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    Internal Affairs documents detailing why billionaire Peter Thiel became a New Zealand citizen.

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    Internal Affairs documents detailing why billionaire Peter Thiel became a New Zealand citizen.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    221K views145 pages

    Peter Thiel Release 1 February 2017

    Uploaded by

    Stuff Newsroom
    Internal Affairs documents detailing why billionaire Peter Thiel became a New Zealand citizen.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 145
    INTERNAL AFFAIRS Te Tari Taiwhenua 120 Victoria Street, Wellington Phone 0800 22 51.51 1 February 2017 Website www.dia.govt.nz Release of Citizenship Information The attached information has been released under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA. Act). The documentation relates to an application for New Zealand citizenship by Mr Peter Thiel. Information has been redacted in reliance of the following provisions of the Act: © Section 9(2)(a) of the OIA Act — the protection of the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons; and/or * Section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the OIA Act - would be likely to unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is subject of the information; and/or * Section 9(2)(g)(i) of the OIA Act ~ maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through fee and frank expression of opinions. Information withheld ‘Some documents have been withheld in reliance of the following provisions of the Act: * Section 9(2)(a) of the OIA Act ~ the protection of the privacy of natural persons, \cluding that of deceased natural persons; and/or * Section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the OIA Act - would be likely to unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is subject of the information; and/or ‘© Section 9(2)(e)(i) of the OIA Act ~ maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through fee and frank expression of opinions. These documents relate to standard information required to assess eligibility, and include immigration material, overseas police checks and commercial material. Further information has been withheld in reliance of Section 9(2)(g)(i), this includes a draft submission ~ a copy of the final submission has however been released as part of the attached documentation. The Department has taken into account the circumstances of this particular case. We consider that the reasons to withhold the information given above, are not outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make that information available. For the Secretary of Internal Affairs Bay Gun ea CIT 2011000002 SP WGN 1 araunga 22 June 2011 “er Serv cop Boulet ouse 7 Boule, Oe poxease \Wetington 642, Nov Zesand Freephone oun 225351 APPLICATION FOR NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP Fastin +54 438908 Applicant: Mr Peter Andreas Thiel oi Date of birth: 11 October 1967 Place of birth: Frankfurt, Germany SA Present citizenships: German and U.S. se S SUMMARY we m& MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Reason for submission Mr Thiel does not, reside in New, G viset this requirement, Mr Thiel must have been in New Zealand as a permanent ssident for at least 1,350 days in the five years preceding this application. He does not meet this requirement because he was in New Zealand as a permanent resident for [Hays in those years. Mr Thiel has never lived in New Zealand Intention to continue to reside in New Zealand To meet this requirement, Mr Thiel must intend to continue to reside in New Zealand or intend to work outside New Zealand for an approved organisation (e.g a New Zealand business) Mr Thiel lives in the U.S. He has stated that, if granted citizenship, he would continue to reside there to manage his American companies. Given Mr Thiel’s rent situation, the Department considers he is unable to meet the ‘intention to continue to reside in New Zealand’ requirement at this time Exceptional circumstances and public interest You may grant Mr Thiel citizenship if satisfied he has exceptional circumstances that mean a grant would be in the public intarest Mr Thiel considers his exceptional circumstances relate to his skill ag an entrepreneur and his philanthropy. Public interest arises from Mr Thiel utilising his skills in New Zealand and on behalf of New Zealanders, and through’ his philanthropic activities in this country. He has provided evidence to verify his skill set and has testimonials from noted Naw Zealand business and political figures attesting to the work he is, ig IN New, a Or GS Examples of his entrepreneurial skilis include: AY eS * Co-founding PayPal (a secure internet paymen oh 3) C + Investing in Facebook (ne was the first eS) In New Zealand he has established af RS fund innovative {its tRe online accounting companies. To date he has investaiy Pacific Fibre Limited (a business ‘Xero’ and made a company which plans to New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to improve 5 is representatives in this country Mr Thiel has dis: ‘a technology company incubator in Francisco to help introduce New Zealand Jes are provided in the body of this submission fader of Xero) and Sam Morgan (founder of Trade me, co- facific Fibre and director of Fairfax Media) have written to the fpport of Mr Thiel’s application has demonstrated his philanthropy through making a million dollar donation fe Christchurch earthquake relief fund Mr Thiel wishes to be granted citizenship from both a personal and professiona! perspective. Mr Thiel's entrepreneurial skills are what make him exceptional and this claim is supported by the success he has had in business, and further validated by the letters of support and additional documentation that accompanied his apglication Mr Thiet states that being a New Zealand citizen would enable him to represent the country on the international stage and give him greater confidence in mobilising New Zealand's talented entrepreneurs. When making your decision about this application you need to consider whether Mr Thies abilities as an entrepreneur and his work as a philanthropist are proof that he has exceptional circumstances and whether his use of these abilities is in the public interest “en the investment Mr Thiel has made in New Zealand companies and the Sin oor and contacts he is able to provide, the Department is of the view that granting jj, Thiel citizenship would be in the public interest due to his exceptional circumstan cos, Recommendation + The Department recommends you approve Mr Peter Thiel’s application for citizenship under section 9(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act 1977 (public interest due to exceptional circumstances). perees ce & pee cg Sa < RE wir Peter Andreas Thiel CRITERIA FOR THE GRANT OF CITIZENSHIP This application is being considered under section 8 (citizenship by grant) ang section 9 (grant of citizenship in soecial cases) of the Citizenship Act 1977. A copy of the relevant legislation is attached at Tag D. Section 8(1) of the Citizenship Act provides that you may authorise the grant oF New Zeaiand citizenship to any person who: a) has attained the age of 18 years; and ») is of full capacity; and ¢) satisfies you that he or she meets the six standard requiremes\ bel, Requirements met the following requirements + entitlement to reside in New Zeats + good character; + sufficient knowledge «sufficient knowledge’ Requirements n. feet th r Zedhina: and i@ fo reside in New Zealand or to work for an approved a New Zealand company) equirements. few Zealand in| first visited New Zealand in 1995 and has been to New Zealand four times. je was granted permanent residence on 24 July 2007, To meet the ‘presence in New Zealand’ requirement, Mr Thiel must have been in New Zealand as a permanent resident for at least 1,350 days in the five years preceding this application Mr This! does not meet this requirement because he was in New Zealand as a permanent resident for [days in those five years. He has never iived in New Zealand but has purchased a property in Pamell and has made an offer for the purchase of a holiday home in Queenstown, A calculation of his time in New Zealand as a permanent resident is at Tag © Accepting a shorter period of presence in New Zealand You may accept a shorter period of ‘presence in New Zealand’ if satisfied Mr Trig) nas exceptional circumstances and was in New Zealand as a permanent resident fs, at least 450 days of the 20 months before applying for citizenship Mr Thiel was in New Zealand as a permanent resident forlldays in the 20-month period, Therefore his application cannot be considered under this provision Intention to continue to reside in New Zealand To meet this requirement Mr Thiel must intend to continue to reside ipgw Zealan, or intend to work outside New Zealand for an approved orga a Zealand company) AY a PS fouid SNA Thiel's NE “intention to Mr Thiel lives in the U.S. He has stated that, continue to reside there to manage his Am: current situation, the Department consider continue to reside in New Zealand’ requ is Exceptional circumstances. ws ‘ pS You may grant Mr nese, satis m1 mean a grant wo (RE RE: Jat Beli Gully, has written to the Mr Trays