Dennis Hope: The Man Who Sold The Moon
We might not be able to live on the moon (yet) but thank God we can at least buy land on the moon. Yes, you read that right. You can buy lunar properties from an American man and be a proud owner of land on the moon.
So what if you can’t afford to buy a house in your country, you can at least buy land on the moon or even mars and that too for as low as $34.99. Seems pretty funny, right? But this is no joke.
Who Is Dennis Who Owns The Moon?
A self proclaimed American entrepreneur and former car salesman named Dennis Hope has been selling land on the moon since 1980 and has been claiming himself owner of the moon.
Considering what’s been going on in the world in the last decade, this seems pretty normal to be honest. But how did this man come to sell lunar properties? The story is equally fascinating and filled with humour.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Krakatoa Eruption: The Loudest Sound Ever Recorded
Dennis Hope: The Man Who Sold The Moon
It all began in 1980 when Hope believed that there is a loophole in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which says, “no nation by appropriation shall have sovereignty or control over any of the satellite bodies.”
Hope interpreted that private citizens can lay claim to the moon. A declaration of ownership was filed with the United Nations as well as the US and Russian governments in 1980 by Mr. Dennis M. Hope of the Lunar Embassy, that’s what he called his business.
Since its inception, the man claims to have sold more than 611 million acres of land on the moon as well as properties on Mars, Venus, Mercury and IO. I have to be honest here, I didn’t even know that there was a planet named IO. For those people who did buy the land on the moon, here is how you can calculate time on the moon if you ever end up going there.
He is also the self proclaimed CEO of the Galactic Government.
How Much Does A Land On Moon Cost?
Mr. Hope charges $24.99 for 1 acre of land on the moon and it comes with mineral rights. So if you are worried about what you will do with your land on the moon if you can’t build a house there, you can dig up the minerals from the property and sell it. If this isn’t an out of the world idea (pun intended), I don’t know what is.
The website claims that the lunar surface is covered in Helium 3. This is what it says and I quote, “A possible clean burning energy source with no wasteful bi-product. Also, did you know its projected value is 40,000 USD an ounce? The whole lit surface is covered in it and it renews every 5 years based on interaction with the Sun.”
RELATED ARTICLE: The 21 Elephants And The Brooklyn Bridge
Mr. Hope didn’t stop at just selling land on the moon. If you’re unsatisfied with a few acres of land on some extraterrestrial planet, you can buy Pluto as a whole GD planet for a cool $250,000.
The Lunar Embassy corporation has made an estimated $12 Million over the course of nearly four decades. There are currently 27 resellers, 6 ambassadors, and 2 permanent staff members functioning for the real estate company. Licence holders must pay a $60,000 fee and purchase a minimum number of homes each month in order to resell properties or become an ambassador.
Thank god the people who bought these moon lands are not going there anytime soon. Could you imagine the amount of trash on the moon or space crimes humans would cause there?
At this point, I don’t even know whether to applaud Mr. Hope for this revolutionary idea or close my laptop and take a painkiller for the headache that learning about this idea has caused. I think I’ll choose the latter.
