First $150m "lunar cruise" ticket sold

[Sam Fraser]

Space Adventures, the world's first space travel agency, has been arranging for private trips to the International Space Station for the past several years. Now, however, Space Adventures is a step closer to another, even more exciting space voyage.

At a recent conference in Munich, Space Adventure's Eric Anderson announced that one of two seats on a trip around the moon had been sold. The second seat, costing a mere $150 million, is still open, though several people are expressing interest. Anderson declined to name who the person was, but indicated that he or she is very well known.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110130/us_ac/7733940_space_adventures_closer_to_priivate_round_ the_moon_voyage

Who has $150m to spare in this economy?

[sgeos]

Who has $150m to spare in this economy?
A bad economy is different from the complete evaporation of civilization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_period_(1975–1979)). Some people do better when times are bad. Luxuries tend to sell well, because the people with money tend to have it in good times or bad. This person is probably somebody wonderful who is touching many people in positive ways. (The alternative is a massively skilled thief.)