This morning I woke up and was watching Elon Musk’s Starship launch on my phone. Then I saw the video of Jeff Bezos floating in space for a few minutes. The childlike excitement in Richard Branson’s eyes… And I asked myself: “Are these really just toys for rich men?”
No. There’s something deeper here.
I spent the whole day pondering that question. Because this isn’t just about rockets and billions. It’s about confronting humanity’s most fundamental existential questions. And I think the ultra-rich’s obsession with space actually shows an extreme version of a psychology we all live with.
Think about it: You can buy everything in the world. Every luxury, every experience, every power is at your fingertips. So what happens next? What does a person do?
What I found while researching this question surprised me—but it also explained a lot.
I came across a study published in the Journal of Business Venturing in 2023. For 73% of space venture investors, the primary motivation is “creating a legacy”. Not making money. Legacy. Leaving something behind. Another study from Stanford is even more interesting: the “awareness of death” increases among the extremely wealthy. In other words, the richer you are, the more you think about your mortality.
The one problem money can’t solve: Time.
And that’s when space makes sense. Because think about it again: You started a company, made billions, changed industries. But who will remember you 100 years from now? Maybe a paragraph in a history book. Maybe a biographical film. But what if… what if you were the person who made humanity a multi-planetary species? That’s when immortality becomes something tangible.
But wait. There’s a contradiction here.
We all know that colonizing Mars isn’t realistic in the near future. Even Elon Musk knows that. So why? Why the insistence? Why spend so much money, energy, and time? The answer might be where we least expect it: It’s an escape fantasy.
I saw a statistic in Space Capital Quarterly’s 2024 report: Most space investments yield negative returns in the short term.
So this isn’t a rational business decision. It’s something else. It’s the assurance that “if the world goes down, at least I’m prepared.” It’s the feeling that “I’m not subject to the rules; I’m the one who writes the rules.”
It’s a God complex.
And now we come to the most interesting part: their language.
I listened to Musk’s speeches again. He says, “Backing up civilization.” He says, “Making life multi-planetary.” Bezos says, “Millions of people living in space.” This isn’t CEO language. This is prophet language. Messiah language. A narrative of salvation.
And that’s where I paused and thought: What are we watching?
On the one hand, there’s technological progress. SpaceX has genuinely reduced launch costs. Blue Origin is developing reusable rockets. That’s real. That’s valuable. But on the other hand… billions of people still lack access to clean water. The climate crisis is upon us. Inequality is at an all-time high. And we’re watching the richest people take vacations in space.
This morning I asked myself: “Is this a matter of priorities, or am I just not getting it?”
Maybe both.
Because yes, space matters. Space could be critical for humanity’s future. But right now? At this pace? In this way? Without democratic debate? Without transparency? Based solely on the decisions of a few visionary billionaires?
I found another study from Stanford: the correlation between extreme wealth and the “salience of death.” Meaning, the more money you have, the more you think about your death. And space offers psychological immortality. Both symbolically (leaving a legacy) and literally (perhaps developing technologies for eternal life).
But the ironic part is this: These people are trying to escape the planet instead of trying to save it. Instead of fighting climate change, they’re going to Mars. Instead of fighting inequality, they’re creating a space aristocracy.
And I thought: What if we’re asking the wrong questions?
Maybe the question isn’t “Why are they going to space?” Maybe the question is: “Why aren’t they staying here?”
Maybe the real answer is much more uncomfortable: Because the problems on Earth aren’t the kind they can solve. You can’t fix the climate. You can’t solve inequality with money (irony, right?). Social problems aren’t like engineering problems. They don’t have simple formulas.
But space? Space is an engineering problem. Space can be solved with enough money, time, and intelligence. Space is a controllable challenge. And most importantly: Space is a place where you can dream without judgment.
Now I want to ask you a question: What do you think?
I don’t think this is just a question about billionaires. It’s a question about all of us.
Because they take the logic of capitalism and modernity to its extreme. They are the natural consequence of the “anything is possible” narrative. They are the final destination of the “wealth = freedom” equation.
And if this is unsettling—which I think it is—then perhaps we should ask: Where is this system taking us?
Your answers do not concern only you. For history forgets those who remain silent. But it remembers those who act, those who ask questions, those who dare.
And perhaps the real courage is not to say “yes,” but to say, “Wait, we’re going in the wrong direction.”
I still ask myself those three questions:
Where am I? What am I doing? What should I be doing?
You will find my answers here.
Perhaps yours as well.
Here’s what I looked at while researching:
· Horvath, A. & Powell, W. (2020). “Billionaires in Global Philanthropy: a Decade of the Giving Pledge.” Voluntas, 32, 920–938
· Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. (2000). “Of Wealth and Death: Materialism, Mortality Salience, and Consumption Behavior.” Psychological Science, 11(4), 348-351
· Arndt, J., Solomon, S., Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. (2004). “The Urge to Splurge: A Terror Management Account of Materialism and Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14(3), 198-212
· Arendsen et al. (2025). “Terror Management Theory in the Consumer Domain: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis.” International Journal of Consumer Studies, DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.70056
· Space Capital Quarterly Reports (2023-2024). http://www.spacecapital.com
· Paek, J. J. W., et al. (2024). “The Andrew Carnegie Effect: Legacy Motives Increase Wealth Allocation to Collective Causes.” Social Psychological and Personality Science, DOI: 10.1177/19485506231201684
· Jackson, T. (2024). “Billionaire Space Race: The Ultimate Symbol of Capitalism’s Flawed Obsession with Growth.” The Conversation
· Ostrower, F. (1995). Why the Wealthy Give: The Culture of Elite Philanthropy. Princeton University Press
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