Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel is holding a lecture series in San Francisco this week about the Antichrist — and it galvanized dozens of demonstrators to gather on the steps of San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club in protest, some donning devilish costumes. About 50 people were gathered outside the club’s Embarcadero office building, where Thiel is giving a four-part lecture on the Antichrist — the demonic false messiah that Christians believe will begin the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. One protester wore a devil mask and a separate group dressed as “satanists” carried signs with messages like “Embrace Darkness Hail Thiel” and “The End is Near Palantir is the Path Thiel Leads the Way.” Protesters said the choice of antichrist was ironic, adding that Thiel himself deserved that title.But the esoteric topic isn’t surprising for Thiel, who has for years raised eyebrows for his occult interests like immortality and controversial right-wing views. The tech mogul has been hailed as a sort of tech prophet by right-leaning media figures and other tech leaders for his business acumen and intellectual proclivities.
Thiel is the founder of Palantir, a data mining giant that has been criticized for aiding governments in the mass surveillance of the public. Thiel is known to heavily fund right-wing politicians, candidates and causes, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Arizona venture capitalist and perennial candidate Blake Masters, both of whom have espoused anti-elite views.
Thiel spoke recently about his antichrist lecture series on a New York Times podcast, explaining that the antichrist represents a totalitarian future he associates with left-leaning ideas. He posits that unless humans can overcome what he believes is a present technological stagnation, the world will be ruled by a one-world government with few rights…