Amazon.com, Inc AMZN founder Jeff Bezos has been following in the footsteps of "Shark Tank" investors Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban, investing in start-up companies with big plans to change the way people live and make money. The billionaire recently invested in Arrived Homes, where with only $100, people can become property owners.
The $100 initially invested could turn into a lot more down the road as property prices increase over time, especially if people can extend their lives.
Last year, Bezos, who's worth $124 billion, invested into a start-up that intends to make people live longer.
The Start-Up Business Aiming To Extend Human Life
Rejuvenation is no longer just for the human face but possibly the human race, according to a small biotech company that claims it has developed technology that extends the lifespan of mice by 7%.
Although the breakthrough hasn’t been peer-reviewed, San Diego-based Rejuvenate Bio claims it has been successful in reprogramming the genes of small rodents, causing mice to live an average of 18 weeks longer, following the treatment, than the control group, according to MIT Technology Review.
What It Means For Humans: Vittorio Sebastiano, a professor at Standford University, advised against testing the technology on humans. However, Rejuvenate Bio’s chief scientific officer Noah Davidsohn sees a possible application for senior folks.
“This is a powerful technology, and here is the proof of concept,” Davidsohn said according to the report, adding that he "wanted to show that it’s actually something we can do in our elderly population."
Rejuvenate Bio isn’t the only biotech company trying to find a cure for death. Altos received a $3 billion investment in its biotech startup. Jeff Bezos is an investor, according to Popular Mechanics, which cited a MIT Technology Review report that said the publication spoke to people briefed by the company. Like Rejuvenate Bio, Altos is working to use cellular rejuvenation to reverse disease and, ultimately, aging
The Concern: Beyond the physical concerns of testing the technology on humans, which has been shown to cause cancer in mice, the cost for humans being able to access an FDA-approved cell rejuvenation if it ever got that far, would be high.
This could mean that only the world’s richest would be able to afford to prolong their lives, which would allow the rich another way to get richer, by compounding their wealth during the borrowed time. While there’s already a long-term gender gap between the rich, bioethicist at Utrecht University, Christopher Wareham, worries the gap between the rich and the poor could widen if science confirms methods that could extend the life of humans.
“Suppose, for example, we had a kind of vaccine for the pandemic of age”, he said, according to the Financial Times. “This is going to potentially exacerbate all the kinds of existing inequalities that we have . . . The longer you’re around, the more your wealth compounds, and the wealthier you are, the more political influence you have.”
Alphabet, Inc GOOG GOOGL co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as entrepreneur Yuri Milner from Israel are some of the other mega-rich believers in the science who are funding research into human longevity.
Read Next: Yes, Elon Musk Is Rich, And So Is Bill Gates - But Who Are The Wealthiest Women In The World?
Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.
Image: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
