“IT WOULD give me great pride to let it be known that I am a New Zealand citizen,” Peter Thiel wrote in his application to become one in 2011. “I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future”. Yet Mr Thiel, a German-American billionaire, seems to have managed to contain his pride in the five years since the application was approved. His status only became public knowledge last month, after documents detailing a property purchase were dug up by the New Zealand Herald, a newspaper.
The news provoked outrage in certain quarters. Would-be New Zealanders must normally spend the better part of five years living in the country before becoming citizens. Mr Thiel had visited the country only four times when he lodged his application. The government of the day granted him citizenship nonetheless, under a rule that allows the normal requirements to be waived under “exceptional circumstances”.
Mr Thiel’s application, released by New Zealand’s government on February 1st, stressed his contribution to the economy. Mr Thiel had set up a venture-capital fund in Auckland before applying...Continue reading
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