Peter Thiel: Activist Investors Are Like ‘Borderline Sociopaths’
Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel isn’t afraid of speaking his mind when it comes to activist investors.
In an interview with FBN’s Deirdre Bolton, the PayPal co-founder said that activist investors were sort of like “borderline sociopaths.”
“They like firing people … There are probably times when that’s the right thing to do, but I suspect they probably do it way too much,” said Thiel.
Thiel said the philosophy of activist investors – like those criticizing Yahoo’s direction under CEO Marissa Mayer – is very different from the ethos in Silicon Valley.
“The bias in Silicon Valley is to invest in the future, to grow. The bias the activists have is to basically save money by firing people,” said Thiel.
For more on Thiel’s thoughts on activist investors, Yahoo’s recent acquisitions and what it means to take money from venture capital firms, watch the interview above.