Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech investor and political kingmaker, has been hosting a series of four off-the-record lectures in San Francisco about the antichrist, warning that Armageddon is imminent. The talks, which began on 15 September and ended on 6 October, saw Thiel philosophising about who or what could be the antichrist, with possibilities including the United States and climate activist Greta Thunberg. Thiel, who describes himself as a 'small-o orthodox Christian', believes the harbinger of the end times could already be among us, and that international agencies, environmentalism, and technology guardrails could hasten its rise.
During the lectures, Thiel defined the antichrist as 'an evil king or tyrant or anti-messiah who appears in the end times'. He mingled biblical passages with recent history, philosophy, and conspiracy theories, referencing video games, TV shows, and JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He also recalled conversations with Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu, and criticised Bill Gates as 'a very, very awful person'. Thiel, a libertarian who says he 'deviates in one minor detail' by worrying about the antichrist, drew on thinkers including René Girard and Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, crediting English Catholic theologian John Henry Newman as the inspiration for the four-part series.
Tickets for the lectures cost $200 and sold out within hours. Attendees were strictly forbidden from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings, and at least one person who published notes had their ticket revoked. The Guardian obtained recordings from an anonymous attendee, and Thiel's spokesperson did not dispute their veracity, only correcting a transcription error and clarifying an argument about Jews and the antichrist. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and Palantir, and was an early investor in Facebook and SpaceX, has long been a conservative force in Silicon Valley, with close ties to Donald Trump and credit for boosting JD Vance to the vice-presidency. He is now bankrolling Republicans' 2026 midterm campaigns.
