GUEST SPEAKER
Peter Thiel 

ISSUES DISCUSSED
Peter Thiel spoke about the basic principles that underlie innovative products and startup firms, using examples from his own experience starting up firms such as Paypal and Palantir. 
He  emphasized the importance of creating a firm or product with characteristics of monopoly, and contrasted that idea with the distinction between monopoly and competition taught in economics. He also spoke more broadly about the future of technology and its impact on economic growth in developed countries. He answered questions about his ideas applied to clean-tech and ed-tech firms. 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, January 22, 2026
Immigration Conference 2026
Immigration Policy And The Economics Of Innovation
This conference will explore the critical intersection of immigration policy and technological innovation in the United States, with a particular…
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Insights From The 2025 US-China Economic And Security Review Commission Report: Findings And Recommendations
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to Insights from the 2025 US-China Economic and Security Review Commission… Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building
Friday, January 30, 2026
Temple of Heaven 3 - stock photo
Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity And Belonging In Xi Jinping's China
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to a roundtable on Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in… Hoover Institution, Stanford University
overlay image