this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025
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Are you sure he has more influence? If you were to rephrase this as "why does Peter Thiel get more media coverage than other billionaires" the answer would be very easy.
IIRC Bernard Arnault (number 5) has his paws on a ton of things in Europe, but you don't hear about it because he's just not that much of a nut.
That's the thing. I don't recall Thiel getting much press until I started really honing in on him. I'm sure he probably did, but rather it's like the "new thing effect," where one doesn't notice a particular thing until one acquires that thing, then suddenly notices lots of those things, everywhere. But he does seem extraordinarily influential, whether it's just me beginning to notice or he actually is.
He doesn't get as much as Musk, but in proportion to how rich he actually is, it's a lot.
Funding steroid-allowed sporting events, saying monopolies are good and trying to build your own micronation(s) was always going to get people talking.
Regarding your second paragraph, Arnault or Bollaré or both? Are we just not talking about it internationally because I don't see much in the news about this, if anything.
I'm talking about Thiel. Nobody else at the same level would match that description as far as I know. He basically wants cyberpunk corporate rule to be real, and thinks everything bad about Silicon Valley is good, probably because that's personally affirming for him.
Vincent Bollaré hasn't even come up, are you answering the right comment?
For reference, I'm in Canada, and I've been hearing about Thiel for years - well over a decade. Albeit never on the front page of anything. The main time I hear about Arnault is when I use him as an example of a quiet, little known billionaire, although I think I heard about it when he tried to leave France. I just looked up who the Bollaré family is now.
Ah yes, I was including @seliaste@lemmy.blahaj.zone since for me, they are replying between us, and mentioned Bollaré, I'll need to also look them up. I knew about Thiel and sports doping, monopolies, if I knew about micronations, I forgot. Thank you for bringing it up.
I am french and definetly know about Bernard Arnault owned medias. I had never heard about Peter Thiel
Interesting! He's infamous for his radical, often authoritarian-type ideas.
There's Americans that are little heard-of higher on the list too, so my point stands. Arnault is just the richest one that's not well known in the anglosphere.
That's the guy that took over lvmh? There's also that weird USA guy, I can't remember his last name, that (used to?) pal around with Thiel with Anti-Human ideas. Starts with a Y, I believe.
Yes he's the ceo of lvmh
Yes, he's rather cut-throat in business, from what I've read. Some say cunning, others say unscrupulous, I guess it's a bit of both. But I can't recall having read any of his political views, can you share some, and which politicians he's influenced?
Im not too sure but he sounds like your standard right wing liberal economics guy from what ive heard. There's also Bolloré who owns medias in france and this one is super right wing conservative and basically imported fox news in France (called Cnews)
It's unfortunate for France. Interestingly, left wing news slants never seem to take root with many, as quickly as right wing slants, do they? It reminds me of the adage, "a lie travels quickly, but the truth endures." Looking around, it's easy to doubt that, until we step back and look at longer timelines.
It's also about funding. There are little to no left wing media owners, since they cost a lot to buy or invest in (and only big CEOs can afford this), hence they have less funds to be visible