Winning Bidder Paid $28 Million for Ticket to Space With Jeff Bezos

An auction winner paid more than $28 million for an 11-minute ride into space alongside Jeff Bezos, on a reusable rocket launched by his space company, Blue Origin.

Nearly 7,600 people from 159 countries registered to bid on the flight aboard the New Shepard — its first with passengers — which is expected to launch on July 20 from West Texas. In addition to the winning bidder, who was not identified, and Mr. Bezos, passengers will include Mr. Bezos’ brother, Mark Bezos, and a fourth still-unnamed astronaut. The auction winner’s name will be released in roughly two weeks, according to a video on Blue Origin’s website.

The auctioned ticket went for $28 million, but the winner must also pay a 6 percent buyer’s commission, bringing the total cost to nearly $30 million. The monthlong auction took place in three phases — the first, with online bidding where bids weren’t visible, ended on May 19 at $1.4 million. When the online bidding became visible, the ticket reached $4.8 million, the price at which live online bidding began.

The proceeds from the winning ticket will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, a science and education charity that aims to “inspire future generations to pursue careers” in science, technology and math, and stir an interest in space exploration.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/business/blue-origin-flight-auction-bezos.html