Report: Late Influencer, Suspected Suicide, was 'Kept' by Peter Thiel

Jeff Thomas, the late influencer and model whose death last week is being investigated as a suicide, described himself as having been "kept" by billionaire Peter Thiel, a report says.

Thiel, 55, made his fortune as a founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, among other things. Though openly gay, he has been a prominent supporter of right-wing causes, including one-term president Donald Trump.

Thomas "said he spent much of his time with the tech mogul working to persuade him away from his increasingly aggressive pursuit of a culture war – a war that Thomas warned was blowing back on their community," The Intercept detailed.

The article recalled Thomas said in an interview with an Intercept writer last year that he had tried to persuade Thiel that supporting right-wing causes was not in the best interests of gay people, including Thiel. "I'm trying to influence him in ways to show him my heart, and show him how it affects myself, certain individuals, himself," the article quoted Thomas as saying.

The Intercept article noted that Thiel has been married since 2017 to Matt Danzeisen, an investment banker, in 2017, and added that "Thomas and Thiel eventually struck up a relationship in the early stages of the pandemic," though they had initially met at Coachella a couple of years earlier at one of Thiel's parties.

"But it wasn't a typical relationship," The Intercept added. "Thomas described himself as being in a 'kept' situation that made him uncomfortable."

"It was stressful," Thomas said in the same interview, according to The Intercept; "he wanted me to get the nicest car, the nicest house. He wanted to kind of show his power, to kind of show that he had me in his dollhouse."

Thomas clarified, "It's not like I was his boyfriend, really, I was just kind of his friend that was there for him when he needed, you know, whatever he needed."

"But Thomas justified it to himself as a fair trade," the article said.

"If I'm gonna give up the relationships I have and give up my dreams right now, during COVID, or dating other guys or pursuing people, then I'm going to get a $300,000 car and I'm going to get a $13 million home," the article quoted Thomas as saying, in reference to a Thiel-owned mansion. "So those are the things that I see fit for me to give up my freedom."

Eventually, Thomas made a change, moving to Miami. The Intercept quoted him saying last fall, "I saw the spark in me fade away, and it was toxic, and it was unhealthy, and I've had multiple talks with myself this year, about getting out of it, and I've actually discussed to him about it, like, I can't do this anymore. You know, my mental health is at risk."

As previously reported, Thomas died March 8. UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported that he lived in a 57-story luxury apartment building in Miami, and that his "body was found on the sidewalk below and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services..."

Though a cousin strongly denied that Thomas' death was due to suicide, the influencer's brother suggested in a Facebook post that Thomas had taken his own life, The Intercept noted.

Skylar Ray Thomas posted that "Jeff struggled with addiction and mental health challenges, which ultimately led to his tragic passing," and added: "While Jeff's struggles were difficult, we want to remember him for the kind and caring person he was."