Robert T. Bigelow, Orbital Real Estate Mogul

Abstract

There are some who label Mr. Bigelow (no one calls him by his first name) an eccentric. After all, this is the guy who once gave an estimated US$10 million to fund the unidentified flying object (UFO)-hunting National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS). He also bought a 480-acre cattle ranch in Utah that some believe is the site of an inter-dimensional doorway used by alien shape-shifters—a subject we’ll get to shortly. But, eccentric or not, what cannot be denied is that Bigelow is rich. Very rich. While Bigelow has never been on the Forbes 400 richest people list, Forbes estimates the Las Vegas native’s real estate empire is worth US$700 million, thanks to the Budget Suites chain of residential hotels and more than 14,000 apartment and office units Bigelow owns across the South-West. Today, Bigelow (Figure 1.1), who made his fortune building affordable places to stay on Earth, is looking to do the same in space—by building high-tech, low-cost inflatable space stations. In the last 15 years, he has spent US$210 million of his personal fortune and says he will spend up to US$500 million to prove that space is a safe place for entrepreneurs.