Why do Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison buy Hawaiian islands, James Bond’s old submarine car and build huge clocks in mountains? Because they can
If you have billions to spend on, well, anything, what would you buy? Here’s what some of the world’s richest tech guys open their wallets for
If you’re among the richest people in the world, chances are you’ve found some unusual ways to spend your money.
That’s what tech executives like Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have done, anyway – they’ve spent money on everything from a massive chunk of the state of Hawaii to the submarine car from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Some tech billionaires are famously frugal, while others spend money on more conventional expenditures like mansions or fabulous holidays. And while the tech billionaires featured below own their fair share of homes and yachts – plus found time for more noble pursuits like donating to charity or signing the Giving Pledge – they’ve also used their billions to pursue passion projects.
Here are some of the more unusual and extravagant ways tech executives have spent their money.
Many CEOs make expensive home and land purchases, but perhaps none more so than Oracle founder Larry Ellison – in 2012, the billionaire bought 98 per cent of the Hawaiian island Lanai
Ellison reportedly paid US$300 million for the island in 2012. It contains 90,000 acres (36,420 hectares) of land and several resorts and is home to more than 3,200 residents. Ellison plans to use to land to test environmentally friendly practices like solar power and electric vehicles.
Unsurprisingly, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has an interest in unusual vehicles. In 2013, for example, he bought the Lotus Esprit submarine car used in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me for US$920,000 at auction