“Having some ambition that transcends just making money is a critical thing

“Having some ambition that transcends just making money is a critical thing for a company,” he said. “But there is some point where it gets crazy and self- delusional.” He added that the companies “are probably in some trouble — maybe it’s a little, maybe it’s a lot.” The prospect of government regulation looms. In 2015 and 2016, Mr. Thiel gave $300,000 to Josh Hawley, who was campaigning to become Missouri’s attorney general. Mr. Hawley won, and in November he opened an antitrust investigation of Google. A spokeswoman for Mr. Hawley, a Republican who is now challenging the state’s Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill, said there was “no connection” between Mr. Thiel’s donation and the investigation. Google declined to comment. The news last month that Mr. Thiel is moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles reflects a shift that is as much mental as literal. Getting out of the tech bubble, he figures, will give him more clarity about his investments. “Network effects are very positive things, but there’s a tipping point where they fall over into the madness of crowds,” he said. Another of Mr. Thiel’s contentious ideas was destroying Gawker, the online publisher. He secretly financed the privacy lawsuit that Hulk Hogan, the former pro wrestler, filed against the media company, which Mr. Hogan won. That led to Gawker’s bankruptcy in 2016. A news operation that specialized in deflating the arrogance of Silicon Valley should have been to Mr. Thiel’s liking. But he argues that his philosophy is consistent here. “Gawker was trying to cut people down to size for not conforming,” he said. “The ability to speak and not have every word you say get distorted, to have wrong ideas and then be able to correct them — these notions were powerfully undercut by Gawker.” Mr. Thiel is still pursuing the remnants of Gawker in court, which has prompted accusations that he wants to remove all of its content from the internet as a final victory. He denied this. “Terry Bollea, a.k.a. Hulk Hogan, is still owed some money HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029456