Peter Thiel Linked to Model Who Recently Fell to His Death in Miami: Report

Jeff Thomas, the Instagram influencer and model who died after falling from his Miami high-rise building, was a “kept” man. His benefactor was gay billionaire Peter Thiel, at least according to Thomas, who claimed as much in an interview conducted before his death.

Thiel — a hard-right Republican and Trump supporter who endorses causes anathema to the LGBTQ+ community — will speak with the Miami Police Department about their two-week-old probe into Thomas’s death. The model was found dead from an apparent suicide outside his Miami apartment on March 8.

According to a previously unreported interview that Thomas gave The Intercept last November, the model and billionaire had a mutually beneficial relationship. Thiel provided Thomas with expensive cars, homes, and a lifestyle to match in exchange for anything Thiel needed.

“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,” Thomas toldThe Intercept.

Included in the lavish lifestyle were a $13 million home in the Hollywood Hills and a $300,000 car.

The influencer said Thiel and Thomas met at Coachella in 2015 or 2016. Over time, the two became close, and their arrangement developed as their relationship grew in the early days of the COVID pandemic.

Thomas told the publication that he welcomed the change in scenery when Thiel provided him with a mansion to live in. It was that or sitting in his one-bedroom apartment as the world shut down from the spreading virus.

Thiel and Thomas hosted prolific parties at the Hollywood home, people familiar with the soirees told the outlet.

Thomas said that he tried to dissuade Thiel, a prominent GOP donor, from continuing to support causes that hurt the LGBTQ+ community.

As last year drew to a close, Thomas was preparing to leave. However, Thomas expressed dissatisfaction at being kept, saying, “I don’t think it’s very satisfying” in October. “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,” he said.

He moved away from California to Miami, keeping in touch with Thiel. He attended a New Year’s Eve party on Venetian Island, Thiel’s Biscayne Bay compound.

On March 8, he fell to his death. His family has said he died by suicide. At one point, his agent asserted that he might have fallen from the building trying to take a selfie, though that claim has not been substantiated.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 is for people of all ages and identities.

Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations.