Politics: Ron Paul?s Billionaire

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Politics Ron Paul's Billionaire Peter Thiel made a fortune investing in the right ventures at the right time. So why is he investing millions in a doomed presidential campaign? By David Weigel Posted Monday, Feb 20, 2012, at 09:41 PM ET The previous 24 hours had been rough on the political tycoons. Foster Friess, the cowboy-hat wearing backer of Rick Santorum, appeared on MSNBC twice: once to joke about women preventing pregnancy by putting Bayer aspirin "between their knees," once to apologize. Sheldon Adelson, whose previous $10 million investment in Newt Gingrich hadn't netted much, spun the media 'round again by promising $10 million more. Frank VanderSloot, a national finance co-chair of Mitt Romney's campaign, was filleted by a Salon report on his Bond villain-esque habit of hushing up critics with lawsuits. This news cycle was sputtering out when Peter Thiel, the billionaire founder of PayPal, the $2.6 million-angel for a Ron Paul Super PAC, arrived at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. His audience: hundreds of young libertarians, most of them dressed as if they expected to be ambushed by job interviewers, overcrowding every inch of hotel carpet. They were trapped in America's least libertarian city for the third annual Students for Liberty conference. Thiel was the first-night keynoter, assigned the heavy task of pulling college kids away from the hotel bars. This proves to be easy. Thiel, athletic and intense, moves quickly through the crowd, rarely recognized. He's guided by Alexander McCobin, the president of Students for Liberty, dressed in a three-piece suit, grinning and small-talking as he walks. McCobin had co-founded the group in 2007, when he was one of the dozens of Koch Summer Fellows (yes, that Koch) who live, intern ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Dickerson: What Mitt Romney Has To Do to Win Michigan Santorum Used To Say the Exact Opposite Thing About Partial-Birth Abortions Why Is Peter Thiel Giving Millions to Ron Paul's Doomed Presidential Bid? They've Never Even Met!	Advertisement
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