croumstances (see Tag F). He has provided hat Mr Thiel is a ‘world class’ entrepreneur and a 1s exceptional circumstances that ntials as an entrepreneur include founding Clarium (an American EdVinvestment management company),being a founder of PayPal (an e- G merce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the ‘htemet), being an early investor in Facebook and establishing the Founders Fund (a capital fund that focuses on early-stage technology investments) He has also set up a venture capital fund in New Zealand which seeks to fund innovative New Zealand companies, has invested SIMMIIE itr Xero (ar online accounting business) and in December 2010 he finalsed 3 investment in Pacific Fibre Limited (which plans to ‘ay a fibre-optic cable between New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to improve broadband service). In addition Mr Thiel has made a recent investment of nto Auckland-based Book Track Holdings Limited, which is developing a movie style sound track system for E-books Hon Or Wayne Mapp, the Minister of Science and the possibility of setting up an IT Seed Cent offer scholarships to people with innovative ideas in Techn tre oematic nology. Mr Thie!’s representatives have also met with officials ¢.57, ure Ministry of Science and Innovation to discuss the establishment of an Auck| a, based technology company incubator and setting up a ‘landing pad’ in San Frang; to help introduce New Zealand companies to the U.S. As a world class entrepreneur Mr Thiel believes that with the right support Naw, Zealand can achieve a place at the top of the world’s list of best countries for entrepreneurs. Mr Thiel states that New Zealand is one of the best places in the world for establishing businesses. The New Zealand government's support of tha New Zealand Venture Investment Fund shows a clear commitment of promoting novation in New Zealand Mr Thiel has stated that through his global networks and conneg he woul promote New Zealand entrepreneurs and their products on tt mA would be proud to do so. AY ME sp ovided letters from Rod Drury, J founder By 0 tai Sam Morgan (founder of Trade me, co-founderle Pai of Fairfax Media) validating the skills and go Gee Tag G) HEE 825. 2is0 advised th at : e Minister and Cabinet members about how his me venture capita market in New Zealand Hs ) is of full capacity; and ) (c) applies for citizenship in the prescribed manner, and mk ONS Ris sd Se in (a) satisfies the Minister that he or she meets subseotion (2), days during the 5 years immediately preceding the jon; and SQ ( Mon days in cach of those 5 years, - being days during which the ¢ was entitled in terms of the Immigration Act 1987 to be in New land indefinitely: (9 That the applicant is of good character: © S (Ud) That the applicant as sufficient knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges attaching to New Zealand citizenship: (2) That the applicant has sufticient knowledge of the English language: (8) That the appticant intends, iP he is granted New Zealand citizenship, either — To continue to reside in New Zealand; (ii) To enter into or continue in Crown service under the New Zealund Government, or setvive under an intemational organisation of which the New Zealand Goverament is a member, or service in the employment of a person, company, society, of other body of persons resident or established in New Zealand. 9. Grant of citizenship in special cases—(1) Without limiting anything in section 8, th, Ministe may, upon application in the presctibed manner, authorise the grant of New Zealand citizenship to any person, including a person who may be a New Zealand cit, by descent, — {6} ifthe Minister is satisfied that granting a certificate of New Zealand citizenstaj the applicant would be in the public intetest because of exceptional cireumstarcos of a humanitarian or other nature relating to the applicant, (2) In considering whether to authorise the grant of New Zealand citi an person under subsection (1), the Minister- x (a) may have regard to such of the requirements ep 82) (as s {BS section 8(3) to (9)) as the Minister thi Ws Se or yp Cow < zen i Tuesday, 5 Apt 2011 8:17 162 an the Attachments PRINT From Sent: Subject: = 35¢ ~ Facebook investor Peter Thiel headlines ideas conference Oe oe er the weekend, Ps SES Tse eter Thiel eadlines idea Re aN Se Nex Ze Zealand a, lease « Oe Facebook investor Peter Thiel headlines ideas conference ‘on the future of New Zealand in snvestar wha helped gat Facetaok off the ground, bllonaire American technology treareneur Peter Thiel, will vist Now Zealand as the keynote speaker at an ideas inference aimed at accelerating New Zealand's prosperity over the next 10 years, The ICEHOUSE business growth cantre is hosting the ICE ideas conference an 8 July. The saeaker line-up includes a who's wha of New Zealand & International business leaders. M: Thiel is an entrepreneur, iavestar, and philanthropist. He has founded and hn nch numeraus world-class companies-from PayPal to Facebock—and also manages, Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund Me That's 'nvaivement inthe conference continues his ite ent 2oRew &S Zaniand, following on from his investments in Kw eho c Fiore “New Zealand is a vibrant and growing co a Wt," said Mr jel. "its inventive spirit ama open ecg ‘companies, many of which wed ICEHOUSE CEO An people tageth: land's businesses and we will be challenging others to deliver the Femainder. Now more than ever, as a country we need to accelerate our presence an the. global stage.” ‘The conferance is a collaborative effort with organisations such 35 The University of Auckland Business Schaol, Kea New Zealand www.keanewzeaiand.com 2nd the Sit Peter Blake Trust www sirpeterblaketurst.arg who are champions of Leadership Week, which finishes on the day of the ICE Ideas conference. its also supported hy MSI (Ministry of Science and innovation), HP, BNZ, A-TZED (Auckiand Tourism, Events and Economic Development Limited) & NZTE (New Zealand Trade & Entreprise) ~ organisations which aim ta pave a more prosperous future for Naw Zealand, The one day event alms to bring together great thinkers and action-oriented people, rum for people ta showcase thelr “This is nat 2 job summit or @ knowledge wave, rather ig idea, challenge ar lesson that could benefit New Zealand: and to meet with peogie who can help make them happen. The \CE4QUSE's rae in th's is really as the fadllistor and cannectar.” says Hamitten © The format will alternate speakers with informal break-out sessions and discussions, it will be ragid fire, fun and energetic, Other confirmed speakers in addition to Mr Thiel include leading intemational entrepreneur & author on ienovation Rab Adams; Sochiro Fukutake, {chair and CEO of global education graup Benesse Corporation; Rod Drury, CEO of Xero & Director NZX; Oerex Handley, co-founder of The Hyperfactory; and Sir Ray Avery of Medicine Mondiale and New Zealander of the Year, There will be around 30 speakers throughout the day. The conference will be apened by the Mayor of Auckland, Len Brawn, and will feature an merging group af Kiwi Entertainers, }Goak & the Geeks who are curently teandipzZA You Tube Eos AQ Contac information SS BS Andeew Hamilton ceo “he ICEHOUSE ) gS (wi ae Snigiobl \ 'ob Adams ~ entrepreneur, VC & Angel Investor and author of two books on innovation, Good Hard Kick in the Arse and if You auild it Will They Come? + Sochiro Fukutake ~ Chairman and CEO of Benesse Carporation, a leading global company in the area of education, language. nursing care and publishing which also has Berlitz Corporation as one of its subsidiaries * Rod Drury~ CEO of Xero, co-founder of Pacific Fibre, Board Member of NZX and champion for New Zealand High Tech community + Derek ilandley ~ co-founder af the Hyperfactory a leading mobile advertising corporation which was purchased by US media giant, Meredith Corporation * Sir Ray Avery ~ founder of Medicine Mondiale, Blake Medalist and New Year About Peter Thiel Peter Thiel is a nology entrepreneur, investor, and ghilanthropist. Mr Thie) frst gained attention for innovations ia banking and startup finance. Today he is known as the mentor of the PayPal mafia af entreareneurs, as well as for his warnings of coming technology deficit with sevara economic consequences. He works to accelerate. innovation to pravant such a crisis by identifying and funding promising technology ideas, and by guiding successful companies to scale and daminate their industries, 'n 1998, Mr Thiel made e-commerce easier, faster, and more secure by co-fouy leading PayPal, which now has 94 million active financial accounts. It als platform aa which developers invent customized payment solutions businesses, Since selling PayPal to eBay in 2002, Me Triel has f successful start-ups, including as the first external igy his personal success as a venture capital invest Find, a ading and widely emulated Silicon Vall ah-4e/ successfully Identifying some of the best emergingye Buunders Fund has pioneered new management in tidity and better align 35 through his private Kl gave Mr. Thiel and Max Levehio ts Innovation Awa for butness Vel is aise the chairman of the Investment Committee of Valar Ventures, 2 New Zealand jenture capital fund he launched in 2010 to invest in the most promising Kiwi technology companies. Vaiar