Publish Date: 29 Jun 2021 Fun facts
Summer has officially begun, and we are all on the lookout for travel offers to escape the heat, recharge, and enjoy the seaside, but could this heat convince you to travel outside our entire planet?
Jeff Bezos seems to agree, having decided to take his brother and travel to space for a mini-vacation on his spaceship, New Shephard. There was a third spot available via online auction, and the winning bidder will fly to space on New Shepard’s first human flight on July 20, alongside the brothers.
Blue Origin concluded the online auction for this seat on New Shepard with a winning bid of $28 million. Nearly 7,600 people registered to bid from 159 countries. The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space.
Jeff Bezos is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of the multinational technology company Amazon and Blue Origin, the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services. He is considered the wealthiest person globally, with an estimated net worth of $200 billion. It is expected that he will be one of the first to take the title of trillionaire in 2040.
Blue Origin concluded the online auction for this seat on New Shepard with a winning bid of $28 million
Jeff Bezos termed his upcoming trip to space with his brother as ‘their greatest adventure.’ However, many oppose this voyage, and several petitions have been created and signed calling to stop Jeff Bezos from returning to Earth, with more than 70,000 signatories so far.
"Billionaires should not exist...on earth, or in space, but should they decide the latter, they should stay there," one petition's description reads.
The reason is twofold - people are aggravated by the luxurious life that he has lived while simultaneously paying minimal taxes for his wealth, if at all. Moreover, it is believed that he donates relatively small amounts to charitable causes in relation to his wealth, despite the fact that he recently pledged to give $12 billion to philanthropic efforts.