Billionaires helping the ultra-rich live out their space fantasies

A small but growing group of ultra-wealthy adventurers have bought their way into outer space thanks largely to competing ventures founded by billionaires

Venture investor Lane Bess credits his appetite for risk for a successful career in Silicon Valley’s cybersecurity start-ups. It’s also what’s sending him into outer space. 

Bess is one of six passengers who’ll be soaring to the fringes of outer space thanks to Jeff Bezos’s space-exploration business, Blue Origin. Lift-off for the company’s third manned space flight is scheduled for Saturday from its launch facility in the West Texas desert.

“Part of who I am is seeking adventure and not being afraid to take risks,” Bess, 60, said in an interview. “It’s fulfilling a boyhood dream.”

Bess joins a small but growing group