German folklore tells the story of Faust (or Doctor Faustus), who agrees to relinquish his soul to the evil spirit, Mephistopheles, a representation of the Devil. For this surrender, Faust is promised knowledge and magical powers that give him enormous wealth and pleasures.When taking this bargain, though, Faust understood that making a deal with the Devil was inherently evil and amoral, but his greed and desire overrode reason, which finalized the exchange. Related America really hates Elon Musk right now One analyst called him political kryptonite. What is now known as the Faustian bargain has become a cautionary tale with tragic and self-defeating results for the bargainer because what is forfeited is far more valuable than what is acquired, whether they realize it or not. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Rick Wilson, a veteran Republican Party political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project a political action committee holding elected officials accountable to their oaths to the Constitution must have had the story of Faust in mind in the writing of his two popular books on US politics:Everything Trump Touches Dies, andRunning against the DevilA Plot to Save America from Trump and Democrats from Themselves.In the Faustian story, Donald Trump represents the Devil. Anyone and everyone even thinking about making a deal with him becomes the Faust in the tale, who eventually gives up so much more than he could ever receive. Such is Trumps art of the deal.Apparently, Elon Musk learned this lesson the hard way, as so many others in Trumps orbit do.Elon Musk, technological wizard, owner of the social media platform X, and major stakeholder in Tesla and SpaceX, pumped an estimated $288 million into Trumps war chest during his 2024presidential campaign. Whether Elon Musk ever had a soul is up for debate. But for his enormous contribution to Trumps campaign, he received almost unlimited access to the candidate and then to the president. Trump assigned Musk to head a special government group, the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and also gave Musk assurances that his lucrative government contracts, loans, and tax credits would continue.All seemed to be going well for the richest man in the world until Satin turned on him, eventually sending him back to the underworld. Trump pushed for the ironically named One Big Beautiful Bill in Congress that, among other things, calls for cancelling the federal electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for pre-owned.Musk made his displeasure about this clause in the bill known to the president. Though we do not know the precise reason, Musk also left his DOGE position and on bad terms with his former friend. Musk went to X to denounce Trump. In one post, without providing any evidence, he wrote: Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!Jeffrey Epstein had been accused of sex trafficking minors in 2019 before he committed suicide in prison.By sacrificing himself to the person who kills everything he touches, Musk is currently one of the most hated men in the country, if not the world. His Tesla brand is skidding toward Trumps border wall, his net worth has tumbled, and Trump hinted that he may rescind Musks government contracts.Musk is no longer respected as one of the tech bros. Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, called out Musk for killing the worlds poorest children through his huge cuts to the U.S. foreign aid budget. Repeating historyWe need not go back very far to identify the dangers oligarchs place themselves in when cozying up to satanic autocrats, since history affords us plenty of examples.Another real-life Faust was German industrialist Fritz Thyssen. A devoted Catholic, political conservative, and staunch German nationalist, Thyssen held a prominent role in elite German society.He was the son of steel mogul August Thyssen, head of the largest steel manufacturing company in Germany. In 1926, Fritz took control of the family empire. Within only two years, his company dominated over 75% of German iron ore reserves while employing approximately 200,000 people. After being persuaded by retired general Erich Ludendorff to attend a 1923 Nazi rally in which Adolf Hitler was to give a speech, Thyssen became immediately mesmerized not only by the Nazi leaders stunning oratory, but also by his nationalist platform and disgust over the brutal terms inflicted upon Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.Soon thereafter, Thyssen contributed 100,000 gold marks through Ludendorff, which was his first of many indirect financial donations to the Nazi party. Thyssen was the initial industrialist to contribute to the Nazis, and he was responsible for bringing in others in assisting the Nazi party to take political control of Germany.Thyssen applauded the Nazi partys suppression of left-wing political organizations and trade unions, which had cut into his overall profit margins. Hitler appointed Thyssen in July 1933 to the Council of Stateof Prussia, the largest German state. He was elected to theReichstagin November 1933 and held that seat until the start of the Second World War.Thyssen agreed with Hitlers anti-Jewish policies and laws, and he fired all of his Jewish employees. He did, however, send a letter to Hitler protesting Nazi anti-Catholic policies.Thyssens suspicions of the party grew as Hitlers expanding plans of militarism became more intensive. The industrialist believed that another European war would amount to the final nail in the coffin of Germanys demise. Thyssens final break with the Nazis and their policies came when Hitler ordered his military invasion of Poland, sparking the beginning of another great war. Fritz and his wife escaped into exile first in Switzerland and then in France.In their rush, they left many of their belongings and papers behind, including a document Fritz had intended to send to the German press for publication. In it, he lodged a heated personal attack on Hitler and his policies, which concluded with the sentence, Your policy will terminate in afinis Germaniae.Though the document was never published, the Nazis confiscated and absorbed Thyssens companies and other properties. German officials issued an international arrest warrant against him. The charges included theft, embezzlement, fraud, non-payment in income and other taxes, and contravention of the German currency restrictions. Thyssen called the charges ridiculous when interviewed by the press. Actually, the Nazis found that the Thyssen family did have a sordid history of tax evasion dating back to World War I, when August Thyssen created several firms in the Netherlands, including a bank, for the purpose of safeguarding and funneling assets and avoiding taxes.After Germany defeated France in 1940, Thyssen took refuge in Vichy, France, ultimately intending to go to Argentina. But in August 1942,Vichy authoritiesturned him over to the Gestapo. Later, he was joined by his wife, and they were eventually imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp.Thyssen and his wife survived the war. They were taken with other important prisoners by the allies. He was interrogated as part of Camp Dustbin,a British-American camp serving as an interrogation and processing center for German scientists, technicians, and administrators incarcerated during the war. Explaining his financial contributions to the Nazi party, Thyssen told his interrogator Clifford Hynning: I did not want to give any money directly to the [Nazi] party, so I gave it to Ludendorff and he gave it to the party.Shortly thereafter, the Thyssens were released by American troops with a monetary fine equivalent to 15% (500,000Deutschmarks) of their estimated remaining assets. Thyssen was acquitted of all other charges.Apparently, Thyssen ultimately regretted supporting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Though he denied employing slave labor, he accepted responsibility for his companies maltreatment of Jewish employees in the 1930s.While Musk has apologized to Trump for alleging the president was connected to Jeffrey Epsteins criminal operation, the Tesla mogul has never apologized to the people of the United States and people throughout the world for his mass firings of government workers, closing of essential government departments and services, and forcontributing to the deaths of an estimated 300,000 peopleworldwide by cutting funding for food and medicine for starving and sick people through USAID.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.