Ventures seeks to partner wita New Zealand entrepreneurs to help tham ‘auild successts), global technology comganias, To date, Vaiar has made two investmants, totaling $4.5 milion, in New Zealand companies Xero and Pacific Fibre. For more information an Mr Thiel's work in New Zealand, please visit Valar’s website at to //valarventures.com, ‘About The ICEHOUSE The ICEHOUSE is a business growth centre that includes: business growth programmes for SMEs; a business Incubator for start-ups; and New Zealand's largest group of Angey Investors. It is a collaborative partnership betwaen The University of Auckland ausines s School, 3NZ, HP and NZTE with suppart from Emst & Young and Microsoft. it was established in 2001 in recognition of the importance of SMEs to the New Zealand economy, The ICEHOUSE’s purpose is to take responsibility for delivering 1000 of the 3090 firms ‘needed to get New Zealand into the tap half of the OECD by 2020. It works with¢aage of SMEs, from start-ups to established multi-million dollar enterarises. Over 3000 entrepreneurs and business owners have already dhe cet growth difference ~ new expertise and sills, valuable jorczonnacians investment pathways. J WX ys SD p2 Ke meme From? Sent Monday 1 October 2010 6:24 To: Subject Fw. Merview W Pse prt This eMail s sert subject to Bal) Gully's standard disclamer Orginal Message —- RVIEWOCTOBER 9, 2010 BS Tachnoogy = A ‘\n early invesior in Facebook and the ‘oun vasrita ad end mmiputers and Derough money that is crackpot ideas are ‘aken 1 PayPal and ar early investor in Facebook (hs stake was recently reported noff.al leader ofa group knows as the “PayPal maa,” perhaps in the world, behind companies as diverse as Tesla (elects cars) the mot fa ard You e ww QBarmary when ne was a todcler, used at Stanford anc became a secures ‘anys Second tis to fs career by ‘unahing a label maero Nedgo und, Clavien Capa He name ath some af ne ara wacr> investors, uch as George Soros and Starlay Srucxeng AX ne direction of worid markets, ImS of investing-—narrow technolegy and road macro—are behind his singular diagnosis of our § crs. "All sorts of things are possibie in a world where you have massive arogress in technology ard Yas in productivity,” he says. "In a world where wealth is growing, you can get away with printing money, fing the debt over the next 20 years is not a problem "This Is where [today 1s] vary different from the 1990s. In the '30s, the Keynesian stu worked at least in the sense that you sould orint money without inflation because there was all this productivity growth napgening. That's not going to ware today "Tne pecale who bought subprime nousas in Miami were batting on tachnologal progress. They mare betting 0 energy prices coming down and tiving standards going up.” Thay were batting. in short. on the productivity gains #0 make our debts affordable. welll get back to wnat allthis means, Mr Thiai wants to meet me at a noisy coffes sh Manhattan. Because a Fortune wrter invited %0 his condo wrote about his butler? "No ava a "butler year Union Square in ‘Mr. Thiel tells me. “And I don s these days include whether Facedook should go public. Answer: Not anys His muneane thoug) Aa a general princivis, ne. at's ther things aren’, 's somewh: 2 a public company t 22cing ina of 3, blame our education 'nigher educat.en bub ty) ¥St2P™, 2ut {wr iTrielaazes ith in tne2e siferent analyses of our dilemma, Liberals, ne say Niberais are the ‘ast ones to fx ust wantirg ta theaw money at what he calls “Seive {administrate are the aquvalant of subprime martzage brokers, he says, "3eling YU 9 step ould ga into deat assivey. nats rot a consumption decision. i's ar ruasimert decision, Actually, "ZS! ‘consumption decision. Most colleges are four-year caries * Liertarars bigme to9 much regulation, view ne alsa shares ("Get id ofthe FOA." ne SaYS), But “IDS rt aang incapable of winning atections, ... There are a ict af neople you car sel jivertarian paltics to.” seem 2 sorservatve dagrasis would ampnasize an unwillingness t0 sacrifice, necessary for great 91997255. ang ange motivated by war. “Tecrrology nas macs war so catastrophic." ne says, “hat thas unraveled the ViNOLS vast sey of tf38 a sour to technology)” » Me Tivai has dabbias in aes to he minor extent af co-hosting n Manhattan last month a fund raiser far gay Republicans, but he has litle taste or ooltes. Stil he considers it a duty to aut on the table the idea thay techrolagical progress nas stalled and why. (To this end, he's working or a Do0k with Russia democracy activist Garry Kasparov) You don't have to agree witn every jot to rscagnize that his visw 's essentially un 4 ‘Lic be easier to dig cut of our hole, With enough robots, even Social Secuermsi SLE out any saightico,romaver, ats rs mace ‘acro-in «row how t0 play the macro trend,” he acknowledges. °! dor nf everthing. But does mear we're stuck in 3 patiad of long. Se cpa ror tor eae rom ire ann nape ane Rie Prat i ta ee 2 Sal Satay asl tes (abe Vou probably have to get rd of the welfare state, You have would rot work in a world where technology is broken.” he says, inere's no need for any he says, needs to do "new ‘he idea that technolo 0 throw out Kay ei to tall us wnat such @ world wil oe like —wnen 's becoming tre most aopulous on the pianet, RB PeyPat found Ite eee MISSION CONTROL. ECan a ro eCard purips S4min inte PayPal founder pumps $4mln into Xero @ Article: BusinessDesk RQ ae cng Q by Paul MeBeti Det 22 (BusinessDesky - 54 mullion co help Easter Thiel, who helped setup online gayments <5mpen 2.7 million shares in Xero in a privayegagsasy) about 3% ownership, 8 USSE 5 Billion, will by ter the US, and capitalne dy Drury said in a staternent, st year it woo gemeut with American on (BasinessDeek) 10:53:59 7 STREET JOURNAL. An Unorthodox Take on Philanthropy PUI-WING TAM Poter Thiel co-founded electronic-payments service PayPal and currently runs hedge fund Clarium Capital and venture-capital fund Founders Fund, which has invested in start-ups sueh as Facebook Tne, Now the entepreneu-investor has also turned his energy to philanthropy. 1 saansoree a a-ayrant lo poy slut onia zai Grc\ At project That doesn’t mean Mr, Thiel is giving to traditional causes, Instead, his Thiel Foundation supports futurism Liberty through organizations such as the Sens Foundation, whieh is foeused on regen and {mitatio, which concentrates on a t WS: Who are n Valley laggards in giving? going that way, No laggavds when you cecently announced you would give $100,000 each to action did you sge and instead do other projects? Mr. Thiel: The 9 generational divide where a, ming reaction has been po of the Mere iu the 19605 vith amassing # other people who went to 0 * positive reaction was fom younger people. Then there we and 1970s 0 cally ree and don't understand wlyat's happened nv ec it 4 @ quarter cause ot vollege fees) people, i's already a borderline deision wether thy stay in college or d e gotten The ao representation WSS: Have you gntte BS Bick co the Future with Peter Thiel - laterview - National Review Online bP bs | NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE f rd INTERVIEW Billionaire: K, eter Thiel Pours Money Into His ready made two noteworthy venture investrrents therein the space of a fave months. In Octoner 2070, v8 invasted $ crilon in galing agzaunting frm Xero, which is based (and publicly traded} in New Zealand, Than ha ‘vented £4 malian in Pcie Fiber. an ambitious company that Is bulding a fiber-optic cable from Australie to New Zealand to the US and 's raising $200-400 millon more to de so ‘These invastimants aren'tjust one-cffs, “hal has sot up a ical venture fm celled Valar Ventures, Valar Ventures iP was register in New Zesiand in July 2009, more than a yaar bafors Tria’ firs «rown Naw Zaaiardiavastmant, and is managed oy Valar Capital Management ULC, basad in San Francisco. according to official records. Valar Vantures L?'s offices ara at wreminent Navi Zealand las firm Salt Guly, which suggest it doesn't have ‘ull me staff yet, Pater Thial founded two alhar companies in Naw Zealand: Setond Star Limited, whare he is sols sharsholdar, and Silverare Adusors, ‘The peowle associated wih trase New Zealond comaanias, all af them close assosiaias of Tie at is hedge fund Clarum Capa show how secous Thiel is about New Zealand, Valar Capital Management is managed by Natnan Linn, VP of Sinares at Slamon On the boards of Thats New Zealana comoanias are Mat! Darzoisan, Princiaal at Clarum, James Fitzgerald, COO and Sarsral Counsel a Clartum, and Araraw MeCormack, VP Corporate Devsionmart at Clarium and oraviously Thla's assistant 9¢ Paya Poter Thie! is a PayPal co-founder, early Facebook investor and hedge fund manager Thiel is nothing if not an ambitious. long-term tinker, 30 wnat’ possibly see in a courtry of é milion people whose econo: G of his dears, lavesting in 3 huge undersea fiber 9085 afer. But bringing high 9 In Tolkian'slegendarium, the Valar are deties who created the warid af es) and then descended on it i help nurture its infancy and development, ‘Zealand s already utopia. But Sticon Valley and New Zealand can learn a lat from that happen.” So Thial is clearly iit for the lang run fd New Zeeland already has sorne of the mast fraemarket polices inthe world. Thi is also a donor to lute, 3 foundation that wants to