by ICL
On April 30, 2026, far right billionaire Peter Thiel arrived in Sao Paulo to visit a local AI startup called Enter, in an event that appeared as a blip in the local media at the time. New hotel records obtained by investigative journalist Paulo Motoryn, however, reveal that the team of top level staff he brought with him, which was much larger than previously reported, remained in the country for days after the visit to Enter. Taking into consideration that the Thiel-funded Rockbridge Network is suspected of illegal support for the Flávio Bolsonaro campaign, Motoryn argues that this visit warrants more scrutiny. - ed
This week, Brazil’s Workers Party filed a lawsuit requesting the Supreme Court to investigate the Thiel-funded Rockbridge Network’s relationship with the Bolsonaro campaign. (Photograph: John Lamparski/Getty Images)
A group tied to U.S. billionaire Peter Thiel visited São Paulo in May, 3 months before Brazil’s electoral campaign officially began. The information was revealed by journalist Paulo Motoryn during an appearance on ICL Notícias morning program on Wednesday (23), and was also published in his newsletter Noites Húngaras.
An internal document from the Rosewood hotel obtained by the journalist records that a party of at least 15 guests registered under the company names of Thiel Capital & Presidio One. Thiel Capital manages Peter Thiel’s personal investments, while Presidio One is a company registered at the same address in Los Angeles.
“It’s important that we analyze this visit, which took place on the eve of the election campaigns and know who Peter Thiel is, to understand what is at stake this October,” Motoryn said.
“A few days ago,” he continued, “I was contacted by an employee at the Rosewood hotel, which is an ultra-luxury hotel in the city of São Paulo. Through this source, I obtained access to a series of documents that prove the size of Peter Thiel’s delegation when he was in São Paulo in May. A group of 15 employees stayed for several days at the hotel, where the daily rate is between roughly US $3000-$4000 per person. The initial justification for the trip was an event tied to a legal startup in which Peter Thiel is one of the shareholders. However, the delegation’s stay was much more extensive, which, based on these documents I obtained, raises very important questions about Peter Thiel’s objectives here in Brazil.”
Thiel’s political ties
A co-founder of Palantir and PayPal, Peter Thiel has maintained a political presence in the United States for years and was a major financier of the political career of current U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. Thiel is also linked to the Rockbridge Network, a conservative network created in the United States, which has recently been accused of illegally supporting the Flávio Bolsonaro campaign .
On ICL Notícias, Motoryn also cited Thiel’s visits to Argentina and criticized the operations of Palantir, a technology company specializing in the integration and analysis of large volumes of data that holds contracts with government agencies in the United States and other countries.
“Peter Thiel’s presence in Argentina and his relationship with the Milei government were a scandal there and led to street protests, because Thiel isn’t just another Silicon Valley billionaire who aligns with the American far right — he may be the most dangerous of them. His main company has superpowerful data-cross-referencing technology that is placed at the service above all of the U.S. state, but also of Israel, carrying out a kind of surveillance of populations based on the massive cross-referencing of data that his company holds,” he said.
Motoryn also highlighted the businessman’s past statements about democracy and Thiel’s ties to far-right political groups in the United States.
“In 2009, Peter Thiel was already making public statements that he didn’t believe in democracy and that any form of reconciling it with freedom was impossible. He is also the creator and one of the main financiers of Rockbridge, which has a very strong presence in Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign,” he said.
Brazilian election
Motoryn links the São Paulo visit to this year’s presidential election, saying that Thiel’s political and business relationships make it relevant to monitor the activities of his group in Brazil.
“It’s this crowd that landed in a heavyweight delegation at an ultra-luxury hotel in May, just a few months before the start of the electoral campaign, in a context in which U.S. interference in the Brazilian election is no longer a hypothesis, something hidden. We need to be very attentive to the presence of these figures here.”
“The possibility of interference isn’t the simple fact of whether Trump recognizes a victory by President Lula or not; it’s part of this whole ecosystem of businessmen and oligarchs tied to his administration who interfere through their companies and activities here in Brazil,” he said.
This article has been translated and republished with consent of ICL, and can be read in its original form, in Portuguese, here.