Peter Thiel – billionaire venture capitalist, founder of PayPal and Palantir, and consistent commentator on all matters related to the “antichrist”—appears at least 2,200 times in the latest batch of files released by the Justice Department related to convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The list of records shows how Epstein was able to cultivate a wide network of wealthy and powerful people in Silicon Valley. Most of them, including Thiel, continued to work with Epstein even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and the purchase of children.
The new files show that Thiel arranged to meet with Epstein several times between 2014 and 2017. “What are you going to do on Friday?” Thiel wrote to Epstein on April 5, 2016. “Should we try lunch?” Much of the communication between the two men in the data dump is about arranging meals, phone calls, and meetings with each other. Thiel did not immediately return a request for comment from WIRED.
One part of the book stands out as being strange. On February 3, 2016, Thiel’s former chief of staff and senior aide, Alisa Bekins, sent an email titled “Meeting – Feb 4 – 9:30 AM – Peter Thiel diet restrictions – CONFIDENTIAL.” The original recipient of the email was redone, but it was later forwarded directly to Epstein.
The content of the message was redacted in at least one version of the email uploaded by the Justice Department on Friday. However, two other files from what appear to be the same set of messages have less information redacted.
In one email, Bekins listed two approved types of sushi and animal protein, 14 approved vegetables, and 0 approved fruits for Thiel to eat. “Fresh herbs” and “olive oil” were allowed, however, ketchup, mayonnaise, and soy sauce should be avoided. Only one actual meal was clearly defined: “egg whites or a vegetable/salad with some kind of protein,” like steak, which Bekins included “for breakfast.” It is not yet clear if the meeting on February 4 took place; other emails show that Thiel got stuck in traffic on his way to meet Epstein that day.
According to a transcript of a cryptic conversation between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that was also part of the DOJ files released Friday, Epstein told Barak that he hoped to meet with Thiel the following week. He also added that he knew Thiel’s company Palantir, but then described it to Barak as “Pallentier.” Epstein speculated that Thiel might put Barak on the board of Palantir, although there is no evidence that this ever happened.
“I’ve never met Peter Thiel, and everyone says he’s jumping around and acting weird, like he’s on drugs,” Epstein said at one point in the audio recording, referring to Thiel. The former prime minister expressed agreement with Epstein’s assessment.
In 2015 and 2016, Epstein invested $40 million in two funds managed by one of Thiel’s investment firms, Valar Ventures, according to the New York Times. Epstein and Thiel continued to communicate and were discussing meeting as recently as January 2019, according to files released by the DOJ. Epstein committed suicide in his prison cell in August of that year.
Below are Thiel’s dietary restrictions as outlined in a February 2016 email. (The following list has been slightly reformatted for clarity.)
