Thiel brought up Gates and Musk when discussing how an Antichrist figure could dominate in the short span of a lifetime.

After reading a 19th-century poem about how Jesus and Alexander the Great each died at 33, Thiel said in the present age the fastest means to power may be through wealth, noting that Gates became a billionaire at 31.

The world’s richest, in his view, think too little about their identities as billionaires and what will become of their treasures after death.

That’s how Thiel said he persuaded Musk. He said he looked up actuarial tables and found the probability of Musk’s death in the coming year equated to giving $1.4 billion to Gates, who has long sparred with the Tesla CEO.