Now settling in Argentina: PayPal founder Peter Thiel.Image: keystone
Technology investor and Trump supporter Peter Thiel has probably had enough of the USA. He settled in Argentina.
May 31, 2026, 11:36 amMay 31, 2026, 11:36 am
Peter Thiel is one of Donald Trump’s most influential supporters in the corporate world. But he is also considered a supporter of Vice President JD Vance and his political views. But the investor of German descent is apparently planning to turn his back on the USA.
According to US media reports, Thiel is said to have bought a property in Argentina and met with President Javier Milei several times, reports the New York Times. The reason: He wants an alternative residence to his homes in Los Angeles. The billionaire, who has also applied for a New Zealand passport and Maltese citizenship, is apparently concerned about the course of action in the US. He is now said to have settled in with his husband in Buenos Aires.
As insiders report to the New York Post, he has concerns about staying in the USA, especially because of California. There are proposals to tax billionaires’ income more heavily. In Argentina he could negotiate tax advantages, but the country could also suit him for other reasons.
Warner from the Antichrist
President Milei rules with a hard hand, often without regard to losses. Thiel is considered a right-wing conservative who has repeatedly spoken out against the democratic system. In lectures he repeatedly warns of the emergence of the Antichrist and propagates a society that is primarily controlled by technology. He supported American Vice President JD Vance at the beginning of his political career and is one of the pioneers of the new right.
Many in Washington consider the 57-year-old to be one of the most important political masterminds in the USA – and one of the most dangerous. Thiel was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1967 and his parents emigrated with him to the USA. He is married to an investment banker and has two daughters born via a surrogate mother. Thiel met Elon Musk in 1996 and together with him he founded the payment service PayPal. The sale of the company made both of them multi-billionaires.
Thiel likes to act in the background. He rarely appears in public, but speaks to selected audiences about his theological-political theories of the Antichrist and the end of the world. He sees rules and laws as largely hindering companies. “Competition is for losers,” he wrote in his book “Zero to One.” But apparently he no longer sees a future for himself in the land of the free.
Children already registered at Argentine school
Thiel, 58, temporarily moved to Argentina with husband Matt Danzeisen and enrolled his children at a local school, two of the Times’ informants said. The Argentine government has also considered offering the billionaire permanent residency or even citizenship, said a person familiar with Thiel’s plans.
A spokesman for Javier Milei denied that such an offer had been considered. The Argentine government is currently working on introducing a “Golden Passport” program that would allow people who make large investments in the country to acquire citizenship.
“All the billionaires of the world who want to flee countries where regulation is increasing, taxes are rising and governments are persecuting their citizens are welcome in the Republic of Argentina, the new land of freedom,” Manuel Adorni, Milei’s cabinet chief, told Congress last month in response to a question about Thiel. Thiel, he added, was “interested in the profound reforms that we are pushing forward.”
Meeting with several ministers
Thiel and Milei at least have similar political views. The Argentine president has drastically cut regulations and government spending. At the same time, it offers raw materials such as lithium to international investors.
Since arriving in Buenos Aires, Thiel is said to have met with Argentina’s Minister for Deregulation, Federico Rumpfenegger, and Economy Minister Luis Caputo. He had also already visited Milei’s private house. The president called it a meeting of two like-minded men. Thiel asked him how he can ensure that libertarian politics can continue after his term in office. “It was an anarcho-capitalist meeting another anarcho-capitalist who makes things happen,” Milei said.