META

14 years ago today, Peter Thiel turned $500K into $1B

When Facebook IPO'd in May 2012 at $38 a share, Thiel played it better than anyone

Thiel wrote Facebook's first outside check in 2004 for roughly 10%

And here's how he profited $1B:

• 2004: Thiel invests $500,000 for roughly 10% of Facebook

• May 18, 2012: Facebook IPOs at $38 a share

• May 18, 2012: Thiel sells 16,800,000 shares in the IPO, banking $640,000,000

• Same day: he sets up a plan to sell the rest, before the stock has traded for a single hour

• Aug 16-17, 2012: the first lockup expires and Thiel sells 20.6M more shares between $19-$21

• Aug 20, 2012: the filing goes public and Facebook closes at $20.01 that day

‣ Thiel's cash-out: ~$1,000,000,000

‣ Retail's position at the time: -47% from IPO

In the end, he kept 5,600,000 shares and his board seat