The Iconoclast

Peter Thiel has made no secret of his feelings about economic and cultural issues. Hear him discuss his vision for the future, his bets on AI and digital currencies, his thoughts on the state of America - and why he’s staying out of the 2024 U.S. presidential election (for now).
Now in its 20th year, the Aspen Ideas Festival is the Aspen Institute’s signature summer public event. From June 23-June 29, 2024 more than 300 leaders and innovators gather in the Rocky Mountains to engage in deep and inquisitive discussion of the issues that shape our lives and challenge our times, spanning politics, business, science, the arts, education, and more. #AspenIdeas
For more information about the Aspen Ideas Festival, visit www.aspenideas.org.

[@gprufino]

I love listening to Peter Thiel because he's such a candid out of the box thinker that you learn a lot from him.

[@menachempike4489]

Peter thiel should be on trumps cabinet

[@yomajo]

what did you learn?

[@turbanatorification]

Very rare to get a Peter Thiel interview these days, thank you for getting him on and thank you Andrew for doing a great job with the questions!

[@joryiansmith]

Peter is such a refreshing and reasonable voice in the American discourse. He is an exceptional role model for how to converse and contribute. 🔥

[@metamoney7657]

Peter is destroying our country for Israel

[@dalamskdnfkdmsns]

Great comment 100% agree❤

[@DavidRussellM]

The guy who plays all sides, supports a wanna be dictator, and hordes massive wealth is your role model? Wtf lol

[@dya13810]

@@DavidRussellMyou reap what you sow, you dont do anything so you wouldnt understand

[@journeytothevoid2899]

He’s slightly hyperbolic at times, engagement farming and openly/publicly insults people. I think he is a great mind though who doesn’t get that end of praise enough.

[@nickynick1014]

andrew let the man speak my goodness bro 😂

[@abigailbruner]

His intelligence is so fast that it's hard for him to even organize his thoughts for you... It's easier for him to just make strategic moves. Explaining why he does what he does and how he knows what he knows is really kind of a cruelty that you give to him on a regular basis... This is an animal in immense pain and I feel for him deeply.

[@nephiindustries]

When I see an new KZbin vid with Peter Thiel, I click "watch."

[@deenzmartin6695]

There's no "watch" button or icon though

[@jw6487]

I click “detonate”

[@KevinTewksbury]

Yupp ❤

[@KevinTewksbury]

@@deenzmartin6695the play button 🤦 durrr durr

[@benez7014]

I FULLY AGREE WITH THE BITCOIN TALK

[@w12p67]

I love that he is crazy rich, but still wears Asics.

[@chesstictacs3107]

I don’t know if his assistant will ever read the comments to him. But I would like to send my warmest greetings to Peter from Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 I have learned a great deal from his exceptional thoughts.

[@farzana6676]

Damn...isn't Azerbaijan an Izlamist country?

[@chesstictacs3107]

@@farzana6676 😃 no. It is a secular republic with majority non practicing Muslims. But what does it have to do with me liking Peter? lol

[@farzana6676]

@chesstictacs3107 I was shocked to know that Peter Thiel is known in some obscure Islamist country. But now I've learnt that Azerbaijan is non practicing.

[@getstarted7168]

Great ideas from Mr. Thiel

[@dothex4919]

Peter Theil is a gift to America

[@morganp7238]

Always great to hear Thiel. Pity is in this sewer.

[@HueBFuture]

He is a genius. His ability to discuss things and not get flustered is impressive.

[@ConorMcGuire-rl5rn]

Thanks for this really brilliant discussion.

[@Robs_79]

Great session

[@realmotivation248]

Peter is an insightful person.

[@agent7118]

Peter Thiel is the man. MAGA forever!

[@roamingly]

Bitcoin talk starts at 35:55 ...you are welcome 😊

[@bloodbathy]

oops bitcoin is not going to move up... Sad prediction. Worried why would Peter say this?

[@kyle9296]

@@bloodbathybc bitcoin wont move up at the pace hes been used to. Guys like him have the ability to invest in companies the rest of us dont. For the rest of us, bitcoin will be an excellent investment

[@nicholas5396]

Would love to see Peter Thiel and Alex Karp debate and discuss the world and way forward.

[@gregestep5407]

I think they have similar views.

[@nicholas5396]

@@gregestep5407 they do and don't. According to Alex in multiple interviews back in college they would debate each other fiercely. Although friends they are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. What does unite them,.amongst other things I'm sure, is their united sense of freedom and privacy. Is the stated reason Peter tapped Alex for helping them start Palantir.

