EXCLUSIVE: HEDGE FUND KILLER $9M SECRET

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The pampered preppie who has been indicted for pumping a bullet into his father’s skull for cutting his allowance by $200 had been offered $9 million in bail money by the dead dad to keep him out of jail!

Thomas Gilbert Jr., 30 – the spoiled, perpetually unemployed Princeton grad who cops said gunned down his wealthy dad at his multimillion-dollar New York apartment on Jan. 4 – was also the prime suspect in the torching of a love rival’s luxury home.

Now, The National ENQUIRER can exclusively reveal that despite their disputes, Thomas Gilbert Sr., 70, had arranged to put up his East Hampton home to cover bail if his son was charged with arson. 

“His dad was ready to risk his pride and joy – his home – as collateral so his son wouldn’t have to go to jail,” a source close to the family told The ENQUIRER. “This is what he got … it’s despicable!”

Gilbert Jr. is being held without bail on second-degree murder and other charges.

Months earlier, he was questioned about the blaze that consumed the 17th century Long Island mansion on Sept. 15. He was expected to be charged with arson before he was arrested for murdering his father.

The damaged home was owned by millionaire financier Peter Smith, whose son, Peter Smith Jr., had a bitter falling out with Gilbert Jr. over a woman.

Gilbert Jr. was even suspected of killing the family’s dog before the fire – and Smith had a restraining order taken out on Gilbert.

“Thomas hated the entire Smith family,” a friend of both families said. “He was envious of them, but really hated Peter because he thought he slept with his girlfriend.”

Gilbert Jr. had been living at his father’s mansion, doing little except surfing, yoga and hitting local high-end bars and clubs.

In May, he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a hedge fund. But his father refused to help, even though Dad was successfully managing his own $10 million fund, sources said.

At that point, Gilbert Jr. – a normally charming surfer who’s been compared to the sociopathic killer in “American Psycho” – began to act strangely, sources said.

“We figured he would snap at some point,” a patron at Montauk’s exclusive celebrity playpen Surf Lodge, where Gilbert Jr. was a regular, told The ENQUIRER. 

While Gilbert has been indicted of the crimes, he has not been convicted.