Americas: Why Peter Thiel Is Decamping to the End of the World

The billionaire's new roots in Argentina are said to be partly motivated by concerns about the future of the United States and shared beliefs with Argentina's right-wing leader.

1. Juni 2026 um 14:00 Uhr / Emma Bubola und Ryan Mac, The New York Times

Peter Thiel speaks at the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach Bild: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Saturday tournament at the Buenos Aires chess club hosted its usual lineup of players, including an accountant, a college student and schoolchildren. But this time, hunched over the club's tiny wooden tables with them, was a new entrant: Peter Thiel, a right-wing tech billionaire and Trump donor.

Thiel – who, according to one of the participants, "did not play badly" and came in third – had recently decamped from his homes in Los Angeles and Miami to establish a foothold thousands of miles away in Argentina's capital.