11 billionaires trying to build their own utopias, from Elon Musk’s Mars colony and Bill Gates’ smart city Belmont, to Peter Thiel’s seasteads and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Neom
- From Elon Musk’s string of towns in Texas and Mars colony, to Peter Thiel’s seasteads in the French Polynesia, these billionaires play by their own rules so why not build a utopia if it suits them?
- Bill Gates has plans to build his smart city Belmont in Arizona while Mark Cuban bought Mustang as a promise to his dead friend, but the most ambitious of all is Saudi Arabia Crown Prince’s Neom
Over the years, billionaires and executives have poured millions into building their own utopias.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk plans to build a town named “Snailbrook”, but he is far from the only billionaire or entrepreneur to discuss building his own kingdom of sorts.
From Larry Ellison to Peter Thiel, here are 11 billionaires who have taken similar steps.
1. Elon Musk’s “Snailbrook”, “Starbase” and Mars colony
The billionaire and his associates have bought up at least 1,400 hectares of land in Bastrop, Texas, about 56km outside of Austin. Signs for a town called “Snailbrook” – a reference to The Boring Company’s mascot – have already begun popping up in the area, Texas resident Chap Ambrose said.
It’s not the first time the billionaire has talked about building a town. Musk has said he plans to form a city near SpaceX’s launch facilities as well.
In 2021, billionaire announced his plans to create a new city called “Starbase” in Boca Chica, Texas, about 563km from Snailbrook. While SpaceX employees have taken over much of Boca Chica, it’s unclear whether Musk ever fully established the city. An official municipality of Starbase has yet to be reported.
But Texans near both locations have spoken out against the billionaire’s efforts. Last week, several hundred Texans gathered at a meeting in Bastrop to comment on The Boring Company’s plans to dump 142,000 of treated waste water per day into the Colorado River. Similarly, in Boca Chica, locals have sued SpaceX, claiming its rocket tests have caused public beaches to be continually closed and have negatively impacted wildlife.
And of course there’s also Musk’s plan to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.
