Peter Thiel reportedly bought a $12 million mansion in the Barrio Parque enclave of Buenos Aires and temporarily relocated his family to Argentina.
The decision was driven by concerns about the United States, particularly a proposed 5% wealth tax on California billionaires heading to November’s ballot.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Thiel has met repeatedly with Argentine President Javier Milei and hosted a candlelit dinner with Argentine economists where the conversation turned to the Antichrist, a subject Thiel returns to in lectures.
Argentina has reportedly explored offering him citizenship.
Vance Loses His Patron
Thiel is the long-time political backer of Vice President JD Vance, having staked $15 million on Vance’s 2022 Ohio Senate run. That was the largest single-candidate donation Thiel had ever made.
The move comes as prediction markets cool sharply on Vance’s 2028 presidential prospects.
On Polymarket, Vance’s odds to win the 2028 presidential election sit at 18.4%, down from a peak near 31% in December 2025. The decline accelerated after the US-Israel-Iran conflict broke out on February 28.
His odds to win the Republican nomination have trended downwards, but traders still treat him as the GOP frontrunner, at 33%.
A separate market on Vance leaving the vice presidency by year-end sits at 9%.
Rubio Closes The Gap
Vance’s main rival, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is widely credited with being instrumental in the January raid that captured Nicolás Maduro and the subsequent Venezuela transition.
He stands in sharp contrast to the isolationist Vance, whose America First instincts have reportedly been sidelined by Trump on the major foreign policy decisions of 2026.
Trump publicly acknowledged Vance was “philosophically a little bit different” on Operation Epic Fury, the US-Israel war against Iran launched February 28. Politico reported Vance privately opposed the strikes through back channels.
On Kalshi, Rubio holds better odds than Vance to win the 2028 election, a notable divergence from Polymarket. California Governor Gavin Newsom leads the Democratic field at 23% on Polymarket, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is second with 11%.
The Palantir Trade Cuts Both Ways
The Thiel-Vance complex has a clean equity proxy in Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR), the data analytics firm Thiel co-founded. Thiel and Vance also co-invested in Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) in 2021.
Thiel’s relocation may expand Palantir’s hemispheric footprint rather than shrink it. Argentine officials have reportedly been discussing potential Palantir integrations with state intelligence agencies, according to local media coverage of Thiel’s visit to Buenos Aires.
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