Jeff Bezos
Amazon founder takes 82-year-olds into space
Jeff Bezos and Wally Funk will fly into space together.
© lev radin / Shutterstock.com / imago images / Michael Hughes
When Jeff Bezos flies into space soon, the 82-year-old pilot Wally Funk will accompany him. With that he will fulfill a dream for her.
In a few weeks, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (57) will fly into space. Not only his brother Mark and the winner of an auction will be there, but also the pilot Wally Funk (82). This means that Funk will not only be the oldest person to have ever flown into space. Bezos is also fulfilling a dream for himself and the pilot.
Wireless explained in a video on Instagramthat she has been flying “forever”, completed around 19,600 flight hours and taught more than 3,000 people to fly. In the 1960s, the pilot was part of the “Mercury 13”, a group of women who were successfully tested for fitness as astronauts, but who never set out into space. “It’s time. Welcome to the crew, Wally,” writes Bezos in a comment on the clip.
The video also shows how Bezos brings her the news that the American will be there as a guest of honor – she hugs the billionaire beaming with joy. Funk is happy to say that she will “finally” be an astronaut. Bezos had previously explained on Instagram, among other things: “I want to take this flight because I’ve wanted to do it all my life.”
$ 28 million for the first ticket
At the beginning of June, Bezos announced that he wanted to fly into space with his brother on July 20. Blue Origin, a space company also founded by the billionaire, will then bring space tourists into space for the first time. In addition to the Bezos brothers and Funk, another place goes to the winner of an auction, who bought the ticket for 28 million US dollars, the equivalent of more than 23 million euros. According to Blue Origin, almost 7,600 people from 159 countries bid.
The proceeds from the auction will go to the “Club for the Future” foundation. This is intended to introduce future generations to professions from areas such as natural science, mathematics, computer science and technology. Ultimately, it should also make life in space possible.
Bezos is considered one of the richest people in the world. He currently runs one corresponding list of the business magazine “Forbes” with an estimated net worth of approximately $ 197 billion. They are followed by the French entrepreneur Bernard Arnault (72) and his family, Elon Musk (50), Bill Gates (65) and Mark Zuckerberg (37).