A seat in the blue origin new Shepard capsule was auctioned for $8 million. The winner was billionaire Ken Griffin, founder of hedge fund Citadel. The auctioneer said Griffin would donate the opportunity to a teacher in New York City, and the final selection process would be organized by the Robin Hood foundation, a poverty alleviation charity. Another school teacher in New York City will also take the flight. At present, the candidate has not been determined.
Umash sabramania, chief technology officer of citadel, made a bid on behalf of Griffin. He himself did not participate in the auction, and the auction proceeds belong to the Robin Hood foundation. The flight time may be in the first half of next year.
On Monday, local time, Jeff Bezos, founder of blue origin and Amazon, attended an event held at the Javitz center in Manhattan on Monday, which raised a total of $126 million for the Robin Hood foundation, including $10 million from the Bezos family foundation.
Blue originated from its first flight in July 2021 and auctioned a seat with Bezos, mark Bezos and Wally Fink for $28 million. The proceeds were donated to the future club.