The Completely Insane World of Extreme Tourism for Billionaires

Titan tragedy highlights the trend of high-net-worth individuals

Less than an hour off Greenland’s coast, Jules Mountain began questioning his sanity. The British entrepreneur aimed to be the first person to fly a Bell 505 light helicopter across the Atlantic, completing the second leg of his eight-day journey. Mountain faced freezing fog at 14,500 feet, risking ice buildup on the helicopter’s blades. Gasping for air in the -14 degrees Celsius temperature, he realized he had only 30 minutes of fuel left.

Mountain’s helicopter trip from Montreal to Guernsey covered nearly 4,000 miles, with fuel stops in Northern Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. He took on the challenge when he discovered the helicopter’s range was limited to 350 miles, requiring mid-flight refueling for his longest leg.

“My initial goal was to trek to the North Pole, but it seemed too easy,” Mountain said. “There was always the possibility of rescue. This challenge, flying over icebergs and remote forests, far from civilization, meant that an engine failure could result in death. That’s when the adrenaline rush hits, and it’s when you feel truly alive.”

Mountain, who has also summited Everest, is among many businesspeople seeking extreme adventures worldwide. On June 18, British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani British executive Shahzada Dawood were passengers on the Titan submersible that disappeared in the North Atlantic Ocean. Titan, operated by OceanGate, a US company specializing in manned submersibles, was part of a tourist expedition to observe the Titanic wreckage at a depth of approximately 12,500 feet.

On June 22, remains from Titan were found by a remote-controlled underwater search vehicle about 500 meters from the Titanic wreckage, around 370 miles off Newfoundland’s coast. The US Coast Guard believes all five passengers died due to a catastrophic implosion.

Extreme tourism is a niche industry that is growing steadily. Numerous companies have emerged to facilitate dangerous adventures for the super-rich. OceanGate began offering trips to the Titanic wreckage site in 2021, with seats on the ill-fated journey costing $250,000 per person. However, safety concerns arose during Titan’s quality-control stage in 2018, including questions about the vessel’s experimental carbon-fiber hull structure and lack of industry certification. Past passengers have reported issues with communication, navigation, and buoyancy during their 12-hour round trip.

Operators in the field of extreme adventures naturally face high risks. Garret Madison, a mountaineer based in Seattle, provides tailor-made expeditions to unnamed, unclimbed Himalayan peaks through his company, Madison Mountaineering. He explains that the average death rate on Everest is 1 percent, higher than that of US service members in recent conflicts. “The exhilaration of being on the mountain and confronting danger is what makes it so appealing.”

Since the pandemic, Madison has observed an increase in bookings by high-net-worth individuals who reserve entire expeditions. “Last year, one client paid $200,000 for a trip to climb Mount Vinson in Antarctica,” he says. “It’s the latest trend: billionaires seeking private adventures with friends, flying to Antarctica in a private jet. It’s on another level.”

Although Madison’s mountain expeditions are high-end, he emphasizes that they provide minimal comfort. The most luxurious aspect of his Everest base camp excursion, priced at $75,000, is warm showers, yoga sessions, and a dining tent with a movie screen. “The individuals who join my adventures want to experience some level of suffering. That’s how they feel alive. Otherwise, they would be staying at a luxurious five-star resort like the Four Seasons.”

However, there is also a cottage industry catering to extreme luxury tourism. White Desert Antarctica offers premium accommodation near the South Pole for $15,000 per night, offering opulently furnished pods with heating and private chefs. Hamish Harding had also taken that trip, and founder Patrick Woodhead described him as a long-standing friend of White Desert.

In the world of extreme tourism, safety often comes at a high cost. Madison’s service provides expert guides, logistical expertise, Western and Sherpa teams, extra oxygen, good food, and enhanced communications, all essential for adventurers at altitudes of 8,000 meters above sea level. However, Mountain points out that there are operators who offer rudimentary services at a lower price, and that’s when the danger can escalate significantly. “You’re left on your own,” he warns.

OceanGate seems to have straddled both realms. As the sole provider of tourist trips to the Titanic and with Titan being one of the few manned submersibles capable of reaching such depths, tickets were expensive. However, conditions inside the sub were far from luxurious, and the dive carried substantial risks. OceanGate’s waiver explicitly mentioned death multiple times, and the passengers were bolted inside the sub, relying on limited oxygen and external support to exit even after surfacing. The vessel was even controlled using a modified video game controller. “No one going on board would have expected it to be safe,” Mountain remarks. “That’s part of the allure: the inaccessibility, danger, and mythology surrounding the wreck. Only a handful of people have experienced it.”

Grace Lordan, an associate professor in behavioral science, explains that these perilous expeditions have become more appealing to thrill-seeking entrepreneurs than luxury goods. “Pleasure and purpose determine happiness, and while wealth redistribution provides a purpose, pleasure becomes harder to attain.”

Lordan also points out that ego plays a role. “Luxury products are more accessible to the masses now, and we all crave unique anecdotes for dinner parties. Entrepreneurs, who tend to have a higher risk tolerance, increasingly desire experiences that few others have had. Having already built major companies, they now seek to push their personal boundaries.”

These nostalgic explorations, such as mountain climbing and ocean crossings, allow billionaires, many of whom have amassed their wealth digitally, to confront their physical limits in the face of mortal danger.

Madison completed his transatlantic helicopter flight in July 2020. The self-organized trip, arranged through Canadian, Danish, and Icelandic authorities, took place during the peak of the pandemic, with pilots exempt from COVID-19 restrictions. “It was a crazy idea, but being an entrepreneur means being driven. You want to push boundaries and prove yourself differently from others. It was an incredible rush. When I reached Scotland, I knew I was on the home stretch, and I celebrated,” Mountain recalls.

The Titan tragedy underscores the reality that these extreme adventures inherently involve a brush with death. Yet, it is precisely this element of risk that makes them appealing. “These challenges will always carry risks,” Mountain concludes, “otherwise, everyone would be doing them.”