Peter Thiel is leaving Meta’s board of directors

Peter Thiel is leaving the board of Meta, more than 16 years after becoming one of Facebook’s earliest investors. In a statement, Mark Zuckerberg said that “we’ve always known that at some point he would devote his time to other interests.” The New York Times that those interests include “influencing” the upcoming November midterm elections and “backing candidates who support the agenda of former president Donald J. Trump.”

“Peter has been a valuable member of our board and I’m deeply grateful for everything he has done for our company — from believing in us when few others would, to teaching me so many lessons about business, economics, and the world,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “Peter is truly an original thinker who you can bring your hardest problems and get unique suggestions.”

Thiel has advised Zuckerberg from the earliest days of Facebook. He joined the board of the social media company in 2005 after investing $500,000 in the fledgling social network. In a statement, he called Zuckerberg “one of the great entrepreneurs of our time.” 

The Palantir founder is also one of the more controversial members of Meta’s board. Thiel was an early supporter of Trump, and was at a White House in 2019 when Zuckerberg “came to an understanding” with the president’s team that Facebook would not fact check the president.

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