Peter Thiel was fundamental to dealing Gawker what appears to be its death blow:
Billionaire Peter Thiel, PayPal cofounder and early investor in Facebook, called financing the $150 million crushing lawsuit against Gawker filed by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done” in a revealing interview Wednesday.
“I saw Gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest,” he told the New York Times, telling them it was “less about revenge and more about specific deterrence.”
This is first interview Thiel has granted after it was revealed that he had helped fund former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the gossip blog for posting a secretly-recorded sex tape. While a Florida jury originally rewarded Hogan with $115 million in March, the amount has since climbed by the tens of millions in further damages from Gawker Media and founder Nick Denton.
It’s pretty incredible. He spent $10 million in order to take down Gawker. Reprisals are good. Deterrence is even better. If you’re on Twitter, express your appreciation by using the #thankyoupeter hashtag.