create libertarian self-sustaining colonies out a sea. A popular libederiaa State >roject’ to get tens of thousands of bertariana to amigrate to New hamashra and taka ovar the eh democratically to reshape the state according to ibertarian ideals, ‘Thiel has Deen frustrated at US policies and generally bsen bearish an the US economy. He believes that the world needs @ new wave of radical innovation in fields ike artificial inteligence and robotics to escane pending disaster and ras seemed ircressinaly skeptical tvat the US, the world leader in innovation, can deliver hat. ona matin tha afars of bona. SS Image: Auffavie@hoto NY of tanta 96a tech hb, When Sout ar Thats cares f uring Now Zarda 88 dsieo aout necro person sy oh} nove fa tisovat ono ae They also mentioned the county’ eae Ko" 5 Gaon Valley us, sroworoneut cn : Sty oy aftr US brani manor eae o We spoke with a tech entrepreneur who lived in New Now Zaaland frupalike Wine-Searcher.com, the word's top wine search engine. which is based in Zealand shows great demand for developers, So there's defintely a Z ‘Young, amall, gorgeous “island” nation with an immigrant pogulation that kick-started one of 2 world's Ato eG eretal wis. the New Zealand government unveiled plans to turn New Zealand into an offshore financial hub: because 12 New Zealand markats ar9 the frst to opan each day, which could give an edge to fms Iecated there, This is that could coms in handy to Thies hedge fund. Xero, the company Thiel :nvested in, was founded In 2008 and went 007, so thair stock market seems much less broken than the US's Tech Aigh nance, small govemmant - when you think about It, Itmakes perfect sense for Thies As big fans af rugy and startups, we trink Thiet's land is an awesome story. Wa cant watt 10 5 develops, fri rech bilioigy Sn} ( eis Prat Facebo: investor and PayPal co-creator Petet Thiel believes Mark Zuckerborg's site i. Pay 1 os Te Telegraph Facebook investor and PayPal co-creator Peter Thig| believes Mark Zuckerberg's site is worth $150bn e's a good chance you're on Facebook. You may even be a recent joiner who helped catapult the world’s biggest social networking site pass the 600m user mark ser to $2bn, aor in Fach eo ee know you've helped make Facebook founder (ark Zuckerberg incredibly rich, But ‘¥not alone. In the summer of 2004, Zuckerberg and Sean Parker, who wauld briefly be president of the site, tured Up at the San Francisco home of Pster Thiel on the hunt for an investment in what was then a barely known start-up, They walked away with $500,000 and left Thiel with a stake ina site that, with undar 1m users, was in need of a frend, Seven years on and Thiel's stake is warth closer to $2bn. Last week he was announced as one of six Facebook billicnalres named on the annual Forbes list of tne global superrich But don't worry, you can grab a slice of the fortune. Thiel is donating money to help someone establish a 52a city - yes, somewhere at least 50 people can live off the coast - by 2015. Or, if you're under the age of 20, you can appiy to him for a grant of up to $190,000 should you have 4 great business idea Zuckeroerg's character was the star of the Oscar-winning film The Sacial Netwark, but scripburiters' Fecehoo” investor and PayPal co-creator Peter Thiel believes Mark Zuckerberg inest must have been pricked by Thiel’s story. Etrspreneur, fturologist, hedge furd manager, chilantnropist, investor and writer -in an age OF go, ater specialisation, the 43-year-old is moving at increasing speed in the oopcsite direction. "| 45 ing, ttete is someting to be said for being a generalist in our society." Thal said. Reversing the ageing ass, robots, artificial inteligence and human rights ar al fields that The This! Foundation, is sing nis cash to pursue. 31 chief Arvind Sodhany: "We need nore start-ues" aT git Sorrall sees 'speculatize froth’ In Faceo00k val sce Musk and Max Lavchin, whose parents had emigrated from the Ukraine to the US. Sy 2002 it was on the Nasdaq in the first big flotation after the September 11 terrarist attacks, Bofore the year was out eBay had swallowsd it in 2 $1.5bn deal that is estimated to have netted Thiel more than $50m. So what did he eam from the PayPal chapter? "The big iesson people leat existential is that it's hard but deable. ‘That's a good mindset with which te agproach most problems.” The temptation is to be cynicai when someone who Is very wealthy says what they do Is nat really about tre monay. It feels a bit ike a football manager saying i's all about the Deauty af how the team piays, not vinether they win or jase. But such an aporsach would be to neglect somathing that seems care to Thiei At PayPal, he and Leychin laiked about their online payments system as creating a new world currency free from governmant control, Armed with a definition of entrepreneur that includes - but isnt limited to making money, it becomes clearer why Thiel toak a bet on Zuckarberg’s then iitle-known startup or Thiel believes Mark Zuckerberg’s site. Bay. 5 Facebook vestoe and PayPal c “in gany ways, 3 th’y ould have soid it for $120 in 2008 to Yahoo: That was a much lower priority than building business to onange the wor.” 0k is axchioit A," he expiains fst nad been run by people trying to Make, oney bak is shaging the future, but for some the valuation ofthe site is beginning t9 echo the Clotcom bubale of the late 1990s, 2011 opened with a controversial investment by Galdman Sachs that attacheg a $50bn orice tag to the site that Mark built, That's been heading north on the secondary market on which Facebook shares can be traded. Sir Martin Sorrall, the founder of advertising giant WPP, ware this weak that the value now given to the kes of Facabook is marked oy some "speculative froth ‘ile admiting tha! there's “not much | can say on the subject that won't sound bia that “the currant vaiuation is about one third of Google. if you think aout what change the word there's a decent argument that it's worth as much as G You discaver thal Thiel, who was born in Germany but grew us company that Sergy ard Larry built, The world's biggest, sas 's now mors of a bet against developing new ways, ‘Oracle. Just because a compary sioneered Noa) Ne says, but I, Microsoft ana 's oud that the internet and tha mobile intemet are really the only areas that people have been focused on." Even so, it remains an area af focus for Thiel, Foundars Fund. a venture capital firm that he co-founded in 2008 with two ex-PayPal calleagues, has scored some significant succasses investing in this arsa, One investment, for example, Iranport, which develops email and security software for the mab was snanped uo by Cisco in 2007 for $830m, Powerset. 2 Susiness fashioning new technology for search engines, was bought by Microsoft ‘or an estimated 100m 'f Thiel is orepared ta ooint out what he Sees as the limitations of Silicon Valley, he's scomful af a lack of innovation beyond computing power and the web. "Computer technology and tne internet in particular n stagn. ‘one dramatic exception in the past four decades in what has otherwise b: As the Upheaval in North Africa xae0s oil orices abave $190 a barral and threatens to sand them higher, lives to crude Is ane axa pig he cites, "The ieality |S that if there ware no fundamental a lack of alter shortages, then these tensions [in Libya] would rot oe so destabilising." Thiei a gues, ‘it frequently gets hurps/twww. stu 3 datos 05.30 08 128 Naw the LS market and securing soma $300 milllae = finanes needed 19 leaking New Zagland ‘9 Austr tora on Dacer ber 24, according to Semearat *Farngs 9 fot of smarts tothe table.” understand its 3 990 oueiness case,” aid. "Thay/t@ ntarrat oaople they undersiane the aconom < amiefits Sy rer corias jst wa months after Vala injscted $4 milion firm dreak ints America Tae macat tack his invastmant ag a vata af eandanca and acul 2 achnoingy that could ne ewe! as oudanaisr PayPal founder & in Kero | The National Business Review New Za Base BUN SSREVEW24/7 NOR Sorucas| 185 from sight nonprofit erganizations. The groups had disparate agendas, but all shared a fantastic hinging the world—defy death througn regenerative medicine! Harness iteligence fram machines, 'an the human rain! Build sel-goveraing communities cn the high seas’ They aisa iad a common factor. Peter A, Thiel, the iconociastic. libertarian 43-year-old venture cap tast and macro-hedge-fund investor. Wier the speacers finished, James R. O'Neil, who runs the Thiel Foundation, introduced his boss 38 someone “ano ‘works every cay to reshape the werls and focus on solutions to probiams other people averiook.” Thiel emerged from backstage, wearing a navy biue striped shirt, jeans, and a biazer. “The future is not an abstraction.” he said. “It's something we are ail participants in, helping to create and forge and snape.” Thiel is not a natural oerformer, He has a flat, mechanical delivery that instantly deflates his attemats to inspira, After thrae and 4 nalf mirutes, ne wrapped up Nis remarks and encouraged the audience :a stay, schmooze, and ‘start building the future Fer the 21st century.” ‘Trial folowed the crovid inta tre main hall, where a Stanford University freshman named Max Marmer was waiting Mlarmer nad come to the event in part because of Thil’s latest ofilarchrapic oraincnilt: 2 pragram that wil award falonships