Digital Journal What do PayPal, immortality and $3.5 million (US) have in common? In short, philanthropy and a huge helping of controversy.
PayPal co-founder and former CEO Peter A. Thiel pledged $3.5 million (US) to the Methuselah Foundation, a Springfield, Va., nonprofit run by a scientist hoping to lengthen the human lifespan indefinitely.
Thiel will donate $500,000 (US) over the next three years to fund a pilot research project spearheaded by Dr. Aubrey de Grey, a 43-year-old researcher who resembles Yosemite Sam and, well, the bible-character Methuselah. His goal is to postpone death by reengineering the body to eliminate the seven main causes of aging. Some have called him a genius, while cynics have been more biting: A recent headline in the Technology Review asked, Hes brilliant, but is he nuts?
That question doesnt seem to bother Thiel, an enigma of an entrepreneur if there ever was one. Besides funding controversial science projects, Thiel is also co-producer of the feature film Thank You For Smoking, and is known as a nationally ranked chessmaster.
What else is this wild card going to do? Start spreading philanthropy to UFO research or Mensa projects? Thiel is unpredictable, which works just fine for corporations looking for a bit of surprise funding. Then again, lets hope Thiel will donate his riches to organizations with a proven record of helping current crises.
The Methuselah Foundation might espouse worthy goals, but it has its sights set too high to accomplish anything within our lifetime.
