Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel has been secretly funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media for publishing a sex tape, according to reports in Forbes and The New York Times.
Forbes says Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and sits on the Facebook board of directors, has been footing the former wrestler's legal bills "against a shared enemy".
The Forbes article, and a similar one in the Times, cited unnamed people familiar with the situation.
Efforts to reach Thiel were unsuccessful.
Gawker said in a statement that it hopes an appellate court will "correct" a Florida jury's $US140 million ($A194.35 million) verdict against the company and "reaffirm the law that protects a free and critical press".
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, won the award in March against Gawker, a New York-based website specialising in media and celebrity news.
A spokesman for Thiel said on Wednesday he would be in touch if Thiel decides to issue a statement on the matter. Gawker declined to comment.
Thiel, who is also a founder of a hedge fund and a venture capital firm and has been on outspoken voice on issues including education, is no stranger to Gawker.
In 2007, it published an article entitled "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people".
Thiel, a longtime supporter of libertarian causes, kept mum publicly about his sexuality at the time, but has since said he is gay.
Gawker is also facing lawsuits from Shiva Ayyadurai, an entrepreneur who has made the controversial claim that he invented email, and journalist and writer Ashley Terrill.
Lawsuits backed by third parties are not unusual. In most cases, though, they are financial investments in which backers are motivated by the potential proceeds from a large damage award.
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