This company founded by PayPal co-creator Peter Thiel may have received a $40 million investment from Jeffrey Epstein
Image credit: Canva
A company co-founded by
PayPal
co-creator
Peter Thiel
may have received a $40 million investment from
Jeffrey Epstein
. According to a report by The New York Times (NYT),
Epstein
made this investment in Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm associated with Thiel. The report claims that Epstein invested a substantial amount in
Valar Ventures
in 2015 and 2016, not long before he died in 2019. This financial link between Thiel's firm and Epstein had not been publicly disclosed previously. As per a confidential financial analysis of Epstein's estate and a statement from a Valar spokesman seen by the NYT, the $40 million investment is now reportedly worth close to $170 million. Epstein's estate is reportedly benefiting from the returns of this investment.
The NYT report sheds light on Thiel's financial ties to Epstein, even as
Thiel
has publicly discussed Epstein in various contexts, including in relation to other tech figures. Valar Ventures, like other companies associated with Thiel, is named after a creature from J.R.R. Tolkien's mythos.
How tech world shared its ties with Jeffrey Epstien
During this time, Epstein was reportedly seeking to rehabilitate his reputation following his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. The billionaire was known for funnelling money into technology and science ventures, with some speculating that he aimed to reposition himself as a financial manager for the tech elite.
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Several prominent figures in tech, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, have faced questions regarding their connections to Epstein. In 2023, Elon Musk was also subpoenaed in a legal case tied to Epstein.
Epstein maintained relationships with many powerful and influential individuals, some of whom were business associates. The latest revelations about Epstein's substantial investment in a Thiel-backed company are particularly ironic, given Thiel's public commentary on Epstein as more of a cultural symbol than someone he knew. Epstein's links to Thiel were first reported in 2023.
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