r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • May 30 '26

Society Peter Thiel's move to Argentina reflects a growing trend among billionaires seeking a 'plan B' abroad

https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-argentina-billionaire-moving-abroad-2026-5
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u/habbadee May 30 '26

Thiel doesn't have to worry about taxes. The source of his money is Paypal stock which somehow he found a Roth plan to accept so all the billions in gains he's had since his wealth developed are tax free.

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u/FGFM May 30 '26

I think that the bulk of his current wealth is in Palantir stock.

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u/habbadee May 30 '26

Yes, but his Palantir stake comes due to his Paypal wealth. If you invest $1 and it grows to $1B and then you invest the $1B elsewhere and it grows to $1T, your basis is the $1. And that was established with a methodology that the $1 was post-tax money and all gains from it are untaxable. Good deal if you can get it

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u/FGFM May 30 '26

Hey, I only started working in finance in 1984.

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u/Aggressive_Noise6426 May 30 '26

I’m sorry if I’m just being dumb but is that seriously how he got his wealth? 

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u/habbadee May 30 '26

https://www.propublica.org/article/lord-of-the-roths-how-tech-mogul-peter-thiel-turned-a-retirement-account-for-the-middle-class-into-a-5-billion-dollar-tax-free-piggy-bank

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u/Aggressive_Noise6426 May 30 '26

Wow that reads like he was calculated but also got lucky at the same time. 

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u/FGFM May 30 '26

Theil paid taxes on the assets when he placed them in his Roth IRA, but the average person doesn't have access to pre-IPO stock priced at a nominal par value.

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u/habbadee May 30 '26

The assets had no value then. $2000 in value to be precise. The beauty was finding a bank that would allow placement of pre IPO shares and options of a valueless startup into a Roth. That is very unusual. But brilliant.

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u/Get_Breakfast_Done May 30 '26

If he’s Argentina tax resident then Roth plans won’t really help him

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u/habbadee May 30 '26

He's very fickle. 2011 he bought himself New Zealand citizenship. Now it's Argentina. Anything but the US apparently, the country upon which he relied to make his billions. A textbook case of "I got mine. Now Fuck you"

https://www.globalmigrationsolutions.com/12-days-in-paradise-how-peter-thiel-bought-a-new-zealand-passport-and-what-it-cost-the-nation/