[@danecjensen]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe and @danecjensen) - 00:00 - Legendary Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel discusses extraordinary track record 01:30 - Zerotoone founders lead successful companies 05:05 - Power and stagnation in developed countries 06:29 - Sam Altmans OpenAI program is anchored by ideas, not people 07:41 - Sam Altmans influence on Open AI 11:31 - Investor bullish on AIs importance, wickedly difficult 1999 investments 14:21 - Multitrillion dollar monopoly for Nvidia 15:49 - Elon Musks comments on Open AIs nonprofit status 17:48 - Silicon Valleys unhinged, selfhating culture led to exodus 20:19 - Deep corruption, mismanagement, crazy leftwing ideology in California 22:34 - Silicon Valley shifting from progressive to conservative politics 26:43 - Googles monopoly under regulatory pressure 28:38 - Environmentalists trust Googles ethics 29:37 - Author I Will 33:48 - AI monopoly, competition, and value 36:07 - Bitcoins enemies Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink 38:49 - ETF advice surprised me 40:02 - Elon Musks SpaceX and Tesla investments 43:13 - Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly backed Elons compensation package 45:14 - Elon Musks Twitter Important, Hard Tradeoffs 46:57 - Investing in Trump campaign, Facebook criticism 51:54 - Former President George W Bush says hell vote for Trump 52:32 - Predicting Trumps victory over Biden Hate factories 57:01 - 2016 promises, polarization, uncertainty, democracy, rule of law 57:47 - Stagnation, polarization, Trumps tone 01:00:01 - Paulson explains why he switched support to Trump

[@danerose575]

I have a lot that has never been built near San Francisco because of these insane things. I'm leaving California because of this corruption.

[@farzana6676]

California keeps voting for the same politicians over and over 😂😂😂

[@jiggs_1000]

Credit to Andrew on this one. Nice Qs

[@afiiiiiii]

Zirp ended, theil is back in tech fleece. That means he is working again. And he is working hard.

[@jairunet]

Thiel is definitely one of the smartest people I known, I absolutely admire his road to where he is now and also some of his ideas, especially the ones in the book "Zero to One" but, he sounds very confused, sounds like he got betrayed in different areas of his life and now he is anxious. Nevertheless, I hope all the best to him and I also hope he can continue supporting new projects and ideas that can help with the improvement in the United States, which I do believe is not in a good shape compared with 30 years ago.

[@CM-wf5ww]

Lots of "all the other stuff" is because of social media and FB - and FOX. We're addicted. We're fed an algorithm of news and content creating the issues.Thiel would never be able to answer that truthfully. Not possible for him to do so.

[@sucim]

No it's upstream of that, it's the victim mentality that causes these problems and you're making a perfect example. The media made the populace acquire learned helplessness on a country scale. A side effect (unintended or probably rather subconsciously intended) is that people become dependent

[@julianjdogg]

I think most humans have a weakness for such content. Combined with a victim mentality, you will never break free

[@kreek22]

The "news" has always been propaganda, sometimes with more, sometimes with less competition. And it isn't only the media that plays the propaganda game. It is also their sources, most of all the most powerful sources.

[@Saiputera]

FB is not fox news and mark Zuckerberg is a very centrist democrats

[@tommueffelmann554]

Love seeing a new Peter Thiel interview

[@deenzmartin6695]

Interviewer was obnoxious but Peter was super interesting and insightful as usual.

[@El_Diablo_12]

6:00 why giving creative people latitude will encourage prosperity, and increased wealth creation society-wide 21:50 why California specifically SF is structured similar to Saudi Arabia

[@nesdi6653]

awesome

[@dannils6609]

Spot on!

[@numitumi8806]

I wish he’d do more such conversations. Getting to see a softer side of his personality that doesn’t come through well in his lectures even though those are brilliant.

[@TrrripS]

Hello, so what does IDEAS FESTIVAL do?

[@dmonroerobison]

It's mostly BS. Occasionally someone of substance will do it to see if they can access the TED audience without the shame of going to TED.

[@handle11141]

Cool ideas bro

[@cantodeaguila]

25:15 Merit, Excellence and Intelligence is beautiful

[@user-ct9xz2gf6x]

Talks over ideas exactly like what he surely must be: a creative mind always thinking.

