- Peter Thiel says he's going to be cryogenically preserved, though he isn't sure if the tech works.
- He told independent journalist Bari Weiss that it's "the sort of thing we're supposed to try to do."
- Thiel, worth $8.31 billion, regularly expresses interest in anti-aging and curing chronic diseases.
Peter Thiel has confirmed that he's slated to be cryogenically preserved when he dies so he can be revived in the future.
But he doubts the tech even works, he told independent journalist Bari Weiss on her podcast, "Honestly with Bari Weiss."
The billionaire spoke about his political ideas, such as his support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in an extensive interview published on Wednesday. He also revealed his after-death plans in a series of quickfire questions that Weiss asked him at the end of their discussion.
"Can humanity conquer death? And should we want to conquer death?" Weiss asked Thiel.
"We haven't even tried. We should either conquer death or at least figure out why it's impossible," Thiel said.
Weiss then asked him if he's "signed up" to be cryogenically preserved.
"Yes," Thiel said. "But I think of it more as an ideological statement."
"I don't necessarily expect it to work, but I think it's the sort of thing we're supposed to try to do," Thiel later continued.
When Weiss asked Thiel if he arranged for his loved ones to be frozen as well, he said he's "not convinced" the technology works as intended yet.
"It's more, I think we need to be trying things. It's not there yet," Thiel said.
Thiel, a co-founder of Paypal and Facebook's first outside investor, is worth $8.13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He's expressed an interest in cryogenic preservation before, and his foundation recently backed a company looking to freeze pets when they die so they can be brought back to life.
Thiel has for decades contributed to anti-aging research, and has often said that the human race is distracted by infighting and cultural issues when it should focus on other issues like curing cancer.
"I keep thinking that I'm not doing enough on biotech and radical life extension or even just trying to invest in curing a lot of these very big chronic diseases that we have," he told Weiss.
Thiel said he would invest billions in biotech if he could find the right people with the right ideas, he added.
"The bigger problem is finding people with good ideas, with finding a path forward," he said.
Thiel joins several billionaires who also want to be cryogenically preserved, such as 91-year-old hotelier Don Laughlin. Alcor, an Arizona-based company that runs cryonics, says it's trained Laughlin's "personal first responders" with preparing his body for freezing in the event of his death.
Walt Disney is often erroneously cited as an example of a celebrity who was cryogenically preserved. He was instead cremated, and his ashes were buried in Glendale, California in 1966.
There are also CEOs who are trying to stay young, too.
Biotech CEO Bryan Johnson made waves in February when he claimed to have reduced his biological age by five years through a strict daily regimen and with the help of 30 doctors.
And in March, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he invested at least $180 million in a start-up firm that aims to delay death by 10 years.