of $100,000 to 20 entrepreneurs under the age of 20, an the condition thet thay drop aut of college for two y80¥5 10 Dursve their ventures ful-ime, Marmer, who's launcning a Dusiness consulting starup mith tw fends, decided to apoly forthe fellowship as soon as he heard about ton Facebook. Ai the Palace of Fine As. Marmer roduc himself to his ido, For the next five minutes “it was mostly me talking,” Marmer says. Thialsteerog him (owart a partner in the Founders ©in¢, Thiel’s venture capital frm, who agraed ‘0 listen 19 Marmar’s pitch, Marmar has nfermed his parents tnat, whether he wns a Thie\ Fellowsnis or nat, Pa is dro9ping aut of Stanford ‘hrae 1 Amerca's gefving tech geniuses are renowned colage dropouts—Bil Gates and Mark Zuckerty a. 49 Harvatt University: Steve Jobs hung around Reed College but was enralled for only one semester—ancy (Y'7 © aimee becorm “xpacted that visionary tecrnologists wll stop averthing to pursue a ripening idea. Its worth rears n hewevs. snat Gates, Zuckerberg, and Jobs ars anomalies. Thiel thnks its the anomalies who matter ary qf river fo an ot tate more of them. Whether you view Fis alar a8 cause for celabratian or horar depends an your ‘MS America's uturs, re we hobbled By a deficit of isk ar too much of it? Does government spending stimu 355 inray aon or oastruct it? Are America’s best universities assets or labities? Despite his fund's disastrous recent performance—Clarum Capt Management fl about 29 percent in. 2919. tne third staignt year of cecines, according io investors—Thil is fnancially set fr fa, Ha co-founded Paya, (cgay) th Zlon Musk and Max Levchin, was the fst outside investor in Facebook, and owns a stake in a bevy of Sram tech companies, from Linkeala to Halcyon Molecular to PalantiTachnolagias. He made the Forbas 400° before na? raacied 40. After being oonrayed in The Social Motwork, Thal is perhaps the mast famous venture capi ogee my world Despite al tra n2 rarains troubled. Aasent rapid, graundbresking scientific braaktrvoughs, Thishforese@cs an ace when, he says, ‘seopie wil have a ‘ower qual‘ of fe. where people wont be able to ratire, overemen usnad ‘award mare and more austerty. That wil lead to a more constrained, pessimist ‘3 a 9, Wwrat IS happening, and znat trend is lkaly to continue,” Thiel has thus fer aut nis money irto the Kind of oleeding-edge technolog {and stave off the future he fears: nanotacrnology, arificial intelligence Junkie. "e adheres to a worldview shaped as much by French 3 categorize nim as a pessimist, though he can De,” says O; PayPal and has since founded Yammer, a social netwe doesn think i's hapoening fast enough marr Dessibilty lence fiction lant necessarily Wierked with Thiel at Even as Thiel oushas for a bolder tuturang inst oresent macroeconomic tends—and Jost, While Thies views, including pr 2 Gil would rise, mesty have comestap several current and former, ‘timing tight or manage a Richmond (Va.) percent. Thiet *ring and risk management, according to “s correct in nis jong-term views if they don’t get the A, Steinbrugge, managing oartrer of Agecrof: Partners id heige Funds, Since 2008 the fund's assets have fallen 90 and acknowledges the need for stricta risk cortrois. “IFne was and die by his track record, out thats not the case with Peter” says liuka Consulting Group, wrich advises clients on investing in hedge of the most successful Web services ever developed." ‘DOSed Thiel to attacks from those who see nis investment strategy and his philanthropic ‘2 feckless, preening varity. No intiative has provoked more howls than the "20 Under 30° fed by Thiel and nis founcation staff cn a fight from New York to San Francisco last October 7 Thie. during an appearance at the TechGrunen conference the next day Writing en Slate, com sDerg condemned the olan as an "appalling," "nasty" ‘dea that will encourage colloga students to "halt thelr | development around ine onsat of adulthood, maintaining a narrow-minded focus on getting ich as young sible, and thereby avoid the siren lure cf helping others or contributing tothe advances in basic science that rave mace the great tecn forunes possibia ” Suen oritiques ony nela to confirm Thial's hunch that he is right in his view. The business credo that a college education is a prerequisite ‘or professional advancement is. he believes, pracisoly tne reason to ancourage people to try something aise. “| dan’ :nink | believe n markat efficiency," he says, “If | believed in an afficient market. then none of the stuff 'm doing makes any sansa" (nthe various accounts of Facebook's founding, Thiel is almost always cast as a remote, brooding master of the un verse, the archetyoai tycoon in a black wing chair, stroking 3 cat, In The Accidental Billionalves, the 2009 book that 's the Dass for The Social Network, Thiei s described as “secret ve and incredibly compestive.” Also “scary as hel Tha day after the Breakthrough Philanthroay avant, Thiel arivas for lunch at a restaurant averiooking tne San Francisco Manna in a dius Marceces sports car. He's modestiy auilt, witn angular features, and ne has an engagirg, f slighly awkward, convarsational manner: on several occasions Thiel starts to answar questions while Fis mouth = naff. Asked about Cianum 5 dismal 2010 gertormance, he replies, ‘We've had a rough year. We've 30t some. things wong. But aver time, | think weve gotten more right tnar we've gotten wrong,” He adds: "N's mole right thing to f9¢i8 on a six-month nar'zon, The future napaens aver a very jong penod of time. My mindset is to maka sense of wnere things are going over the next decade and ta try ta think about 3 set of orablems seoaie haven’ asked quesvans about.” of peomaling "extensive" gains over Totensive" Breakthroughs. that goemments and investors have an "excersive’ bias when it comes to siance and technology, a dq” W2V38 ‘2Piice or “extend what has already been snow to work, He perceives a dangerous shortage Of the Kins amtcis, itansive" innovations na says ara utimataly necessary fororgrterm growth “My thesis 15 that tno wong 5 foo Teaviy geared in ne extensive direction” he says. “ts what everyone would lke: a sure thing, Searneiin onc, eS a tredictabie reture. | don’ think that model isthe ght one for aur world anymors. But the alternaityeg ag 99 2 ecessanily quite risky And so there's no safe alternative.” One 2f Thiel's fraquant themas 's the for Bom in Frankf, Thiel had an itinerant chidhood, His father's carear as a chemical anginaer took the Faamity to Soun Affca, Namibia, and Ohio before the Thiels setted in the Bay Area inthe late 1970s, (Thiel has a younger emer Patck) At San Mateo High School, Thi! Srished fists his class ard was a nationally rankad chess mages vi ‘majorl in ohuosoohy at Stanford, where ne studied under René Girard, a French émigré arofassor whe ction the term “mimetic desire," ne iZea that paopie want things they perasiva as objects of cther people's desires, Grins roe a herd mentally. To Trial, mimetic desi grovided a way to explain averthing fram stock market budbl as wy oy, correctness on camous, In 1987, Thiel founded The Stanford Review, a conservative newspaper that becay Studeonf fer against multiculturalism, speech codes, affirmative action, feminists, and ath 98 gra who worked with Thiel athe Review ang succeeded him as ts editor, says, e0ple ere way Gutside the mainstream, and ifthe peopie wna were funding the uri 1, the, ‘hes Amentcan ‘axpayer—knew what was going an. thay would be pretty out ©) Mepting a book with Sacks in Thiet stayed at Stanford for law school and remained an 1995, The Diversity Myth, whicn decried multculturalis federal judge Janes L Edmonson, wrote speeches for former Education : yd worked at Sullivan & Cromwell ang Credit Suisse First Boston in New Yor! 996. in| 1998, Thiel met Levchin and, over orsaktast in Palo Alto, launched tbesso . and fis co-founders defined their mission ir historical terms, They 3 6 libertarian dream of a giobal Financial markatpiace in wnick wansactig 2 ch of governments. The company's T-shirts read THE NeW WORLD CURRY 25 3p it—that's what everyone within Peter's crele of friends talked about," 19's now the managing director of Clarium, "The business side was of cool Neasting questions we wanted to engage in, but atthe same time we had to fis an} to rate people to Duy and sell tems seamlessly on eBay (EBAY), I worked Biskatid went public in February 2002. Eight months ister, eBay bought the campany ily invested $240,000, walked away with $60 milion, which he used fo launch aBkdn, and tne Founders Fund, an early-stage venture capital snap. Two years later ne Zuckerberg, tnen a Harvard sophomore, and Sean Parker, a covounder of Napster ho as Src Paice Funding for his Nedging social networking site, Thefacebook. Thiel ent Zuckerberg ane 52500 in exchange fora 10 percent stake inthe new compary. Thie Soid half his shares in 2009, most to Rly Technologies. Based on Facebook's current valuation—a numoer that fuctuates depending on whom vos Seemingly, the minute you ask—a conservative estimate of his remaining stake 's about $1.9 bilion sd, 39 There's 0 evidence that Thiel's good fortune has softened his edges. After he was subject to ridicuie an the Internet for revealing in 2007 that he lived at tne Four Seasons in San Francisco and drove a McLaren, he has guarded his