Image via Complex Original
Money can't buy you happiness, but it can launch your ass into outer space. Just ask multimillionaire Dennis Tito.
Ten years ago on this date, Tito literally bought his way into the stars, spending over $20 million dollars to become the world's first space tourist. Tito accomplished something in a short amount of time that most people in that field work wait their entire lives to do, just because he was rich as fuck. That's got to sting.
Tito's voyage into space exemplifies why it's so cool to be loaded: Once you get bored of all the cars, big houses, and women, you can just say, "Fuck it, I'm going to outer space," and actually do it. But the fun to be had by the rich isn't limited to space travel. See what else money will buy you with these 7 Crazy Millionaire Adventure Stories.
Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Position: Chairman of Virgin Group
Year: Coming soon
Complex says: While some people enter into their second childhood when they grow up, Richard Branson has never left his first. At least that's what it seems like.
The high school dropout turned billionaire is one of the most recognizable wild, eccentric rich dudes out there. Never content with just being still, Branson has stayed busy blowing his cash,
whether it's buying his own island, crossing the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, or speed racing through that same ocean in a motorboat. He has even talked about setting up a space tourist program for us regular folk (ah, no thanks).
But what’s his most ambiguous idea? He plans to travel by submarine deep down into the ocean. Like really deep. Further than anyone else has ever gone. Try "36,000 feet below" deep. If everything goes as planned, the Deep Flight Challenger could be touching the ocean's floor later this year.
Bob Parsons
Bob Parsons
Position: CEO of Go Daddy
Year: 2011
Complex says: Earlier this year, Bob Parsons had Internet and animal activists alike going nuts with one of the strangest videos you will ever see in your life. Parsons, who was visiting Zimbabwe, was shown hunting and killing a elephant. In the next scene we see locals rip apart the elephant to use it for food.
What was the man's rationale? Well, he claimed that the elephants eat the local's crops, and he was doing a good deed by laying out the animal. Plus, locals could feast on the elephant after he finished killing it.
So what’s the verdict here? Is Parsons a great humanitarian or a self-serving, rich douche who just needed an excuse to kill am elephant? Come on, you know the answer already...
Guy Laliberté
Guy Laliberté
Position: CEO of Cirque du Soleil
Year: 2009
Complex says: While Dennis Tito was the first tourist in space, Guy Laliberté became the first Canadian tourist to go into space in 2009, (Canadians always need a late pass with shit). Laliberte spent 12 days in space, with the whole experience costing him $38 million. Which doesn't even put a dent into the $2.5 billion he's holding.
Laliberte got his fortune by starting Cirque du Soleil, the Canada-based circus company, so even in space, the clown in him never left. He was on the spacecraft wearing a clown nose, cracking jokes to the other astronauts, and putting on an endless show. Unsurprisingly, there hasn't been a Canadian in outer space since.
Graham Pendrill
Graham Pendrill
Position: Businessman
Year: 2009
Complex says: Though not super duper rich like the others on this list, Pendrill was a millionaire and had a nice size fortune—one that he gave up to live a much more simple lifestyle
When Pendrill was 56 years old, he took a trip to Kenya and instantly fell in love with the culture. The wealthy traveler started wearing the clothes of the Masai tribe, and he became so respected that he was elected elder of the tribe after putting an end to a tribal dispute.
When Pendrill arrived back home in England, he put his 12-bedroom house on the market and decided to permanently move to Kenya to live in mud huts with the Masai people. A truly heartwarming story. By the way, this story has a much more sinister ending to it if he says "Forget Kenya, let me give Somalia a try."
Vijaypat Singhania
Vijaypat Singhania
Position: Chairman emeritus of the Raymond Group of clothing and textiles
Year: 2005
Complex says: With so many more sophisticated methods of travel available, the hot air balloon has pretty much been forgotten. But truth be told, you need a serious set of balls to fly in one of those things, and Vijaypat Singhania is clearly not a sissy. At age 67, Singhanhia traveled 69,000 feet into the air in a hot air balloon, breaking the record of 64,997 feet.
Even though there were safety precautions, like a parachute and a helicopter that was trailing him, Singhania gets a lot of street cred for pulling off this ballsy, but ultimately worthless, achievement. It’s especially amazing considering that at 70,000 feet one is closer to space than Earth.
Dennis Tito
Dennis Tito
Position: Founder of Wilshire Associates
Year: 2001
Complex says: To be fair, Tito has a Bachelors degree from New York University in Astronautics and Aeronautics. So it's not like dude was a complete dumb-dumb when he bought his way into space.
Still, his journey was met with some resistance. Snooty ass NASA, for example, denounced the voyage. However, nothing could take away from his legacy as the first space tourist—the only time where the word "tourist" sounds cool.
Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Position: Chairman of Hughes Aircraft, film producer, and director
Year: 1936
Complex says: Howard Hughes was the original bored rich dude. He made a fortune as a movie producer, hustling behind the scenes for old-school classics like Hell's Angels and Scarface (the original one from the 1930s).
But then he switched his game and became known as one of the most influential aviators of all time. Hughes set many records during his time. Yet perhaps his most impressive achievement occurred in 1936, when he flew from California to New Jersey in nine hours. Today, 80 years later, it takes about five hours to cover that distance. If that doesn't impress you, we give up.