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Unravelling the Life of Peter Thiel’s Husband Matt Danzeisen

Discover the intriguing story of Peter Thiel's husband, learn about their life together, delve into Thiel's investment focus today, and unravel the connection between Thiel and Elon Musk.
by Robyn Kerkhof | Sep 12 2023
Credits: Gage Skidmore / flickr

Peter Thiel (55 years old) is a widely-respected investor and entrepreneur who never shies away from being in the spotlight. Whether it’s from his success in the tech industry or his political affiliations, Thiel always manages to stay ahead.

But how well do you know the man in his life? Let’s delve deeper into understanding more about Peter Thiel’s husband, their life together, and their combined ventures.

Meet Matt Danzeisen: Peter Thiel’s Husband

Peter Thiel is married to Matt Danzeisen, and the pair have been notoriously private about their personal lives. Matt Danzeisen, a well-respected American finance expert, recently entered the public eye due to his marriage to venture capitalist and entrepreneur Peter Andreas Thiel. A previously unknown figure, Matt was born in Washington, D.C., sometime between 1969 and 1973, although his exact birthdate is not widely known.

While information on his early life and upbringing has remained hard to come by, it is known that he spent most of his childhood in Washington D.C where his father was a businessman and his mother a housewife. Matt identifies as having Christian beliefs and being of white ethnicity.

Investor and Finance Guru: Matt Danzeisen’s Career 

Professionally, Matt is a portfolio manager at Thiel Capital — a finance firm owned by his husband, specializing in investment management and based in West Hollywood, California. Before this, he was a portfolio manager at BlackRock, an investment banker at Bank of American Securities, and a sales representative for Wimsatt Building Materials. His esteemed finance expertise has also made him a board member in the FinTech space. 

Having been open about his gay sexual orientation, Matt is the husband of the well-known entrepreneur and Paypal co-founder, Peter Andreas Thiel. Matt and Peter married in an intimate ceremony on October 11th, 2017, in Vienna, Austria — the news of their union was disclosed at Peter’s own 50th birthday celebration.

The two of them had kept their relationship private for quite some time before revealing their marriage, leading to the speculation that they had been together for a considerable period before their wedding.

Peter Thiel’s Investment Portfolio: Behind His $4.8 Billion Net Worth

Peter has an impressive business trajectory of his own. He was born in Germany on October 11, 1967, and eventually moved to America with his family.

Holder of Philosophy and Law degrees from Stanford University, Peter has had considerable business success, co-founding enterprises such as Clarium Capital and Valar Ventures and being the first external investor in Facebook. His net worth sits at approximately $4.8billion USD. Peter also engages in philanthropic initiatives, helping young people start their own businesses.

In terms of investments, Peter Thiel has always been one to spot potential growth sectors. Today, he continues to support future-forward businesses through his venture capital firm, Founders Fund.

Investment success does not follow a single path, as different strategies can be effective. Investors have their own unique styles, such as Warren Buffett who focuses on established, profitable companies with sustainable competitive advantages.

In contrast, Peter Thiel approaches investing by targeting technology startups. Thiel shares his investing principles and philosophies in his book Zero To One, where he emphasizes the importance of having a contrarian opinion and seeking businesses that offer products or services vastly superior to their competitors.

This approach can result in a business dominating a significant portion of the market and generating strong profitability, which in turn allows for expansion into related areas.

X.com and PayPal: Peter Thiel’s Partnership With Elon Musk 

In 2000, Elon Musk became the CEO of the merged X.com and Confinity, which owned the PayPal program. However, a rift with Peter Thiel arose when Musk advocated for moving the PayPal system to a Microsoft platform instead of Unix-based software.

Musk aimed to expand the company’s focus beyond money-transfer services and wanted to rebrand it with a more prominent “X” in its name, phasing out the PayPal name entirely. Nonetheless, Thiel and Max Levchin orchestrated a coup against Musk while he was on vacation, resulting in Musk’s removal as CEO and Thiel taking his place in September 2000. Thiel ultimately renamed the company PayPal in 2001.

Peter Thiel’s Bestseller: Zero To One

Zero to One” is a thought-provoking book penned by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and an influential venture capitalist. The book offers readers a deep dive into Thiel’s perspectives on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the creation of entirely new, groundbreaking ventures.

At the core of the book is the notion of going beyond incremental progress (“1 to N”) and instead striving to achieve transformative leaps from nothing to something (“0 to 1”). Thiel emphasizes the value of monopolistic competition, unique value propositions, and developing proprietary technology to establish a dominant position in the market.

Since its publication in 2014, “Zero to One” has gained immense popularity within entrepreneurial circles, business enthusiasts, and individuals seeking innovative strategies to foster meaningful change. The book’s contrarian ideas, candid anecdotes, and the wisdom gleaned from Thiel’s diverse experiences have made it a staple in discussions about startups, technology, and disruptive business models.

Thiel’s book, Zero To One, is available for digestion in a simpler format on the Blinkist app. The Blinkist app has been designed to make knowledge accessible to busy individuals.

It presents the crux of non-fiction books in just 15 minutes. As an addition, the platform is also home to Peter Thiel’s own book recommendations. Grab the free 7-day trial on the Blinkist app now and unlock a new world of knowledge at your fingertips.

So whether you’re a seasoned reader or a rookie exploring the tech world, the opportunity to dive into hoards of knowledge in the blink of an eye awaits you.

Start your free 7-day trial

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