https://www.ft.com/content/408fb864-5831-4b1d-beef-fd1966b3beed The name of JD Vance’s venture capital firm is a homage to fantasy author JRR Tolkien — and billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel. Co-founded by Vance in 2020, Narya Capital is a reference to one of the “rings of power” in The Lord of the Rings and a nod to Thiel’s penchant for companies with Tolkien-inspired monikers. The PayPal co-founder’s influence has marked Vance’s career, seeding him millions of dollars to launch Narya, before funding a successful campaign to win a US Senate seat in 2022. Donald Trump’s choice of Vance as his vice-presidential running mate this week further extends Thiel’s political reach, who as a Silicon Valley kingmaker has a network of devoted technologists and investors so vast it has been dubbed the “Thielverse”.