PayPal was founded by a trio of tech entrepreneurs: Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek. Elon Musk later played a key role by merging his company X.com with Confinity (the original PayPal precursor) and helping shape PayPal’s path, but the core invention and formation of PayPal as a payments company trace to Levchin, Thiel, and Nosek in the late 1990s. eBay then acquired PayPal in 2002, cementing its status in online payments.

Founders and early history

• PayPal began as Confinity, founded in December 1998 by Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek. The company initially focused on security software for handheld devices before pivoting to digital wallet/payments.

• Elon Musk founded X.com in 1999, which merged with Confinity in 2000 to form the PayPal we know today. Musk served briefly as CEO before being replaced by Thiel, though he remained a key early investor and the largest shareholder at the time of the sale to eBay.

Key milestones

• 1998: Confinity founded by Levchin, Thiel, Nosek; pivot toward digital payments followed.

• 2000-2001: X.com and Confinity merge, the company adopts the PayPal brand; rapid growth on online payments, especially on eBay.

• 2002: PayPal sold to eBay for about $1.5 billion; Thiel and other founders profit from the sale.

• 2003 onwards: PayPal grows into a stand-alone payments platform and later spins off from eBay as a separate company (the tie to eBay ends when PayPal becomes independent later on).

Note on “PayPal Mafia”

• The term “PayPal Mafia” refers to the group of PayPal alumni (including Thiel, Levchin, Nosek, and others) who went on to found or lead major tech ventures such as Palantir, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more. This label highlights the notable impact of the PayPal founding team and early members on Silicon Valley entrepreneurship.

If you’d like, I can pull up more detailed timelines or biographies of each founder, or provide a concise one-page history with the key dates and leadership changes.