On Tuesday morning, Amazon founder, world's richest man, and professional tax dodger Jeff Bezos went to space. Well, the edge of space, at least. Joined by his younger brother, the 18-year-old son of a private equity firm's CEO, and 82-year-old aviation pioneer Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, Bezos became the second billionaire to participate in suborbital flight — beat to the punch by nine days by Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic rocket.
The crew boarded a New Shepard rocket made by Blue Origin, Bezos's space company, and blasted off from a launch pad near Van Horn, Texas, at about 8:12 a.m. local time. They climbed to an altitude of 351,210 feet, crossing the Kármán line, which is considered by some experts to be the threshold of space. By 8:30 a.m., the group was already back on the ground and popping champagne, surrounded by family members celebrating the successful flight and landing.
