The tech billionaire Peter Thiel told the New York Times that funding a court battle against Gawker Media is “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done.” The Silicon Valley investor has revealed that he paid some $10 million in legal fees for professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker.
Thiel has called a Gawker publication “the Silicon Valley equivalent of Al Qaeda,” and says driving the company out of business would be a public service. But he’s refusing to specify which other legal cases he’s funding behind the scenes.
Here & Now’s Robin Young talks with NPR’s David Folkenflik about what the billionaire’s secret battles might mean for media companies.
Guest
- David Folkenflik, media correspondent at NPR. He tweets @davidfolkenflik.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.