Mystery bidder plonks $36 million on space flight with the richest man in the world

If you thought 10 grand was steep for business class, have a look at what this unnamed millionaire paid to sit next to the world’s richest man.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos wants to soar above Earth.

An unknown millionaire has forked out a monstrous amount of cash to be one of the first people shot into orbit.

Amazon’s Blue Origin project opened a month-long auction to the public for a chance to be onboard its first ever space flight alongside CEO Jeff Bezos. Offers came from over 140 countries, with the winning bid sitting firm at $5m for weeks.

But a wild mystery bidder came out of nowhere at the eleventh hour to score a seat next to the world’s richest man, plonking an incredible $28 million (A$36m) on the one-time airfare.

“The more you pay for it, the more you enjoy it,” the event’s auctioner told the floor of telephones taking bids in Boston, Massachusetts.

The total time for the New Shephard flight is 10 minutes, meaning the unknown buyer is paying $3.6 million per minute in the air, or $60,000 per second.

Lift-off is scheduled for July 20, with the spacecraft expected to reach 106km above earth before landing approximately 3 km from its launch site.

“The name of the auction winner will be released in the weeks following the auction’s conclusion,” Blue Origin revealed this morning via Twitter. “Then, the fourth and final crew member will be announced – stay tuned.”

The full donation amount is being sent to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which specialises in “inspiring the next generation of dreamers and builders” with an emphasis on space exploration and the possibility of humanity living beyond the stars.

The name of the auction winner will be released in the weeks following the auction’s conclusion. Then, the fourth and final crew member will be announced – stay tuned.

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) June 12, 2021

“We are so humbled by the outcome of today‘s auction and all it will do to inspire students to invent the future of life in space,” the foundation tweeted.

Former Amazon CEO Bezos promoted the flight on Instagram earlier this week, generating hype for the trailblazing flight which he will be taking with his brother and “best friend”.

“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother,” Mr Bezos said. “The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”

The trip, however fleeting, would make Bezos the first of the billionaire space tycoons to travel to space through their own companies. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, and Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, have yet to ride with their companies to space despite consistent chatter.

The flight will seat six people inside the New Shephard’s 60-foot-tall reusable rocket, which is designed to shoot a gumdrop-shaped capsule through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The rocket has been test-flown by Blue Origin 15 times since being completed in 2015. Fittingly, it will lift off on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.