[@ShikharSrivastava]

0:00 Introduction 1:15 Unconventional founders 4:10 Facebook Story 5:10 Tech Stagnation 6:35 Investing in the right people/ideas (Altman, Musk) 7:30 Peter's take on recent AI progress 14:30 Take on Nvidia and chip industry 15:30 Friendship with Elon

[@mineralt]

this would be worth an hour if Sorkin wasn’t doing the interview

[@subzerosumgame]

i thought that thiel is smth more. Crispy open ended questions from host, well done.

[@xaxfixho]

am here for the moment Peter sends a message to Bob ... if he is in the room?

[@Nora-ei4ph]

Stagnation leads to polarization in USA 🇺🇸

[@timothybrosz7697]

to the contrary. He cannot argue any point with good logic.

[@plica06]

I really value Peter's way of seeing the world from interesting perspectives that challenges my own opinions. I wish he would come to be interviewed more often. But *whisper* it can be hard listening to his stuttering and stammering.

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

No he talks fine

[@likemy]

timestamp with topics of discussion, please

[@Hawking1969]

Peter Thiel is amazing

[@afterthesmash]

Andrew Ross Sorkin doesn't have his name in the show notes. It always bugs me when primary participants don't have their names in the show notes.

[@matthewr759]

Elon would benefit from seeing Andrews name more.

[@freedinner886]

Peter's sense of humor is good in this one. 😂😂😂 Great interview btw.

[@Aisaneslamchalandar]

10:39 ❤🎉

[@RukshanJ]

What's the point of asking all the controversial questions abd asking the opinion? Something that mainstream media cannot get rid of ?

[@MB-dp1rj]

Andrew needs to "shut up" and let the guest respond in length. Loves the sound of his own prattle!!

[@simonz_02]

such a great interview from the anchor - many of them are tricky and controversial, but that's what it makes the interview stand out

[@jaceyang3375]

I think we can differ from Peter Thiel's ideology in one way or another, but we must acknowledge his voice of reason and the depth of insight that he put on the table first.

[@Nora-ei4ph]

I have been trying to get funding for my startup! In the present business climate. Searching for mentor and venture capitalist.

[@midwestcannabis]

IN KARP I TRUST 🥳🥳✌️✌️✌️

[@shaneyeestudio]

Nice

[@B_knows_A_R_D-xh5lo]

😊😊😊

[@michaelsimpson9175]

very diplomatic on a lot of topics lol

[@jaysphilosophy1951]

The internet has destroyed locality and I wouldn't mind seeing it gone forever......

[@chirag2819]

Thiel still struck in the past. Most of his talk now days are what happened in the past and projecting them into the present. Would love to see him getting over the past, and doing more risk taking for the future he always talked about.

[@eugenenguyen9972]

He’s a VC, he takes risk for a living :v it’s not best practice to talk about the young companies he is investing in, he can only talk in details about the big names.

[@abigailbruner]

Peter and I think very much alike... I'd be curious to know if he sees what I see ... Maybe I've misjudged him? He's very frustrated, but then, so am I...

[@RaymondER3]

22:30 "Do you have any Saudi Money in your fund" "Virtually none" (Does this mean none or?)

[@chesstictacs3107]

Maybe indirectly some exposure

[@farzana6676]

Virtually none probably means less than 2%. And probably indirectly.

[@jaysphilosophy1951]

If monopolies weren't involved in hiring, than the internet would be somewhat a good thing, but the moment the internet got involved in hiring and firing (recruiting) it created monopolies..... Indeed, Ziprecruiter..etc etc. So perhaps if we went back to a pre 2008 internet.

[@Samsonight33]

This guys IQ is off the charts. Him, Musk, Sacks, what a group. Why wont All-In get him on the pod?

[@Portugal_Pete]

Good interview. Btw, Andrew... what if I told you that there are folks out here more threatened by Biden's past PROVABLE authoritarianism... than by Trumps PROBABLE future authoritarianism.

[@patrickmccarthy5617]

His head would explode reading and hearing this question 😂😂😂

[@harbifm766766]

He a NY duew...so..go figure

[@caladr9367]

Trump’s authoritarianism is only considered probable by media. Trumps ego is such that he wants to be known as a benevolent and loved leader, not one who ruled with an iron fist.

[@tommueffelmann554]

I think AI will 10x capabilities, increasing the gap between various skills, leading to increasingly tight knit billion dollar startups

[@kreek22]

Meaningless claim. 10x what capabilities? And how far is a 10x tool from becoming an agent?