privacy and lashed out at those who invade it. When the gossipy weosite Valleywag outad Thiel as gay in late 2007, he responded by branding it "the al-Qaeda of Silicon alley" and calling ts recortars terrorists. In a 2009 essay fied “The Education of a Libertarian” published on the Cato insttite's website, Thiel wrote, "| na longer believe democracy ‘and freedom are compatibte” and that the “broader education of tne body politic has became a fool's errand, Most olor ously, the essay suggested that the advent of womens sulfrage in the 1920s had “randerad the notion of ‘capiis’st democracy’ into an oxymoron," as women, in Thiel's view. tend nat to support laissez-faire policies Thialis now at gains to play dawn his image as a radical ideologue, "| do tend to think tha aibertarian society in vwhich there is More economic and personal freedom is a aetter society but thore are all sorts of caveats "ha ‘ays Take Facebook. “If you balieyad in radical autonomy and the idea that we're all se-contained individuals und of jarcalure version of Ayn Rand's warld—then the social networking thing would be one af tha most ridicuous things imagratie. Why in the world would you care about friends or sharing ar being connected wth other 20cm vary skeptical of centraiizad power, and | believe personal and economic reedam are important-—ut | al30 believe ne are |ving together on the same ptanet and that human society ax/sts and that numan beings are born into this werd ane iva and deverop.* Excaptlor a faw danations in the mast recant elactaral cycle (to Rand Paul and in support of marijuana j it Tria Fas giva up an goles, He says he "not dogmata’ about whether ovarrrrent should play aro} aa ation Stim! >the kinds of intensive technological innovations he thinks the cauntry needs, just hat re belie, Galt . ass isnt smart enough to make it happen. "Only 36 out of 835 mambers of Congress have anys ¢oo/0e In sci6tee oF tacinology," he says. "That’s why | believe the government thing s so hard to fx—the DeO Re ya actually baliave these are important arablems. Maybe the answer nould be to change the other $00 Gea 30 Fepia€$them with engineers. But then you're not really talking about a practical option, 9s the In Théets vow, the biggest threats to innovation emanate nol from Washington but fom a sector Amer zans tony yp view 2% one ofthe country's greatest strengths: higher education. His antinathy forts alte universities lat gs pc time attending one. in The Diversity Myth, Thiel precited that uniess they reformed themselves, institutions suchas Stanford would face “massive and unprecedented displacement... New educational venues may arise aryqy nesae demas that are no longer being saisied oy the existing institutions." W/here ance ne subscribed to thes ides that nw systerM could be fixed from within, Thal is now certain some students are better off oating out of t altogether “an ‘Necessary condition for a bubble 's that (something] 's believed to be exremealy valuable, but which very few peooie are thiking about," ne says. “And my only candidate for a pubble in the U.S. ight now is education" He contisuos "People cant do anything entragrenaurtal ar innovative or evan nongrafit—anything that's not gafeand wvel-oan because tnay have tis mountain of det. Ard sa education 's something that has beco to techn GogicalInnavation ard progress, evar though the common perception is the ‘The Tel Fellowship 's probably the first scholarship aimed 2t college 0 to college Representatives fram Thies ve-person foundation sa <4 spplications in resoonse to, ‘Shot true." The other ven $100,000 to cover ing. Thiel insists that the goal living expenses in the Say Area while they spend 2 question what they're getting out isnt menessaily 1 fine the rext Zuckerberg, b of their college experience »Ycertainly did not. | got good grades in high ‘school. When | look back, | have no regrets, But school. | wert to college. | hing that | refiexively did.” Fcould do it over, | wou system fram which he has benefited so handsomely, And it’s (Sy Bftrapreneur's ife wnen you are already leading the fantasy version of ‘Burs and nnovators developing ife-extending technologies is a seductive g on a startup devoted to devatoging a “management science" far Boosting the success rate of Have you seen, The Sacial Network? The house looks a hile lke that." Marmer says over the shone in Piary. A few people whe have come by have actually said, ‘On, it's just like Facebook." Mamet is waiting io near whether he nas woo a Thiel Fellowshie, theugh ne's canearned that his age-—he tumed 20 in September, aefore soplications were due—may cisauaify rim. Regardless, Warmer says ve nas found he purpose, "People tak a ot aout salago as ane ofthe hes: times of teri ves, uk Iwas araty Sear iad ta make {2] choice berneen enjoying zamaus fe oF continuing a pursue my passion for entepraneurship. | tad ta do nate and when that wasnt warking, | Geciced to choose this." # all else fails, Marmer says, ne can aways Qo back to Stentor someday, "They/re really flexible, | can take up to two years leave of absence, and even afar that lve heard its that card t gat Backin If} change my mina, | know) navent realy So8ed any doors Gehind me ~ He pauses, then says: “But | don't anticipate that If tis doesn't work aut, "| probably go and start anotner status. With Saijal Kishan, Romesh Ratnesar is a Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation, This ama copyright. f you ara icing atachments, may contain Information wich s contiaertiat or subject i legal priviege or {he intended raciovent, please notify us immediately and then celate this emal irom your gyster. Ema commrivations ars rot secure and are not guaranteed ny Bel Guily tobe tree of unauthorised interference. afror or vitus, Anyone who commueicates with us oy emai is taken (O aco~p: this "3K Anythag ia tis amail which does act elata ta tha official usinass af Ball Gully '5 neither given nor endorsed by Bel Gully THE WEEKENO INTERVIEWOCTOBEK 9, cuiv Tetiralogy = Salvation Wn @ary Investor in Facebook and the faunder of Ciarium Capit fash: a dead ard }erican ingenuity By HOLMAN W. JENKINS JR, The nausing buab @ blew up so catastrop! pfdey let us down. it blew up because our tecnnocratic elite told us to expect an. 2 Gelivered, Except for computers and the irtemet. tne icea that we're ex ‘ 33s a myth, Such is the claim of Pater ee Nenouga money that his crackpot ideas are taken seriausiy. or wna is ay Bouse of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook (his stake was recently reported unofficial leader of a group known as the "PayPal mafia,” pernaps the mast Fac i the world, behind companies as diverse as Tesla (electric cars) jermany when he was a toddler, studied at Stanford and became a securities lamya = second twist o his career by launching a global macro hedge fund, Ciarium Capital ys with some of the great macro investors, such as George Sares and Stanley Drucken lob'on the direction of world markers, ' of lnvesting—narrow technology and broad macro—are behind his singular ciagnosis of our ‘All sorts oF things ar2 possible in a norid where you have massive progress in technology and ins in oroductivty." ne Says, "in a world whars wealth 's growing, you can get away with printing mone ing the debt over the next 20 years is nat a problem.” "This s where Soday is] very differant fram the 1990s, in tne ‘30s. the Keynesian stuff worked at @astin the sense that you could print money wtnout inflation because there was al this praductvily gronth happening. That's not going to work today ‘The pe0pe whe bouant suborime hauses in Miami wore belting on technologica’ progress. They wera betting ca energy ar'ces coming down and Iing standards going uo" Thay were detting, in shor. on the productivity gayns to make our dents affardaiie ‘Walt get back to what ail this means, Mr. Thiel wants to meat me at a noisy coffee shop near Union Square in Mannattan Because 3 Fortune wrter invited to his condo wrote about his Outise? "No," Nir Thiel teils me "And | don't havea "butler ude whether Facebook should ga gublic. Answer: Not anytirn His mundane thoughts these days in soon As a general arinciple, he says, "its somewhat dangerous 10 be 4 pualic cemoany that swnera other things aren: ucoeeding 6 a contaxt OF the saecific question of a Facebook initial public ofaring, ne harks back to the Google IFO ir 2004, Many ai u- Mog ant Google's deout nad reopened he 120 mmndow tnt nad closed wih the eusting of the eon buy Sa! oS f= flood of ~-w tach companies would come to market. it didn’t happen ra Geoge Showa Nr. Tsay har he esl‘ gong oul at aahted PIN Sat anys yy wet Even or 8 we-estapished, praftagia campany—wrich Google was at Ine ime—the “cost-benete 30a Was firmly an the side of staying private for as iong as possibie. Mr Thi was sarly enough in tha Facedoo® star to see rimsaf garrayed in the ftonélized “Povi@ aba Ls ts bin The Social Network.” (He's the Stacky venture captalist who mpl —very implicity—sets the Gall rating teywary Gating Out Fanebook’s allegedly victimized ofounder, Eduardo Savenin) Today, Mr Thiel (the al ona) has ao remit to discuss the company’s mary contoverses, SuFf28 819 Say. thougn be blievas ire rant company “won”: social media wars-—ne compar that was "about meeting real pesto Harvard.” Iss great va, MySoace, founded in Los Angeles, is about oeing someone fake on the Internet Benione could Move sta.” he says. He considers "ver, healthy." ne adds, “thatthe real people have y the ton poopie ids Nk sacebook! ie SS Soin om ates Oniy one thing trousies nim. "I think t's a problem that we don't have more the only company that's doing this well.