A New York Times investigation signed by journalists Emma Bubola and Ryan Mac revealed that Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and president of Palantir, left his residences in Los Angeles and Miami to settle in Buenos Aires. In the last two months, the 58-year-old technomogul bought a mansion in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of the Argentine capital, met with President Javier Milei and his ministers, enrolled his two daughters in a local school and organized a dinner with the Buenos Aires business elite at which, according to people present, he spoke about one of his favorite topics: the Antichrist. Some of the attendees, according to the American newspaper, did not know what to make of the host’s apocalyptic reflections, but they listened carefully.
The transfer would not be solely ideological. According to sources close to Thiel cited by the NYT, his settlement in Argentina is motivated in part by fear that California will approve an electoral initiative that would apply a 5% tax on the assets of the state’s billionaires. For Thiel, with an estimated net worth of $28 billion, that would represent an expenditure of almost $1.4 billion. At the end of 2025, before January 1, 2026 was set as the residency deadline to be covered by the proposed tax, the magnate had already cut ties with California. Argentina then appeared on his horizon as a refuge also from other risks that Thiel has publicly warned: nuclear war and runaway artificial intelligence.
The businessman has a history of accumulating supporting countries. He was born in Germany, raised in the United States, obtained New Zealand nationality in 2011 and applied for a passport in Malta in 2022. Argentina would be the next link in that chain. According to the NYT, the Argentine government studied the possibility of offering him permanent residence or even citizenship, although official spokespersons denied that this offer had been considered. What did emerge is that the Casa Rosada is working on the creation of a “golden passport” program for those who make large investments in the country.
The harmony with Milei is a central factor. The two met in person for the first time in 2024, in a meeting mediated by Alec Oxenford, former technology entrepreneur and current Argentine ambassador to the United States. Since then, the bond deepened: Thiel met in Olivos with Milei himself—who described the meeting as the convergence of two “anarcho-capitalists”—and had dinners with ministers Federico Sturzenegger and Luis Caputo. The Chief of Staff, Manuel Adorni, came out to celebrate the magnate’s interest with a statement that summarized the government’s strategy: “All the billionaires in the world who want to flee from increasingly regulated countries with higher taxes are welcome to the Argentine Republic.”
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