Guy making millions selling moon plots
From his office in Nevada, entrepreneur Dennis Hope has spawned a multi-million-dollar property business selling plots of lunar real estate at $20 (£10) an acre.
Mr Hope exploited a loophole in the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and he has been claiming ownership of the Earth’s Moon – and seven planets and their moons – for more than 20 years.
These are “truly unowned lands”, he says. “We’re doing exactly what our forefathers did when they came to the New World from the European continent.”
Hope says he has so far sold more than 400 million acres (1.6m sq km), leaving a further eight billion acres still up for grabs.
Buyers include Hollywood stars, large corporations – including the Hilton and Marriot hotel chains – and even former US presidents Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter. George W Bush is also said to be a stake holder.
Forget the moon… I want a stake on Uranus!
Okay, terrible joking aside…
Buying a plot of land like this is about as smart as buying a Pet Rock.
I’d like some property on Europa – liquid water down below, ice on top for skating, and a glorious close-up view of Saturn!
I don’t think you would be doing much skating when you are incased in a several hundred pound lead lined space suit.
Hardly an original idea… see The Man Who Sold the Moon by Heinlein.
Sounds like this guy is basically trying to pull pretty much the same con as (one) in the book. The question is what his intentions are: to separate suckers from their money or to fund lunar exploration?
“what our forefathers did” was occupy and defend the land from the locals. I am certain the dufus hasn’t occupied the land.
As for Presidents and large corporations buying land; my B.S. meter is registering some stinkyness here.
If China was to land on the moon (as they are working on) and to begin colonize it, who’s to stop them from squatting, let alone flat out claiming.
Many of our forefathers gained title through squatting, “adverse possession” — commonly known as “squatter’s rights”
As defending the land from the locals, that is yet to be seen.
@2, Europa orbits Jupiter not Saturn. You are thinking of Titan … the one full of hydrocarbons.
#5 – Noname,
Actually, what our forefathers did was kill the people who were already here and steal their land. But, you’re essentially right. I’m hoping this guy’s claims get thrown out on the not very minor technicality that no one occupied the land to claim any right to it and thus sell it. Therefore, yes, it is unowned and will stay that way. I also remember (albeit vaguely) hearing about an internation treaty similar to the Antarctica one, stating that space is everyone’s for scientific purposes. I’m not positive about this though.
#2 – RuralRob, good choice!!
#4 – Arpie, Yup, it’s a stolen Heinlein idea. I hope Ginny or her heirs gets their cut.
I know this is moderated so edit this as you like…
I too have been amazed and frusrated by all these so-called organizations that sell what they don’t have the right to sell. I started SillyServices.com so I too could sell anythign to anybody – the IntergalacticPlanetRegistry.com, IntergalacticRealEstate.com, IShouldBeKing.com etc.
The companies are all jokes and yet people want to silly framed piece of paper 🙂 At least I’m not hustling anyone!
When i was a kid, you could buy a square inch of Alaska for 25 cents and 3 box tops. After that, i didn’t eat shredded wheat for a decade.
I hope this fool is paying someone property tax on the eight billion acres still up for grabs!
#4, Comment by Arpie — 4/9/2007 @ 12:31 pm Absolutely.
I’ll bet my uncle could sell real estate on the Sun if he just advertised the right ‘spot’ and said it was really cool at twilight time. Lordy, some folks will buy anything, including ‘name your own star’.
Just Google ‘name your own star’ and see. Too many links to post.
If I buy a parcel of undeveloped lunar land, can I borrow against it?