[@jimywealth4628]

no it will make ppl completely codependent

[@Usernamebtc]

Look at what Peter Thiel does not what he says. I mean this in a good way. He is massively invested alongside the thesis of the book the sovereign individual. Yet he no longer speaks much about it.

[@playertwo9895]

Correct. My guess is he's waiting for some AI profits to materialize to move them back into bitcoin. That or he knows the price will continue to fall before the economics of the halving drive the price up, so he's accumulating now or soon. You don't suddenly lose interest in btc because there are ETFs and Larry Fink is in, he knows Fink just cares about profits and has no interest in even meddling with the ideology of the thing.

[@kreek22]

You are not on his level intellectually. Bitcoin obsessives are consistently either midwits or scamsters.

[@playertwo9895]

@@kreek22 Don't think any of the comments above were obsessive, more so pragmatic. Don't think anyone suggested they're smarter than him either, you're just being an ass for no reason.

[@user-gs7ur6py8w]

43:18

[@stanchik25]

The "ums" though 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

What's wrong with that?

[@KevinTewksbury]

Peter Thiel’s eyes look so tired. When I see him like this I assume he’s been spending long nights trying to dominate the future. 😅

[@TheDNAGroup]

Isn’t Tesla already designing its own AI chips?

[@imrana0520]

People in ny do hate finance

[@Nora-ei4ph]

Limitless USA Government contracts $$$$ trillions for NSA data bases and USA military forces databases contracts.

[@ciaranwalsh2254]

who is the presenter?

[@conformist]

surprised by peter thiel's push back and lack of good words for trump, i reckon things prob have happened in the back where he really does not like trump anymore. well, there was the issue where trump did way less than he imagined, and was relatively more normal as a president than he would've liked.

[@SzTz100]

Trump wasn't right wing enough for him.

[@fungool]

@@SzTz100 Also not effective. Like he said- it's more of a spectacle than any real action. Trump is a showman not an executive

[@julianjdogg]

It was a clownshow that ended with lockdown

[@kreek22]

Thiel didn't expect the deep state to rise out of the deep and attack Trump on the surface, shameless and evil and stupid in its tactics.

[@JohnInvest17]

He sounds very nervous talking about Bitcoin compared to other topics. Why?

[@kreek22]

Cthulhu will swallow bitcoin when it gets a taste for it.

[@golfinguru11]

Because he was wrong.

[@caladr9367]

Probably because some of its original purpose has not been realized and the government has essentially mastered tracking and seizing it.

[@manonamission2000]

@@caladr9367this, also how many years has it been since the Satoshi paper first came out..(rhetorical q)

[@jlennon4929]

What was the primary cause of the homelessness spike in San Francisco? Tech money. Who kicked out the cultural producers in San Francisco? Tech workers. Public infrastructure was not only reliable but cheap in SF prior to 2006/07. So were rents. So were bars and restaurants and concert venues. Nobody save commercial real estate landlords was complaining. There was relatively little corruption. Silicon Valley is not located and was not started in San Francisco, it's 40 miles south. If they had just stayed there, where they belong, absolutely zero of this would have happened. A little reflection, Mr Thiel.

[@EntertainmentMaker9]

Give me Thiel Bux.

[@jackspratt624]

Why doesn't Peter have eyebrows?

[@SPARQLyArash]

the heck is going on with Peter's speech here?! used to speak steadier before

[@davidanalyst671]

Elon too. Neither one will really spend time on perfecting a speech if you are billionaire who works 19 hours a day. The reason peter thiel speaks broken english is because he thinks about the answer while hes talking, and hes a top 1% mathematician and philosopher, so add in the savaunt, add in him trying to decide what to say. Hes not hesitant because hes trying to figure out how to say his next point, hes trying to decide what his next point is, then he runs it through his philosophy knowledge bank to see if it makes sense, and then he finds a way to turn the concept into English.

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

​@@davidanalyst671lol

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

​@@davidanalyst671how do you know that?

[@gtw912]

peter is a class act. if you have a problem with him, you're not smart enough

[@B.NW1978]

😢 sorry about your driveway.

[@jaysphilosophy1951]

The internet has been the worst thing to happen to humanity, jobs, economic prospects, mental health, and locality. Bring back the small business owner who is autonomous like the local electrician who works for a small company, like the local coffee shop owner, who sells old books on the side, like the family pharmacy, like the local hospital, like the local hotel, like the local factory, like the local brewery, like the local hardware store, like the local convenience store, like the local smoke shop, like the local bar, like the local theme park, like the local ski resort, like the local electronics store, like the local clothing brand, like the local tailor................... The internet has destroyed locality and I wouldn't mind seeing it gone forever......

