This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims.
One nitpick; Theil said "We were promised flying cars and call we got was 140 characters" not "We were promised bases on the moon and all we got was Facebook"
Link claims Buzz Aldrin said "You Promised Me Mars Colonies. Instead, I Got Facebook."
[1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p...
One nitpick; Theil said "We were promised flying cars and call we got was 140 characters" not "We were promised bases on the moon and all we got was Facebook"
Link claims Buzz Aldrin said "You Promised Me Mars Colonies. Instead, I Got Facebook."
http://files.technologyreview.com/magazine-archive/2012/MIT-...