[downandout]

You are right in one respect - even if the book became a number one bestseller, Peter Thiel is unlikely to feel the impact financially. But since he wrote a book in the first place, he wants something out of it. Whether he did it for money, increased fame, admiration, or respect, the book must do well for any of those things to come.

So while his motivation may be different than most authors, the path he must follow to make the book do well is largely the same. We'll likely see more things you wouldn't expect to see him do. A billionaire's ego is on the line.

[hkmurakami]

And the most likely one (at least imo) would be to spread his ideas as far as possible. A book is a great medium to reach people who wouldn't otherwise actively seek out information outside of their current scope, by making a stack of physical objects appear in their field of vision and inviting them to take notice.