Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal Inc., speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., U.S., in October last year.
Billionaire Facebook funder and founder of online payments site PayPal Peter Thiel, revealed this week to be a New Zealand citizen, has been tipped as President Trump's potential ambassador to Germany.
The New York Times reported on Thiel's New Zealand citizenship and said Thiel had been reported to
be a possible Supreme Court justice, a potential candidate for governor of California and most recently Trump's potential ambassador to Germany.
The New York Times called Thiel becoming a New Zealand citizen in 2011 a 'surprise' and asked if it was a way to hedge his bets.
"In these uncertain times, it may be smart to have a backup country. But the news that one of the richest citizens of New Zealand is a naturalised American who was born in Germany set off an immediate furor in the island nation, with questions being raised about whether being a billionaire gets you special treatment," the Times said.
Questions have been raised in Parliament about the status of the man who calls New Zealand "utopia" and has bought a futuristic $4 million-plus Queenstown mansion and the 193ha Glendhu Bay property, Damper Bay.