[@RichReportcom]

The story of Zuck turning down $1B is false 5:00 what actually happened is that the $1B was in yahoo stock, not all cash. And Yahoo stock dropped and the CEO tried to “shoe horn” the deal through at around 700mm, that’s what made Zuck reject the deal

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

Source?

[@erusev]

It's remarkable how open he is to changing his mind - like on Bitcoin or Trump - and to admitting he was wrong.

[@doodlebroSH]

That’s not remarkable that just what PR looks like today.

[@vimal-cliobconsulting]

​@@doodlebroSHwrong

[@camconrad]

49:03. its not anti-tech. it is anti-"their algorithm" which promotes nudity among other things

[@DavidRussellM]

Very two sidsie and political from Mr.Um Uh

[@chrish8212]

everyone who uses woke needs to give their definition, if not it comes off as glib.

[@farzana6676]

Woke = radical leftists who view everything through an oppressor/victim narrative. Basically woke = 🤡🤡🤡

[@zwatwashdc]

The stock market was great under Trump - but everyone was better off because prices didn’t go up 40%.

[@ireneuszpyc6684]

at the end of Trump there was a pandemic, so the whole world redistributed wealth (2020-2021) & then THE WHOLE WORLD INFLATED THEIR CURRENCIES, & you blame Biden for inflation?

[@joshuamoret]

The air is a snake in the grass

[@C-mm751]

I think his brain is a storm…..like Elons👍

[@manonamission2000]

that's how they found each other... brains oscillate

[@zwatwashdc]

I don’t think China is going to invade Taiwan. Why would they? They have time and time is on their side in this issue.

[@kreek22]

another case of unknowing ignorance. you do not know the balance of power--nor do you know how it is shifting.

[@zwatwashdc]

@@kreek22 I have a pretty good idea of how things are shifting. Plus China knows the US wants to use Taiwan (bodies and terrain) to weaken China just like they are using the Ukraine (bodies and terrain) to try and destroy Russia. Why would they walk into that trap when they can just wait a little longer for imperial overstretch to set in?

[@caladr9367]

China has repeatedly said they will attack Taiwan, they want to control the center of global semiconductor manufacturing. Time would not enable them to take Taiwan in any way.

[@movingout3000]

Iconoclasts don’t do the aspen inst

[@kreek22]

Wrong.

[@peterchung7151]

Peter Thiel for President

[@abigailbruner]

The thing about Peter, he's not a psychopath. He's a true believer, and he's filled with rage. He's one of the most intelligent men on Earth and he knows it. The pain he endures is almost unbearable. I need to meet him in person.

[@ken-ul2jg]

Honestly it''s not really about Peter Thiel, Andrew is such an interviewer. I don't know why these organizers pair people like Brian Chesky and Sam with that guy, very dry.

[@carlfreer8600]

Sharpest billionaire out there. Had me when he hired Eric Weinstein as CEO 🎉❤

[@jonl9192]

Cant wait for the day Andrew leaves CNBC to start his own podcast. Hes grown out of his role at CNBC hes bigger than them.

[@mikerusso7095]

His ego has grown. Yea, there aren’t nearly enough podcasts lol😂

[@jonl9192]

@@mikerusso7095 lotta shit podcasts. Only handful of ones worth watching

[@dya13810]

I think he needs the cnbc platform, solo, although i like him i feel wont be the same, kinda like Don Lemon, hard for mainstream to go solo, true soloist can make it big podcasting, (not a don lemon fan btw but anal is the same

[@JeremyHelm]

47:36 47:39 47:45 47:59 48:01 48:04 oof. 48:13

[@Boy90547]

Peter thiel for CA governor (please)

[@golfinguru11]

Anyone with that stutter is not becoming a politician

[@michellec1866]

@@golfinguru11I think that because he thinks much faster than his mouth can manage.😂

[@rolandnelson6722]

@@golfinguru11very funny Biden reference there.

[@golfinguru11]

@@rolandnelson6722 Biden’s stutter gets shoved into lockers by Thiel’s stutter.

[@dorsaesh1555]

once again .... infinity he only did HIMSELF A FAVOR THAT WAY ...NOT THE COMPANY.... NOT THE SHAR HOLDERS (NONE)

[@catejames6453]

Peter is a better person than Andrew. Which is interesting in a way 🤨