Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Exits Stake in Facebook.

August 27, 2019 | News, Venture Capital
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The Founders Fund, which backed Facebook from its earliest days, has exited its stake in the social media company. The decision was part of a broader plan from the venture capital firm’s trading partner.

The announcement came in an SEC filing on Monday, Reuters reports.

Thiel now owns 63,550 Class A shares both independently and through a different fund. He sold roughly $4 million in FB stock last week (including shares that were part of this fund). Thiel’s stake now comprises 0.1% of the social media giant. Despite criticism from some over his support of President Donald Trump, he is still on the company’s board of directors.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended Thiel’s board seat, citing the company’s stance on a diversity of opinion.

Founders Fund and PayPal

Thiel, Ken Howery, and Luke Nosek – all founders of PayPal — and Sean Parker launched the Founders Fund in 2005 with $50 million. In addition to investing in Facebook, the fund also tapped early stakes in Airbnb and SpaceX. Thiel became an investor in Facebook the year prior with a $500,000 stake. At the time, Facebook’s valuation sat at just $5 million.

Today, Facebook has a valuation of $519.2 billion.

Thiel would later sell 16.8 million of his personal shares in 2012 when Facebook went public. He later sold another 20 million shares after the lockup expiration.

The venture capital pro recently generated buzz with investments in fintech and blockchain companies.

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