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On a Spending Spree: Billionaire Hobbies
When you have got a billion in the bank, it is fair to say that the world is your oyster. Whether it is buying expensive pieces of artwork, racing supercars around a track or lounging on a yacht, there is literally no end to the things you can do when you are a billionaire. However, there is a downside to having endless piles of cash; an ever-decreasing tolerance to pain (in a metaphorical sense).
The average person often fears certain situations because of the financial ramifications. For example, someone on a normal salary would not dream of placing a $1,000 bet on a football match because the potential loss would have a serious impact on their life. However, in contrast, a billionaire will not place the same value on a $1,000 bet and, therefore, would not think twice about anteing up. In fact, someone with a billion dollars probably would not think twice about risking a million on a whim.
Essentially, the more money you have, the higher your pain threshold is which means you need to spend more to achieve the same adrenaline rush as the average person. Fortunately, billionaires have a lot of time on their hands which means they are able to come up with some creative ways to spend their cash.
In fact, over the last few years the world’s leading billionaires have found some novel ways to pump adrenaline through their veins. From high stakes poker matches, to Lord of the Rings-style weddings and Bitcoin companies, those with more money than they can spend have raised the bar in terms of decadence and decency over the years. So, with this in mind, we thought we would recap some of the biggest purchases made by some of the world’s richest people.
Jeff Bezos: The 10,000 Year Investment Man
When you have got an estimated fortune of $30 billion and a love for engineering, what is the first thing you do? Well, if you are Jeff Bezos, you employ a team of aquatic experts to go down to the ocean floor and recover the F1 engines used in the Apollo 11 space mission. But wait, that is not the only outlandish hobby of the Amazon founder.
In an effort to leave his mark on the world and create something future generations can enjoy and be inspired by, the forward-thinking billionaire has ploughed $42 million into a clock that ticks once a year. Set in the walls of a mountain, the clock is part of a larger project which is being overseen by the Long Now foundation.
The project was originally started by Danny Hills, an inventor and engineer, and in addition to attracting funding from Bezos he has signed up 3,300 members to the cause. Designed to last for 10,000 years, through some clever feats of engineering, the clock will serve as a timepiece for a generation and many generations to come thanks, in part, to Bezos.
Andy Beal: The Billionaire Bluffer
American businessman, banker and math expert, Andy Beal, has made a fortune using his brain over the last forty years, but in 2006 he lost almost $20 million after he was outthought by some of the world’s best poker players. After starting a love affair with poker back in the 1980s, Beal quickly became one of the biggest gamblers in the game and would often play for ultra-high stakes against the best players in the world.
His first taste of professional level poker came in 2001 when he took on a group of poker players known as The Corporation. In an effort to match the wealth of Beal, the poker pros pooled their money and took on the billionaire in a series of heads-up matches. Such was the ferocity of the action that the event became the subject of a book written by Michael Craig. Entitled The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King, the book recounts how Beal went toe-to-toe with the likes of Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein for pots worth in excess of $11 million.
After enjoying some initial success against the group in 2001 and then again in 2004, Beal returned to Las Vegas in 2006 to try his luck once more. After an early round of action, he managed to win just over $13 million. However, by the time he was finished playing against Phil Ivey, arguably the best player in the world, the billionaire was left with a $16.6 million hole in his bankroll.
Sean Parker: The Lord of the Wedding Rings
Billionaires love to party and when the word “budget” does not enter into the equation, the richest people in the world have been known to take the limits of creativity to the max. One person that has made a hobby out of throwing lavish parties is tech billionaire and Napster bad boy, Sean Parker. Reportedly worth more than $2 billon, Parker has thrown crazy parties in his time, but none of them have topped his wedding.
According to reports, the exuberant billionaire spent $10 million on a Lord of the Rings themed wedding back in 2013. Although some described the ceremony, which took place in Big Sur, California, as medieval-inspired, the outfits for the event were designed by the same person who styled the characters in the Lord of the Rings. On top of the epic attire, Parker ensured that many of the official photos were taken in among the green forest which bears a striking resemblance to the backdrop used for Peter Jackson’s blockbuster film.
When you have got money to spend and very little time to do it there are very few rules. It does not matter if it is tacky, overpriced or just plain crazy; when you are a billionaire, the word “hobby” takes on a whole new meaning.
The outlandish pursuits we have covered in this article are just some of the ways the world’s richest people have found to spend their cash over the years. In fact, if you search around you will find many more tales of high stakes gambling (Guy Laliberte of Cirque du Soleil fame springs to mind), out of this world parties and futuristic inventions from people that do not know the meaning of the word “budget”.
