Reid Hoffman on Peter Thiel

Reid Hoffman has known Peter Thiel for three decades, dating back to their time at Stanford, where their initial interactions involved clashing on many issues, with Hoffman seeing Thiel as a libertarian and Thiel seeing Hoffman as a progressive. This foundational intellectual friction continued through the founding of PayPal and into significant political disagreements, notably concerning the 2016 presidential campaign, leading Hoffman to note that he rarely agrees with Thiel, particularly on politics. However, professionally, Hoffman finds rare common ground with his former PayPal colleague, agreeing on the central business tenet that scaling fast is necessary to escape competition entirely, an idea Thiel strongly advocates for and which guided PayPal’s early strategy.

The evolution of their relationship highlights a tension between deep, long-standing personal connection and pronounced ideological opposition; for example, Hoffman was surprised when Thiel supported a specific presidential candidate, illustrating the unpredictable nature of Thiel’s stances. Professionally, their collaboration on PayPal and as investors—such as their early backing of Facebook—shows a shared belief in identifying exponential growth and ambitious founders. Ultimately, Hoffman positions their relationship as one defined by shared history and business insight, contrasting sharply with their current political landscape, which has caused strain among their peer group.