* Maybe this explains why he 3 ‘college kids wo drop out to pursue entrepreneurial ventures Mr. Talal is prlagmatic about his awn hedge fun, which t market's partial fecovery from the panic of 2008. Lista convinge others of his lang-tern view, which he ing #6 faces an upril battle to CTootics, artficial inteligence, “People don't want to beliave that technol ited than people thins. And tne question narotachnoiogy—al hese areas whey is why." nt fiscal fix. Credit s about the future, he says, and a ur policy leaders, though, have yet to see this bigger 1 agrae with the them ideologically, but they’e quite good as variable that they're betting on is that there's allthis tecnnoiogical it that's wrong, i's just not going to work. You will not get this incredibie In true macro sense, ne credit crisis is when fGtSure Id deserbe him a8 a socialist. ! might even say Ne has a naive and touching es you can impose all sorts of burdens on the systam and‘ will stil work." g him othanvise. Mankind, says Mr. Thiel, has na inalienable right to the pragress that has e last 209 years, Today's heightened political acrimony is but a Toretaste of the “gam Malthusian” }2ad, with politicians increasingly tying to redistribute the fruts of @ stagrant ecanomy, 1o03ing aven more of stagnation Question: How can anyone know science and technolagy are under-performing compared to potential? i's hard, he dmits, !nase Who know—"university professors, the entrepreneurs. the vanture capitaiss’'—are "biased in favor of the idea that rapici oragress is happening, ne says, because thay’7e ra.sing money. “The other 98%'-—he means you and me, wha in this age of specialization real science and technology as akin :o magia—'don't know anything * But id0k, he says, at the future me once portrayed far ourselves in “The Jetsons,” We dant nave fying cars, Space exploration is stalled. There are no undersea cities, Household robots do not cater to our neds. Nuclear power "we should be building like crazy," he says, but we're siting on our hands. Or look al today's science fiction compared 10 the optimistic vision of tne original "Star Trak: Contemporary scence fiction has become uniformly “dystopian, he say3 "It's about technology that doesn't work or that is bad ‘The great exception |s information technology, whose rapid advance is no “luke: “So far computers and the latemet have been the one sector immune from excessive raguiation.” Mr Thiel deivers nis views with an 2xtraordinary, almost pitysical effart to gut ris thoughts in ordar anc phrase ham pttily Somewhere in his 42 yaars, he ovviously discavared the imorababilty of getting a bola, ueusual argument transiated successfully nto papular journalism. For all enquiries please quote: CIT: 201 L902 NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP: Peter Andreas Thiel Addl Peter Andreas Thiel fe¥ Andreas Thiel using the above contact g{betore the High Commissioner, or another representative, to take the of Allegiance. Qo Confirmation Form attached to this letter (Fax: +64 9 363 epartment of the ceremony date and venue, The ceremony date 1¢ Departiment time to complete the wentation and forward it by Diplomatic Bag to you 4 weeks in advance to give e to be valid the must be administered and the certi ‘ou advise the Department wil te presented, on the date whi I be the date of the ceremony, Ke ‘Cours sincerely Confirmation Eorm For all enquiries please quote: Cr: 2011000002 Date: ‘Ceremonies Team Citizenship [entity Services P.O, Box 6147 AUCKLAND L010 a] Ox » Iwill be able w administer the of Allegiance | a3) S Sf dr bas Dui (ALAS Date of Ceremony: S) AW) aT Dries ater the dat of ep) | | Addcesg bs é | wy aa METERS Bs cam ane | | iy © (Signature) FULL NAME. OF ADMINISTRATOR: Name of Applicant: | | Designation; | | Fax this form to +64 9 363 7785 a) ws For all enquiries please quote CIT: 20 11900002 93 August 2911 MrP A Thiel Peter Thiel ell Gully 48 Shortland Street, Verco Centre PO Box 4199 ALCKLAND 1140 eS ieee the details on rr ee vay or it will become invalid. (funy of Ceremonies Offiver for Secretary for In C—_ For all enquiries please quote CIT; 2011900002 features to prevect counterfeiting, These have ed to the ees f no longer requiriag the signatures of any authorised person fs A valid cenificate will have a seal in the bottom leB-hand corner p = Ticats to be valid the Onth of Altgiance must be administered and icate presented on Friday, 12 August 2011 ux the Confirmation of A 1's citizenship record. S the conclusion of the eetemoay, please Peter Andreas Thi endence Form back to rtment to upd: Your Cer for Secretary for internal Atfairs bo Fax cmnonies Oftiver Coatirmation of Attendance Form CIT: 2011000002 jonies Team Citizenshis Gentty Services 20 Box 10680 WELLINGTON 6011 AQ gs | fof th Ww ws | Name: Peter Andreas Thi ah Certificate Dates & | Designation Who Designation _Where X THIS FORM IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CEREMONY TO. Fax: + 64 4 382 3406 CEREMONIES TEAM, WELLINGTON PLEASE F For al enquiries please quote CHT 20 LL0N0002 PO Box 4199 AUCKLAND L140. 2 Ss the Catia o: oe T2 mouths or the approwat for ngratlasions! The Minister of faternal Affairs has approved yi Citizenship will be granted Affirmation of Alisgiance e that you do not muss that the Minister ‘our address please write 20 SS Sm applicanr becomes a New Zealand citizen ee souls team, Citizenship Oper: AUCKEAND 11d) Fees Phone: 0800 22 5 Fax: 2609363 Email Addcess 85 shipCeremoniesaidia You For all enquiries please quote CIT 291000002 20 January 2911 MP A Thiel Peter Thiel Vere C21, 48 Shortland Str P.O Box 4199 AUCKLAND 1149 Dear Mr Thiel NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP in S < pS Prease find enclosed made photocopies of th Should [ requice any additi directly S) oe a decision abt abil When the 9 be aga Four acted s2ay Sroverseas oz have any questions please do not hesitate to gw SE béen completed it will be sent to the Miaister for 2 outcome in writing accordingly eo ice d: | dieth cemiticat { baptism certifi {translation 4 photos receipt ull enquiries please quote CHT 29149002 April 2011 Mr P A Thiet Peter Thich eit Gully 21, 48 Shortland Street, Verso Centre ? 0 Box 4199 AUCKLAND 1141 Dear MrT am iting now to confi ¢ applivatioa is appr ‘mewmesersl@ RG Se V eior Andreas Thiel QW ws bom: Frankfurt, Germany on 11 Octaber 1967 b @ me URGENTLY if these details are wrong, or you intend to officially your nue from kow it ss shown here, We cannot change this record wr application és approved. The Passport Office will use the details recorded on your citizenship certificate when fess vou change your name in the furure. {t recorded above and tell me immedi j issuing a New Zeuland passport to you, | important that you check the deta were wa mistake. Prease note that becoming a New Zealand citizen may affect your right to keep your current citizenship and passport, Plewse contact your embassy or government representative if you need more information about this, RR ACIS sek 3 AM ANYON ALD _ bein X09 of -nonmariv Baa) 177 anon Gil aaossoa—_YooNs PIP PAS 3127 es ADULT aan CHECKSH aniocges 2 nawe:..10y. 28 be, Tas Requirements ast 2 Comments le nigga - [Fase [econsetG0s ype aco TTT] —_ = (Watching |p a Fees [+ coradt lee oaid ‘date lll "ee paid entered aaa NE eae ara (ldontiy T+ reauired documents provided Documents| + documents sopied & cartiied Personal ‘[* date of bith Details > pace & © gender currant stizenahisis) | + oravious mamiagen = ober names Contact [address a isa Presence |» 1 is - inNZ with Norah igniter a7 [PR for ir 240+ + Gays ae _ Rm PR fog 1 —— [intention Fe Rea sonince B resae (EqgtSn\ C+ \Goosment a erm aidence 7] 1. lenvew conducted ferral 0 11P considered = detrimental com sana] cath or ara | atone with family Scrat Photo [photographs ‘StatDec_ [statutory daciaration (el R 3B) wT _ srupdaiad A - _ ee + personal detailsieter seat | “| | + paymen:cage cesioyes I = COVER SHEETEI2 ton Status CHECK, 204 Aooicaicn Type. SGRANT/ Aoplie shone Oatlv isda The: we 4 Sender M ParsonNos aaguti™ Oag en bn Pater Andreas eoians 1.Oet-1967 4 S58 THieL, Amer ait. Frankfurt 3 Germany Date FUT FSS Date Fee Creat a Phone Genera! Avoication Oatals Local Autharity Contticate Details : Eligibility FagY — Submiasio: Euigibinty Fag Evigibity Flag N Eligibility Flag ¥ tee Elgiity Fi Egiiity Elgiaty mg Created ey Creates 33 Created 24] ‘oated 3) raated 84 Created a5 Created 8) Created 8yf Status S87 rs Bits asians Mia Created 3) Craaced 3) From Sent; To: Subje {neconst@yaha Categiaries Thank you for your e-mail. I did, indeed, sight Mr and J compared all pages of the original with atl er Thiel’s Amer Sc 'e pages of the copy wi feel free to contact me a Ve eo s information helps. January 6, 2 Naw Zealang Thiel's American passport. AS par our policy and ied the front of his passpor, fund Request Form daquenic ny Rew Zealand | Transaction details oduct group anahip _| [F Orga az ‘0920086132 (3 Apolcation rumaer BOTTOO0002. SF G oS Apolication AUPOor BOTTOOU hy 3 Sovonsegatiaraz mA) 2 9a asennad et Ran dat sama ram your 9S “yon ae soon Seal 0 ire anything further, Kr SS S : es that may be confidential and ma ORO any use, disclosure or copying of this "Ved this email message in error please notify “fachments. Thank you. Itmay ge worth whe voting tage Date nas ac =< Mioisty ar Science and Innovtc f 7 withthe astabishment of an Auckland based technology company Incubator 35 well as setting up a Yandin San Francseo one nttaduce New Zealand techraogy companies tothe US, This s also 3 water that p42 has ditcussed withthe Minster of Science and Innovation and | understand is curently G2ing progressed ministry 3 offered, mation is of assistance 5° do nor hesitate to ger in touch with me If you require anything furher With ind regards — ex G © eae: =— hor orders 2y Bal Gly sd this emai, message hments, Thank you ertor please notity Buckland, New Zeala ding attachments, aay contain information which is confidential o,. Sugject to Tegal aeivilags or copyright. If you ave not the intended recioient, placa tify vs timadtazely and then delate this avail the Minister has elgnod it of a5 an appro. 