"Gay marriage can’t be a partisan issue because as long as there are partisan issues or cultural issues in this country, you’ll have trench warfare like on the western front in World War I. You’ll have lots of carnage and no progress."
Just as the legal attack on Microsoft was ending Bill Gatess dominance — Peter Thiel
"Just as the legal attack on Microsoft was ending Bill Gatess dominance, Steve Jobss return to Apple demonstrated the irreplaceable value of a companys founder. In some ways, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were opposites. Jobs was an artist, preferred closed systems, and spent his time thinking about great products above all else; Gates was a businessman, kept his products open, and wanted to run the world. But both were insider/outsiders, and both pushed the companies they started to achievements that nobody else would have been able to match."

Peter Andreas Thiel is a German and American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal (1998), Palantir Technologies (2003), and Founders Fund (2005), he was also the first outside investor in Facebook (2004). According to The New York Times, as of December 2025, Thiel's estimated net worth stood at US$27.5 billion, placing him among the 100 rich
Peter Andreas Thiel is a German and American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal (1998), Palantir Technologies (2003), and Founders Fund (2005), he was also the first outside investor in Facebook (2004). According to The New York Times, as of December 2025, Thiel's estimated net worth stood at US$27.5 billion, placing him among the 100 rich
View all quotes by Peter ThielMore by Peter Thiel
View all →"Confirm [the age of Apple is over]. We know what a smartphone looks like and does. Its not the fault of Tim Cook, but its not an area where there will be any more innovation."
"It’s good to test yourself and develop your talents and ambitions as fully as you can and achieve greater success; but I think success is the feeling you get from a job well done, and the key thing is to do the work."
"My own answer to the contrarian question is that most people think the future of the world will be defined by globalization, but the truth is that technology matters more. ... In a world of scarce resources, globalization without new technology is unsustainable."
"We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters."
"[The media] never takes [Trump] seriously, but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously, but not literally."