There's no way to avoid billionaires in submarines this week. Better catch your breath, this is going to get deep.
As of writing, the fate of the Titan submersible is unknown. Best estimates said the oxygen in the capsule ran out Thursday morning. That's far more hopeful than the likely scenario of a catastrophic hull failure about halfway into it's 2.5 mile descent to the ocean floor. The pressure there would be about 3000 psi.That's more than enough to crush a pop can.
I hope for the best but I'm assuming the worst. Unless the pod is bobbing undiscovered on the waves, those 5 are squid food. They bought a one way ticket to a graveyard.
Do you think those $250,000 seats were worth it? I'm waiting for the Yelp reviews.
Whatever your take may be on rich people in submarines, I think this situation illustrates something important. We hear a lot about the very real health risks of being poor. But here's further proof that too much money can kill you, too.
History is full of well-heeled adventurers who lost their lives trying to be the first or the fastest or the farthest. I'm not talking about these people. They were going for accomplishments and their wealth fueled the accomplishments. Or failures.
The people I'm talking about are the tourists. They don't care about first or fastest, they just want a selfie at some barely reachable spot. And they have enough money to pay enough people to make it happen. You've got too much money when you think money erases risk.
The best example is pretty much the opposite place. The first known successful ascent of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, was in 1953. Since then over 300 people, including 17 this year, have died on that mountain.
I'm not saying everyone who died on Mount Everest had too much money for their own good but a lot of them qualify. For just about a hundred grand, you too can take your chances. Besides becoming one of the 200 bodies strewn along the route to the top, what could go wrong?
But since having to step over the last idiot with a black platinum Amex is a buzzkill for even the hardiest tourist, the ridiculously walleted are looking for other places to accidentally kill themselves. And where better than the site of the most famous shipwreck in history? If Leonardo Dicaprio can get there, by gosh so can the second step son of a hedge fund tycoon with nowhere to go on spring break.
I doubt this setback will do much to quell the appetites of those with more money than sense to put themselves in inhospitable places for an Instagram post. If the presumed dead owner of Titan can get $250k a pop, the next can get $350k with the added notoriety.
After all, millionaires started lining up to see that part of the ocean floor in 1912. When Astor and Guggenheim went down with the Titanic way back when they were just two more people with too much money for their own good.