Summary

The article discusses the irony of how the global ultra-rich, despite their vast wealth and access to advanced medical resources, fail to significantly extend their lifespans and instead succumb to the same aging process and mortality as the general population.

Abstract

The article critically examines the lifestyle and healthcare choices of the ultra-rich, noting that despite having multiple organ transplants and access to experimental technologies, they do not escape the inevitable decay of aging and eventual death. It suggests that in a rational society, the wealthy would collaborate to accelerate medical advancements, potentially extending human life to 120-140 years with a high quality of life. However, the rich often choose to hoard their wealth instead of investing in medical science that could benefit all of humanity. The article argues that longer lifespans are biologically possible, as evidenced by the longevity of certain animal species, and posits that the current average human lifespan is not a natural limit but a consequence of our limited knowledge. It calls for the ultra-rich to invest in medical research without the motive of profit, as this could lead to breakthroughs that extend life and open the door to a new era of scientific discovery and prosperity.

Opinions

The ultra-rich's focus on wealth accumulation and control is misguided, as it does not contribute to extending their own lives or advancing human longevity.
Current human lifespans are not indicative of a natural limit but rather reflect our lack of understanding of how to live longer and healthier lives.
The ultra-rich have the power and resources to drive significant progress in medical science, which could lead to substantial increases in human lifespan and quality of life.
Investing in medical research should be seen as a precedent to all other motives, as it has the potential to increase profitability across all economic sectors by creating a healthier, more active population.
The article implies that the ultra-rich have a moral obligation to use their wealth for the betterment of humanity, particularly in the realm of life extension and medical advancement.

Global Ultra-Rich Are Literally Killing Themselves

David and Leone Rockefeller. Image from Creative Commons.

David Rockefeller might not have had 7 heart transplants, but we do know that he had a few organ transplants over his life. Along with many other billionaires and the ultra-rich who died in the past two decades.

All the organ transplants, blood transfusions, and experimental technologies did not save their lives.

Moreover, like all the other humans, they experienced the decay of old age with the accompanying loss of quality of life it brings in the decades before their death. They went through all that decay and suffering and died despite all that wealth that they commanded.

The wealth that could have been used to make them live longer and healthier…

In any sane society, such people would come together, pool their extreme wealth, invest in medical science, and have it advance at breakneck speed, increasing human lifespan and the associated quality of life.

They would have already been living until 120–140 years of age, and they would have lived the large span of it with excellent quality of life.

They would have been able to do much more with their lives, accomplish more goals, and create bigger legacies, instead of having only at most 30–40 years to do something tangible.

But they just chose to hoard and waited to wither and die instead.

Some even may have accepted the ‘natural flow of life’, in which humans are supposed to get old in 50–60 years and die around 70. Because it's how things are. It's natural.

Except, it isn't…

50 years ago humans lived even less, with the decline happening around 40–50 years of age and death coming in at around 60.

100 years ago, it was even worse — people declined in between 30 to 40 to die somewhere between 40 and 50.

But today, the average lifespan is over 70 years whereas people can live actively until their late 60s, even early 70s. Some even more.

So apparently, this state of matters is not the ‘natural’ flow of life. It is something that happens because we don’t know how to live longer and healthier. This means that if we know ourselves more and our medical science is more advanced, we can live even longer, reaching lifespans decades more than 100 years.

It's doable.

We live on a planet on which various tortoise species live 200–300 years, most large tortoises live over 100, with some whale species living over 200 years. There are even sharks that live more than 300 years.

This means that among the developed, more complex biological species on this planet, our lifespans are abnormal. We could live much longer if we knew how.

And yet, those who we allowed to take the control of not only the majority of the wealth on this planet but also the control of the economy and therefore all the investments in science and technology, aren’t even using that wealth to keep themselves alive, leave aside anyone else.

It's all about hoarding, control, and the reinforcement of ego that those bring.

If they do so much as to pool even a fraction of their wealth together and invest in medical science, they can take not only themselves but also humanity a step forward towards the future and made everyone live longer. Do more things. Enjoy living longer. Accomplish even more.

Which is precisely what they should do.

Pool together large portions of their wealth, invest in medical science and knowledge of human physiology, and discover the technology and practices that are needed to have humans live longer.

This should be done without a profit motive since it precedes all motives — when not only the ultra-rich themselves, but everyone else on the planet lives longer and more active due to being healthier, more profit can be made in all fields of economic activity.

Even more — a longer human lifespan can enable deeper science and knowledge and therefore it could enable the discovery and usage of currently unimaginable scientific knowledge and technology that could open the doors to a new age, far beyond what humans can even imagine today.