Billionaire Peter Thiel claims that he has $50m of personal money in SVB fall

Venture capitalists traded accusations about who was responsible for the bank's collapse in the wake of its crisis.

Peter Thiel, a billionaire, said to the Financial Times that $50m of his money was "stuck" in Silicon Valley Bank when it collapsed.

Thiel claimed that he retained a portion of his $4bn personal fortune in Thiel's Founders Fund, even as he advised companies to move their money out of the bank. This decision has been widely blamed by the public for the bank's failure.

Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley are blaming each other for the worst US bank failure since 2008, as they try to determine who caused the bank collapse.

The venture capital firm that Thiel founded, Founders Fund (which he co-founded with PayPal) was "one of first to alert portfolio companies to the dangers at SVB," the Financial Times reported. The Founders Fund was a prominent Silicon Valley player and quickly spread its view of the bank. Fearful tweets and group chat gossip amplify the panic.

"Fourty-two billion dollars were withdrawn from this bank in one day, Thursday."And, frankly, some actors were accelerating that run," Mark Warner, a Democratic senator, told ABC News on Sunday."This happened so quickly."

Axios reported that Thiel was not involved in the discussion to move the fund's money from Silicon Valley Bank amid scrutiny of Thiel. The news outlet also stated that there was speculation about whether the Founders Fund's move to exit Silicon Valley Bank was intentional or a retaliation for an unknown grudge between the two groups.

The US government quickly took action to ensure that all Silicon Valley Bank depositors would receive their money. This included many who had deposits exceeding the federally guaranteed level, which is $250,000.The Financial Times reported that Thiel's account was temporarily frozen but that he now has full access to it.

Thiel is a prominent Republican donor who supported Donald Trump's first White House campaign. He also backed several right-wing campaigns during the 2022 midterms, including helping to vote for the Ohio Republican senator JD Vanance.