{"id":17247,"date":"2026-05-12T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=17247"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:53:46","slug":"life-extension-the-rich-want-more-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/life-extension-the-rich-want-more-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Immortality Market and the Men Who Fear Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rich want to cheat aging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bufo alvarius<\/em> toad, which lives in the south-western United States, produces a substance from which the world\u2019s most powerful psychedelic is obtained. The vast majority of enthusiasts of such \u201cboosters\u201d take them in order to \u201ctake off\u201d and \u201cexplore\u201d unknown corners of their own minds. Bryan Johnson, a 48-year-old multimillionaire from California, has different plans for this substance. The eccentric wealthy man recently announced that he intends to take it in order to achieve\u2026 eternal life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to live longer when you have millions of dollars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, this would not be Johnson\u2019s most controversial \u201ctreatment.\u201d That title would have to go to his intravenous injections of blood plasma taken from his then 17-year-old son<\/strong>, which some have called outright vampirism. His experiments have also included psilocybin mushrooms. Above all, however, Johnson relies on all kinds of food preparations \u2014 allegedly specially purified \u2014 which he measures down to the gram, and on his own supplements, which he takes by the bagful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The body as a private laboratory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Johnson proudly shows the crowds of journalists who visit him how he has turned his villa into a genuine \u201clongevity laboratory.\u201d Special filters ensure that crystal-clear air reaches the house. Everywhere one looks, there are more or less strange-looking devices meant to serve rejuvenation treatments<\/a>. The treatments continue at night too. Johnson is obsessed with almost programmed sleep under ideal conditions, which is supposed to make his body regenerate in the best possible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biological age under control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This wealthy man chasing eternal life has set himself a clear, though practically impossible, goal: for researchers to determine that his body, biologically speaking, does not differ from that of an 18-year-old. Johnson made his fortune in the world of new technologies. Now, however, he is trying to build a supplement business empire that will supply other enthusiasts like him. The slogan of his company is simply: \u201cDon\u2019t die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life extension has become a business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This multimillionaire is an extreme example of a man chasing \u201ceternal\u201d life, but in recent years we have seen a real surge of research and business initiatives aimed at radically extending human life. The richest Americans are investing enormous sums in this new sector. Among them are Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon; Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal alongside Elon Musk; and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their investments and announcements inevitably bring to mind science-fiction films about the wealthy pursuing, at any cost, if not immortality, then extremely long life. In other words, something that would inevitably have to be limited to a small group of ultra-rich chosen ones, able to pay for treatments and procedures beyond the reach of \u201cordinary\u201d people. All of it is meant to answer 1 question: how to live longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billions for a little more time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This approach also reveals ordinary narcissism<\/a>, a belief in one\u2019s own omnipotence and contempt for the reality<\/strong> that remains the common bread of humanity: death will catch everyone. Peter Thiel, like Johnson, has shown interest in plasma transfusions that would supposedly act as a \u201cyouth injection.\u201d He has also announced that, if he fails to achieve eternal life after all, he wants to be frozen after death. So-called cryonics is a separate chapter in this strange-sounding story. Its proponents argue that properly frozen bodies may one day be revived and cured of the diseases that killed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: ChatGPT\/Wojciech Wybranowski. Illustrative image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Research into longevity is accelerating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thiel has allocated large sums to the development of the longevity research sector, which is flourishing in Silicon Valley. And he has been consistent about this for years. Back in 2012, in an interview with Business Insider<\/em>, he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are all these people who say that death is natural, that it\u2019s just part of life. I think that nothing could be further from the truth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thiel has invested, among other things, in the Methuselah Foundation, a biomedical research institution that wants, by 2030, to make 90-year-olds the new\u2026 50-year-olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to slow cellular aging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times<\/em> looked closely at this subject, devoting a major article to it at the end of April. According to the New York daily, Sam Altman \u2014 who himself privately takes a diabetes drug in an attempt to fight aging, though researchers remain sceptical \u2014 invested as much as 180 million dollars in Retro Biosciences<\/strong>, a Silicon Valley biotech company conducting research into slowing, and potentially reversing, the aging process. According to The New York Times<\/em>, Jeff Bezos is one of the main founders of Alto Labs, a company that aims to extend human life through stem-cell therapies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner with an age test<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sector has developed so much that lavish conferences are now organised where researchers, enthusiasts and investors of various kinds can meet and discuss the prospects for radically extending human life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early as 2022, the first Longevity Investors Conference<\/strong> was held in Gstaad, Switzerland. The ticket price? 4.5 thousand dollars. Naturally, the event began with a performance of Queen\u2019s immortal hit, \u201cWho Wants to Live Forever.\u201d Since then, it has become a recurring event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pills, measurements and investors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Hamzelou of MIT Technology Review<\/em> attended the event and wrote an interesting \u201creview\u201d of the meeting for the magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over the course of the two-day event, scientists and biotech company founders tried in various ways to present ideas for extending life in good health. And most of them were trying to win the favour of deep-pocketed investors,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

– Hamzelou wrote in her article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was particularly intrigued by the scientists working on human rejuvenation who tried to convince other participants of their ideas by sweating heavily on various fitness machines, while attempting to prove how dramatically their physical performance had improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many of those at the conference were taking bags of pills every day \u2014 all in the hope of extending their healthy lifespan,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

– Hamzelou reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journalist described how, during dinner, 1 participant squeezed blood from his finger. A scientist sitting next to her explained that the man was most likely testing his biological age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Self-testing and self-experimentation seemed to be standard practice in this crowd, even when it happened during dinner in an exclusive hotel restaurant,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

– Hamzelou concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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