known for his aggressively contrarian views and libertarian politics, Thiel's support of Trump has been a topic of controversy, especially after he spoke at the Republican National Convention and donated to Trump's campaign shortly after a tape leaked on which the candidate was heard bragging about sexual assault.
Before his support for Trump, Thiel became a controversial figure after it emerged that he had spent years funding Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker, after the website posted a clip of a sex tape in which the wrestler was recorded having sex with a friend's wife.
The line resonated as being particularly tone deaf, especially after Thiel spent much of his speech preceding the Q&A talking about how average Americans were having a difficult time.
Thiel's speech centered around why he is supporting Donald Trump for president.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
