S.F. billionaire quietly funds Ron Paul super PAC Campaign 2012

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, shakes hands as he arrives at a rally in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, shakes hands as he arrives at a rally in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Photo: Sue Ogrocki, Associated Press Photo: Sue Ogrocki, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. billionaire quietly funds Ron Paul super PAC 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Washington --

Ron Paul revels in the fact that he is the presidential candidate of America's small donors, receiving more contributions under $200 than any other Republican seeking the White House in 2012.

But, like every other GOP presidential contender, he also has a mega-millionaire "sugar daddy" helping to fund a super PAC that is promoting Paul's candidacy.

Yet while Newt Gingrich underwriter Sheldon Adelson and Rick Santorum super-supporter Foster Friess have shared the campaign stage - and the national political spotlight - with their candidates, Paul's benefactor, San Francisco entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has never met the Texas congressman he's aiding.

Who is this mystery man who has donated $2.6 million to Endorse Liberty, the pro-Paul super PAC that has produced several viral videos and sponsored sharp attack ads against Santorum, Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry?

Thiel, 44, is a low-profile libertarian with a background as quirky as the candidate he supports.

Born in Germany, he's a self-made billionaire who became a chess master as a child, majored in philosophy at Stanford University, and founded the conservative-libertarian Stanford Review to "present alternate views" on a campus he felt was dominated by liberals.

Co-founded PayPal

He's a lawyer who co-founded PayPal, invested early in Facebook (he was portrayed by actor Wallace Langham in the Academy Award-winning "The Social Network"), dabbled in Hollywood (as executive producer of the libertarian satire "Thank You for Smoking"), ran a venture capital firm that saw the potential in startups such as LinkedIn and Yelp, and now serves as president of a global hedge fund, Clarion Capital.

He is a conservative Christian, a strong supporter of unfettered capitalism, an aggressive critic of "political correctness" and a generous donor to Republican candidates, including Paul, his son Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and California Republican Reps. Dan Lungren, Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce.

The only Democrat to receive a contribution from Thiel is Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration trade official who may mount a primary challenge to staunchly liberal Fortney "Pete" Stark in the newly created 15th Congressional District in the South Bay and Silicon Valley.

Conservative gay Christian

But the Bay Area billionaire is not just a free-enterprise fan. He's also a proud gay Christian who has supported a wide range of causes including gay rights, freedom of the press, antiaging research and artificial intelligence. He's funded a "seasteading" foundation that wants to create artificial, self-governing islands some 200 miles off the California coast to serve as experiments in innovative political, social and legal systems.

"He has great insight," said Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, a group of gay conservatives that has received fundraising help from Thiel and conservative commentator Ann Coulter. "He also is inquisitive, and most of the conversations I've had with him have been him asking questions. He gathers a lot of information."

Thiel's associates say that once he gathers information on a subject, he acts decisively.

He has done that with the pro-Paul super PAC, Endorse Liberty. After a 30-minute meeting at Thiel's San Francisco home, he agreed to aid the cause. Federal Election Commission documents reveal that he is responsible for more than half of the super PAC's proceeds.

"I think Peter has a gift for seeing trends," said Endorse Liberty founder Jeffrey Harmon, a Utah entrepreneur and chief marketing officer of Orabrush, a company that creates products to clean the tongue and freshen breath. "PayPal and Peter's early investment in Facebook are examples of the vision. I believe Peter can see that Ron Paul is the future of the Republican Party."

Thiel declined an interview request for this article. But he has told friends and political allies that he hopes to build a libertarian movement that can compete for political dominance in American politics.

"Men and women who want freedom and growth should take action," he said in announcing one of his four contributions to the pro-Paul super PAC. "A good place to start is voting for Ron Paul."

Thiel says his approach to life is wrapped up in his favorite question for job applicants: "What do you believe is true that almost nobody agrees with you on?"

"That's probably a good starting point to find something that's valuable and is undervalued," he said in a recent speech to Students for Liberty, a group of young libertarians.

Possible future candidate

John Dennis, a San Francisco businessman and Paul supporter, says Thiel is "broadly respected" on the right for his libertarian views, his efforts to provide seed money to young entrepreneurs and his philanthropy. Dennis talks about his fellow Bay Area Republican, who makes Forbes magazine's list of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the world, as a potential Republican Senate candidate at some point in the future.

"He has the money to do it," said Dennis, who is challenging House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in her San Francisco House district this year.

'Cyber-espionage' criticism

But Thiel has his detractors, too.

"You're only a genius if people don't know about your bad bets," said Wade Randlett, a major Silicon Valley fundraiser and bundler for President Obama's re-election campaign. "He started his own hedge fund, which lost a gigantic amount of his own money. He had all of his bets on oil (prices) going up and up and up. And everyone thought it would happen - but then the financial crisis hit (in 2008) and because of housing, oil goes down to $38 a barrel and wipes out his fund."

Thiel also has been criticized by some on the left for the alleged "cyber-espionage" work done by a company he launched. San Francisco blogger Lee Fang reported that the company, Palantir Technologies, may have hacked into computers of liberal nonprofit organizations and reporters, including his own, after they criticized secret fundraising by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Palantir's alleged role "should come as a shock and disappointment to (Paul's) followers," the left-wing magazine the Nation declared recently.

Thiel declined comment, but Paul's followers are not shying away from their benefactor.

Super PAC founder Harmon says Thiel is convinced that Paul "can beat Obama" if he wins the GOP nomination.

"Even if he doesn't win, we are part of a movement that is one thousand times bigger than in any (previous) election cycle," Harmon added.