The Super Rich Planning Super Lifespans
Besides collecting art, philanthropy, and real estate investments, some billionaires also use their fortunes to channel millions into a less-common investment plan—life-extension. Here’s how some of the world’s richest have been planning for a longer future. Net worths are as of April 10, 2022.
Besides collecting art, philanthropy, and real estate investments, some billionaires also use their fortunes to channel millions into a less-common investment plan—life-extension. Here’s how some of the world’s richest have been planning for a longer future. Net worths are as of April 10, 2022.
Cryonics
Notable billionaires: Peter Thiel, Robert G. Miller
PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, with a net worth of $5.2 billion, is a vocal advocate of cryonics, the low-temperature freezing of a human body upon death with the hope of resuscitation in the future. In 2006, Thiel pledged $3.5 million to support antiaging research by Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Robert G. Miller, cofounder of Canada-based Future Electronics with a net worth of $1.7 billion, is another endorser of cryonics. The 76-year-old also supports Alcor Life Extension Foundation.
Safe havens
Notable billionaires: Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman
Another option for a longer life is having a place to head to if things at home get shaky. A number of billionaires have invested in quiet havens recently. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, worth $79.4 billion, and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, worth $113 billion, have established roots for safe retreats in Hawaii. In 2020, Ellison moved permanently to the Hawaiian island Lanai, which he bought nearly all of in 2012 for $300 million. Similarly, Zuckerberg spent more than $100 million in 2014 to purchase 700 acres of land on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, then added another 600 acres of land in May 2022 for $53 million, according to a report from Mansion Global. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, worth $2.1 billion, said in a 2017 interview with The New Yorker that he estimated that over 50% of Silicon Valley billionaires possess some “apocalypse insurance.”
Space sanctuaries
Notable billionaires:
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Yusaku Maezawa, Yuri Milner
In the event of an inhabitable and unsustainable planet, space tourism investments by billionaires can offer an opportunity for interstellar living. Blue Origin founded by Jeff Bezos (worth $180.2 billion), SpaceX founded by Elon Musk (worth $274.3 billion), and Virgin Galactic founded by Richard Branson (worth $5.1 billion) are all designed to enhance public space travel. While Blue Origin and SpaceX have not disclosed ticket costs, publicly-traded Virgin Galactic said it re-opened ticket sales to the general public for $450,000 in February 2022. Japan's Yusaku Maezawa, worth $1.8 billion—who spent 12 days at the International Space Station in 2021— has bought the first trip around the moon by SpaceX scheduled for 2023. On a slightly different wavelength, tech investor Yuri Milner, worth $7.3 billion, launched “Breakthrough Listen” in 2015, a $100 million project to search for alien life.
Blood transfusions
Notable billionaires: Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel has previously admitted his interest in parabiosis, a process of getting blood transfusions from younger individuals to improve health and reverse aging. In 2017, U.S.-based startup Ambrosia offered trials of the service for $8,000 for one liter of young blood, according to NBC News. However, by August 2019, the company shut down after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned against such treatments. MAY 2022