From botox to face-lifts, there are a number of procedures you can have done to make you look younger.
But while these methods may knock years off your appearance, they won’t actually help you to gain extra years of life.
Now, billionaires are looking at ways to actually get a few more years in – and some of their tactics are pretty wacky.
From ‘young blood’ transfusions to colonising space, many billionaires are turning science fiction into reality, in their quest for immortality.
ABC Finance has rounded up some of the weirdest and most wonderful ways that billionaires are investing in immortality.
1. ‘Young blood’ transfusions
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has hit the headlines in recent years for his interest in young blood transfusions.
As the name suggests, the procedure involves young, healthy patients donating blood to older recipients.
While trials in mice have shown that younger blood invigorates older mice, few human trials have been conducted.
And according to the US Food and Drug Administration, the procedure ‘has no proven clinical benefits’, and is even ‘potentially harmful.’
Despite this, several clinics now offer the service – at a cost. Trials range in price from £6,000 to an eye-watering £215,000!
2. Cryonics
If you’re anything like me, the idea of freezing a person with the hopes of later resuscitating them will immediately remind you of the plot of an Austin Powers film.
But several billionaires, including Peter Thiel, have shown interest in the procedures, known as cryonics.
In the procedure, either the human head or full body is frozen and stored in a large container, with the hopes of bringing you back to life in the future.
Worryingly, there’s no evidence that this halts the ageing process, or that you could even be brought back to life.
Despite this, many people are opting for the procedure, which costs up to £152,000.
3. Digital consciousness
Other billionaires, including Sam Altman, hope to upload their brains to the cloud to help them to live forever – at least in a digital form.
Several firms are working on the technology, including Nectome and the Tarasem Movement Foundation.
Speaking about the technology, Ray Kurzewil, director of engineering at Google , said: “We're going to become increasingly non-biological to the point where the non-biological part dominates, and the biological part is not important any more.
“In fact, the non-biological part – the machine part – will be so powerful it can completely model and understand the biological part.”
4. Apocalypse Insurance
Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, has openly revealed his ‘apocalypse insurance’ plans, which involve stockpiling weaponry, food and even gold coins, should a disaster scenario strike.
And Mr Huffman isn’t alone. According to ABC Finance, as many as 50% of Silicon Valley billionaires have some form of apocalypse insurance.
5. Colonising space
From Jeff Bezos to Elon Musk, several billionaires are competing to be the first to get tourists into space.
As life on Earth becomes unsustainable, these billionaires are looking to set up colonies beyond our planet, including on the moon and even Mars.
However, as it stands, space tourism comes at a hefty cost.
SpaceX plans to charge £44 million per person to reach the International Space Station, suggesting that trips further afield will be even pricier.
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