From launching cars into space to building outrageous homes and staging bizarre publicity stunts, the world’s billionaires have a penchant for doing the unimaginable with their vast fortunes. While most of us can only dream of such excess, these eccentric entrepreneurs and business moguls seem to revel in one-upping each other with headline-grabbing stunts and lavish displays of wealth. Here are some of the most outrageous billionaire antics in recent memory:
Elon Musk’s Space Roadster
In February 2018, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO launched his $100,000 red Roadster sports car into orbit around the sun aboard the inaugural flight of his company’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Complete with a spacesuit-clad dummy named “Starman” in the driver’s seat, the stunt was meant to demonstrate the rocket’s payload capacity in an over-the-top way only Musk could conceive.
Richard Branson’s Hot Air Balloon Globetrotting
The Virgin billionaire has pulled off numerous attention-grabbing stunts over the decades, but his hot air balloon journeys were among the most ambitious. In the 1980s and 90s, Branson made two unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in a hot air balloon before finally succeeding on his third try in 1998. The flights were both dangerous and enormously expensive publicity stunts to promote his Virgin brand.
Roman Abramovich’s Outrageous Real Estate
The Russian oligarch is notorious for building lavish palaces that put the residences of most royals to shame. His mind-boggling estate in the UK features a heated outdoor beach, two swimming pools, multiple gardens and even a replica of a 16th century Russian village. Abramovich has spent hundreds of millions amassing one of the world’s most valuable real estate portfolios.
Bill Gates’ Educational Stunts
The geeky Microsoft founder has pulled off some bizarre stunts over the years in the name of education. He once had a tray of human feces from poor countries brought into a meeting to make a point about disease. On another occasion, he released a glass box full of mosquitoes on an audience to raise awareness about malaria. While not as flashy as space cars, Gates’ stunts aimed to use his celebrity for social impact.
These are just a few examples of the audacious antics and eccentric displays of wealth that have come to define many of today’s ultra-rich business titans. For these billionaires, it seems the only limit is their boundless imagination – and the depths of their bottomless bank accounts.
