Peter Thiel's model boyfriend died WEEKS after NYE showdown between billionaire ... trends now
Married billionaire mogul Peter Thiel, whose male model boyfriend Jeff Thomas died after plunging from a Miami high rise last month – had a messy confrontation with his husband during the couple’s New Year's Eve party after Thomas was discovered among the guests, DailyMail.com can now reveal.
Thomas was in a three-year relationship with PayPal co-founder Thiel, who put him up in a $13 million dollar mansion tucked in the Hollywood Hills, gifted him with lavish European trips, a $300,000 sports car, and access to the most coveted parties in town.
And now their circle of friends believe that Thomas's death, a suspected suicide, was related at least in part to his depression over the incident, after which he was financially cut off from Thiel's largesse.
The exchange took place when Matt Danzeisen, Thiel's husband and longtime partner, arrived separately to join the New Year celebration, only to discover Thomas was one of the partygoers at the posh event held at Thiel’s Miami Beach compound.
Jeff Thomas was the boyfriend of billionaire mogul, Peter Thiel. Thomas was a successful model and social media influencer. His muscular physique and handsome looks garnered him more than 120,000 followers
Friends Drew Schiff, Chris Farmer, and Jeff Thomas enjoying the New Year's Eve party
Thiel (left) and Danzeisen share many businesses together and many homes. They also share two young daughters
Danzeisen, 56, was enraged that Thomas was among the attendees and started a verbal confrontation with Thiel that took place in front of a roomful of guests, witnesses say.
Sources told DailyMail.com that the romance between the 55-year-old Thiel and the 35-year-old Thomas – 20 years his junior – was an 'open secret’ in elite gay circles, particularly in Los Angeles.
Thomas knew that Thiel was married, but whether or not Danzeisen was aware of Thiel’s relationship with Thomas is uncertain.
Yet, during the confrontation, Danzeisen was overheard asking Thiel: 'Why is HE here?'
Thomas showed up at the party because he had been Thiel's kept lover for years, though he was not on the official guest list approved by Danzeisen. He went to the New Year's event – one that the power couple have become famous for throwing – to celebrate with friends who flew in from all over the world.
A text message and a photo obtained by DailyMail.com shows smiling Thomas at the party – with friends Chris Farmer and Drew Schiff – taken in the back yard of Thiel’s property.
During the night's festivities, a photo taken by Thomas with Farmer and Schiff was accompanied by a text wishing his former boyfriend in London a Happy New Year.
The Happy New Year text that Jeff Thomas sent to his former beau in London on January 1
Friends of Thiel and Danzeisen: Drew Schiff, Kevin Huong, and Aron D'Souza at the swank New Year's Eve party at the Miami mansion and on Thiel's yacht docked outside his property on the Biscayne Bay
Friends Drew Schiff and Sebastian Stern celebrating on Thiel's yacht during the swank invitation-only New Year's Eve party
The massive waterfront compound is made up of two luxury homes on E Rivo Alto Drive, located right on the Intracoastal Waterway that faces Miami's Biscayne Bay
Billionaire Peter Thiel purchased the $18million 10,000 square foot compound in Miami's Venetian Islands in early 2021
Lush gardens surround Thiel's Miami property
In total the homes consist of nine bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, as well was two outdoor swimming pools, according to the property listing
Danzeisen was the person who arranged the guest list for the exclusive event, according to a source, which made Thomas's presence at the family home even more shocking and upsetting for Thiel's husband.
Friends said Thomas would never have gone to the invitation-only event if he knew Thiel’s husband would be attending.
After the blow up, Danzeisen requested that Thomas be escorted from the party by the couple’s security detail.
Some witnesses say the incident was 'publicly humiliating' for Thomas. Nearly 100 guests attended the event at Thiel's lavish estate on Rivo Alto Island – one of the man-made Venetian islands in Biscayne Bay – including close friends of the couple and employees from Thiel Capital.
On March 8, weeks after the New Year's Eve showdown, Thomas died after falling from the balcony of his Miami high rise in what police are investigating as a possible suicide.
An official cause of death has not yet been established.
Friends witnessed Thomas's mental health decline after the trauma at the New Year's Eve party.
Peter Thiel and his former boyfriend Francesco 'Fran' Lugli taken in Positano, Italy 2014
Lugli cheering for Thiel during his keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio July 2016
Independent researchers and reporter Ryan Grim from The Intercept obtained an exclusive interview with Jeff Thomas that took place before the midterm elections for a not-yet-completed series on Thiel.
Thomas felt compelled to talk about Thiel's hypocrisy as an active gay man who is also the largest funder of Donald Trump's MAGA movement.
During the interview, Thomas described himself as a ‘kept’ boyfriend of Thiel, whose estimated worth is $8.14 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.
The German-American venture capitalist became romantically involved with Thomas in late 2019 – sometime before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stunning model provided physical intimacy and in exchange Thiel furnished Thomas with financial support and financial stability, a source told DailyMail.com.
During their nearly three-year romance, Thiel put Thomas up in a $13 million dollar mansion tucked in the Hollywood Hills, gifted him with lavish European trips, a $300,000 sports car, and access to the most coveted parties in town.
But, after the New Year’s Eve confrontation Thomas was cut off financially by Thiel, sources say.
A source told DailyMail.com that Thomas apparently violated the terms of his non- disclosure agreement with Thiel
