Thiel now possibly richest

AUCKLAND: Peter Thiel's spook software outfit Palantir has more than doubled in value since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange on October 2, probably edging the entrepreneur ahead of Graeme Hart as New Zealand’s richest citizen.

Backoftheenvelope calculations now have Mr Thiel worth just under $11 billion against Mr Hart's $10 billion, according to NBR's Rich List. The third and fourthplaced Todd and Mowbray families are on a mere $4 billion and $3 billion respectively.

Palantir listed at $US7.25 a share and closed on Friday (US time) at $US18.15 for a market capitalisation of $US34.08 billion.

An SEC filing also revealed that Mr Thiel personally, plus funds he controlled, owned 17.7% of Palantir, valuing Mr Thiel's stake at just under $US5.8 billion.

Mr Thiel is reported to have made around $US2.3 billion from his early investments in Facebook and PayPal.

That means that, in rough terms, his wealth could now be around $US8.1 billion ($NZ10.99 billion).

The Denverbased Palantir (named after the allseeing crystal ball that the evil wizard Saruman uses to spy on his enemies in Tolkien’s novels) was cofounded by Mr Thiel and Alex Karp in 2004, and makes software that helps security and law enforcement clients mine mountains of ``big data'' from electronic surveillance.

Our GCSB and SIS will not confirm or deny if they are Palantir customers but the company has an office in Wellington and the GCSB has advertised for staff proficient in Palantir's software.

A New Zealand Herald investigation uncovered the NZ Defence Force has spent more than $7.2 million with Palantir since 2012.

Mr Thiel hit local headlines in 2017 when it was revealed he had been made a New Zealand citizen since 2011 — despite spending just 11 days in the country.

He subsequently lost enthusiasm for local tech investments but did become a prolific buyer of property around Queenstown and Wanaka. — The New Zealand Herald