The founder of Palantir is not aiming to advise government. He is aiming to replace it. Fortune
Jim O’Neill, longtime Peter Thiel ally, now leads the CDC. He is not a doctor or public health expert. He is a biotech investor who once argued that the FDA should approve drugs based solely on safety and let people use them at their own risk.
“Let people start using [drugs], at their own risk.”
Mother Jones
O’Neill ran the Thiel Foundation and served on the board of the Seasteading Institute, a project dedicated to creating floating cities outside national law. He is part of a broader push to privatize governance. Gizmodo
Thiel has openly questioned the compatibility of freedom and democracy.
“I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
Cato Unbound
Curtis Yarvin, Thiel’s political theorist, has argued for a monarchy with CEO-style authority. This is no abstract debate. O’Neill and other Thiel allies — including David Sacks, JD Vance, and Michael Kratsios — now occupy key positions in the federal government, writing policy, not just influencing it. Time
The CDC purge was swift. Director Susan Monarez was dismissed for opposing RFK Jr.’s vaccine directives. Senior staff resigned. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis warned of attempts to re-litigate already vetted vaccine recommendations. He was escorted out. Yahoo
O’Neill maintains financial ties to eight medical startups with business before the CDC. He pledged to divest but made no commitment to avoid conflicts. Accountable US
Oversight is gone. The CDC is now a sandbox for libertarian governance, engineered by billionaires and enforced by loyalists. They used to hide. Now they publish. They used to lobby. Now they govern. They used to fear exposure. Now they dare you to look.