2 CS Sepisarion has been successful - may be jise wth AAAI hip Roreunga From: with someone here and woud it 99 SL From: Sent: Thursday, 26 January 2017 6:48 p.m, To: Subject: FW: Will sand each link separately Can you please print off to put on file Thanks Thursday, 25 January 2017 4:51 p.m, % _ A G» Ee Roe oO ee ems We aw a . sl O) ted below, Froi To: Ce: Bee ; eceived : 20/01/2011 4:10:32 p.m. & : FW: New Zealand Citizenship for Mr Peter THIEL HII o> eneate trom Mr Thie's case affcer for your information Np Rar Department of internal Afters Te Tari Taiwhenua From: Senta wary 2011 3:16 p.m To! Subject: FW: New Zealand Citizenship for Mr Peter THIEL. Helto| Hi FY this isthe amail hat! sent tothe Bell Guly about Mr Peter Thies, Ny, Zealand citizenship. | understand that there is a mmIsteral In YOURS, | thought you might ke fo know. Hf not all good Thank you Sa Subject: New Zealand Citizenship for Mr Peter THIEL Before swe can continue processing Mr Thie'’s application there are two issues that ! wo aitention, voy KA, Firstly, applicants who nave spent a significant period of time outside Na SA ‘fara carsigering granting ozeshp may be requred ‘0 prowde ool = ee authorities. If Mr Thiel has been residing in one particular place 0 Fr more since aptainng permanent resicance through Immigration New Zaaign Saifrant police sloarance from that piace. I the only country that he has. Ghote she United States of ‘of Investigation or by phoning (304) 625 $n applicants then send this card (0 the FI and Applicant Cards may be obtained {5590 and selecting Option #3, request a copy of thair record Qs in ordar te present Mr Theil’s application to the Minister to consider. | would like to provide Mr Thiei further inty to provide information or dacumentation to sugport his case. | have read through Mr Thie!’s letter to the Minister and the Department feels that it may be to his advantage to provide original documents supporting the statements in his (etter, The kind of evidence he may wish to provide includes the following, a 2 ned letter from Rod Drury, CEO of Xero, confirming his appreciation in Valar Ventures LP inve: B rivate placement witn Xero. (this letter will prove the investment into Xero) ‘oving the intial investment 3. Any documents proving the investment in Pacific Fibre Limited 4. Attachment 2 af the letter ists oeeole whow were consulted in the context of appreciating the New Zealand business environment with emphasis upon dusiness Innovation and the structure of venture capital Provider. Mr Thiel may wish to provide reference elters signed by some of thos people supporting Mi application for New Zealand citizenship Prease rote tharf as been mentioned inthe letter 35 being on the board of Pacific Fibre Ut has not been listed in Avachment 2. Mr Thial may a's0 wisn to provide further information about Nis personal situation in order to satisfy the Minister enat he should be granted citizenship, in addition to the information he has provided about his investment in News goa The kid of information Mr Thiel may wish to provide could include 41. Any information about having a base in New Zealand. The etter mantions that he owns a house in New Zealand. Me Thie! may wish to oravide avidence of the ownership of that property, and information anwut vat arrangemanis a2 in place for the maintenance of the property (2g. who Currently resides in the oroperty or whether he plans to stay atthe praperty when in New Zealand). He may also like to make a statemart regarting how often ne intends fo visit New Zealand and how lang he expect tobe in New Zealand during these trips. 2. Mr Thiel may wish to provide further statement regarding why he wishes to be granted New Zeaiand ctizensh p, He has advised that he believes the wide global network that he has cultivated would be of great value to New Zealand and it would give him great pride to let it be known that he is @ NeyeZealand citizen however he may wish to elabarate on whether ne requires citizenship in order to co, inNew Zealand. Lastly. the transiaticn for Mir Thiel's birth certificate is completed. | have attachs 350.00. Today | will organise for Mr Thie!'s documents to be sent to you ( ert extra photos and x1 receipl). For your information the courier track an is SA i you have any further queries please do not hesitate to con © O Kina regres we ws = - se A. es Identity Services For Secretary for internal Department of Intaenay pm From: Sent: To: ce Subject ma 2 The! Again this contains emails only (as below) Created Tite Version Author Ste 10 Type > 1000 Policy Development yng SS > POL-1133-5 Minister aon trove ey Ta FW nner ows Go NS ¢ wk EX Y/ "W; Minster! 1 g More to add except thatwe ara not sure whet our recommendation will be abibls point, e sending an email to pt Bell Gully today (wh will check before | send) who 's acting on Mr Thiel's behalf about supalying further documentation In suport of his letter and application to the Minister. That is all So sorry for the fate response Kind regards gary 2011 10:31 a.m, Hija owing your mestng wth IMME there anything else 0 add? Or have you already undated Potcy (tna was necessary)? a . ie "sung Deparment of intarnal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenva sruoas Fo Sazacu Tuakin ra: Fax +84.4 9823 561 Wenste maaan noe ne From: Senge puary 2011 11:36 a.m. : Subject: RE: THIEL FW: Ministerial 11/1 | To meet the ‘presence in New Zealand’ requirement, Mr Thiel must have been in New resident for at least 1,350 days in the five years preceding this application. Mr Thi requirement because he was in New Zealand as a permanent resident for a tot years. 2s a permanght oat ty tees, > ‘commitments and attendance at conferences aN Fequi vel globally, Sect He has asked forthe Minister to grat him giizergh\ a\WBroh\e Minister's saison that a granting of New Zealand elizenship top sass would bei forest because of exceptional oS Protng ee f Go) di is ut deine ot aprave sutmission othe e Me ut | am not sure about the section 9(1)(c), Ineed more I need to tak A Minster the pars ctarfialion before | awaiting the birth certificate to be translated before | can ation to Support the statements in the letter irhal Affairs Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua From; Sent: Fricay, 14 January 2011 10:21 a.m a RIEL FW Ministerial 11 subje ye MMIM- fr Bo you Rave any comments which might help Policy draft their reply for the Minister (for vse tothe lawyers)? ie ae mInzenstno Paraunge Depantunt of intemal Affales Te Tari Taiwhenua Ore oll. 25 51 Websige awn dia gov Fromz| Sent: Fiday. 14 January 2011 10:08 a.m, Please find attached a Ministerial for your comments to assist us with our draft response, details are as follows, Ministerais 114 Author: Reply Due: 25 Jan 2017 Big °°¢ yore please let me know Direct Dial: +64 4 495 9318 Fax: +64 4 494 0567 www. dia.govi.oz irmation of Attendance Form CIT: 2011000002 Date: _ = eam, Citizenship Identity Services PO Box 10680 Wellington 6143 2 A ESOS Designation Who Designation Where Fax: + 64 4382 3406 (CEREMONIES TEAM, WELLINGTON For all enquiries please quote CIT: 2011000002 (5 July 2011 NZ Consulate General 2425 Olympic Blvd Ste 600E AN AK Santa Monica Ca 90404 ( ON G S New Zealand C\ me Peter —- Sr itizenship ceremony on 20 July Thank you for conti 2011 gone 3g Please find, a who hag (s oe BS Si ficat wae eeaaiizensh for presentation to Peter Andreas Thiel a — Ao u OathoF Allegiance on he Bible or other Holy Book S security features to prevent counterfeiting, These have led to the *Y the policy of no longer requiring the signatures of any authorised person Fcates. A valid certificate will have a seal inthe bottom left-hand corner At the conclusion of the ceremony, please lax the Confirmation of Attendence Form back to the Department to update Peter Andreas Thiel’s citizenship record, Yours sincerely, Lie er for Secretary for [nternal Affairs DDI Fax: For all enquiries please quote CIT; 2011000002 15 July 2001 MrP A Thiel Peter Thiel Le P.O Box 4199 AUCKLAND 1140 et, Vereo Centre Dear Mr Thiel Congratulations on becoming ; New Zealand Citizenship: Peter Ande

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