Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire and influential right-wing donor, is reportedly planning to leave the United States for Argentina, despite his companies securing hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts and his protégé serving as vice president. Thiel has purchased a $12 million mansion in an exclusive district of Buenos Aires, relocated his family, and met with Argentine President Javier Milei, as the country reportedly considers granting him citizenship.
The timing of Thiel's apparent exit is striking. In the first quarter of 2026, his data analytics firm Palantir took in $687 million from US government contracts, much of it serving the Trump administration's homeland security and immigration agenda. Another Thiel-linked company, defence tech firm Anduril, recently inked a 10-year deal with the Army worth up to $20 billion. Meanwhile, Thiel's political project has never been more ascendant, with his former protégé JD Vance as vice president and members of the 'PayPal mafia' holding prominent White House positions.
People familiar with Thiel's thinking say he has concerns about the direction of the United States, particularly his long-time base of California, which is considering a controversial billionaire tax. Thiel left California in late 2025 ahead of a January 1, 2026, residency deadline for the proposed tax. The anti-billionaire backlash in liberal states such as California and New York appears to be a key factor in his decision.
Thiel's move is part of a long history of tech founders seeking distant frontiers as a hedge against the present. Silicon Valley billionaires have spent years buying real estate in New Zealand as 'apocalypse insurance', and Thiel himself previously obtained New Zealand citizenship and reportedly pursued a Maltese passport. Tech investors are also trying to develop a new city on the outskirts of San Francisco.
Despite his apparent doubts about America, Thiel's ideological influence is at its peak. He and David Sacks authored a 1998 book criticising multiculturalism, and Thiel has since become more religious, regularly lecturing about the Antichrist. The second Trump era has seen the defence secretary lead Christian prayer services in the Pentagon and the federal government make diversity programmes effectively illegal.
