A mystery bidder is to pay $28m (£20m) for a seat on Amazon founder; Jeff Bezos‘s first crew spaceflight by the billionaire’s Blue Origin company.
The bidding process attracted interest from more than 140 countries.
Also, the other two crew members of the 20 July flight are Mr Bezos’ brother Mark and an unnamed space tourist.
After a nearly month-long bidding process the top bid at just under $5m; – but once Saturday’s online auction got under way that figure rose more than five times.
According to Forbes magazine, Mr Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $186.2bn (£131.5bn). This makes him one of the world’s richest people.
“On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother,” he wrote in a post on Instagram earlier this week. “The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”
Mr Jeff Bezos’ brother Mark described the planned flight on Blue Origin’s launch vehicle New Shepard as a “remarkable opportunity”.
According to Blue Origin’s website the company plans to launch its passengers more than 100km (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, allowing them to experience microgravity. The six-berth capsule will return to Earth using parachutes. The trip is expected to last about 10 minutes.
The first crewed flight comes just weeks after Mr Bezos plans to step down as CEO of Amazon. Instead, he will serve as executive chairman of the e-commerce giant he founded 30 years ago in his garage, allowing him “time and energy” to focus on other ventures.