Robert Bigelow | |
|---|---|
 Bigelow in 2011 | |
| Born | Robert Thomas Bigelow (1944-05-12)May 12, 1944 (age 81) |
| Education | University of Nevada, Reno Arizona State University, Tempe (BA) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Robert Thomas Bigelow[1][2] (born May 12, 1944) is an American businessman. He ownsBudget Suites of America and is the founder ofBigelow Aerospace.[3][4]
Bigelow has provided financial support for investigations ofUFOs andparapsychological topics, including the continuation ofconsciousness after death.[5]
Bigelow grew up inLas Vegas,Nevada, attended Highland Elementary School. about 70 miles (100 km) from wherenuclear weapons tests were conducted at theNevada National Security Sitenuclear weapons tests, northwest of the city.[6]
He enrolled in theUniversity of Nevada, Reno, in 1962 to study banking and real estate, and he graduated fromArizona State University in 1967.[7]
From the late 1960s[7] through the 1990s, Bigelow developedcommercial real estate hotels, motels and apartments.[8]
In his real estate career, Bigelow built approximately 15,000 units and purchased another 8,000. For most of his career, he held on to almost everything he bought, but he did sell before the2008 financial crisis. In 2013, Bigelow reflected on this: "People just really wanted to throw money away, so that was lucky."[7]
Bigelow ownsBudget Suites of America, an extended-stay apartment chain founded in 1987.[9] It caters to budget travelers needing to stay for an extended period. Its rooms are primarily suites featuring a full kitchen. Budget Suites owns three hotels inPhoenix, Arizona; five inLas Vegas, Nevada; ten inDallas, Texas; and one inSan Antonio, Texas.[10]
In 1999, Bigelow foundedBigelow Aerospace.[11]
Bigelow had indicated he planned to spend up to US$500 million to develop the firstcommercial space station with a goal of the station costing 33% of the US$1.5billion that NASA expended on a singleSpace Shuttle mission.[12][13] Bigelow Aerospace has launched two experimental space modules,Genesis I in 2006 andGenesis II in 2007, and had planned for full-scale space habitats to be used as orbital hotels, research labs and factories.[14]
In 2013, Bigelow indicated that the reason he went into the commercial real estate business was to obtain the requisite resources to be able to fund a teamdeveloping space destinations.[8] In October 2017, Bigelow announced that he planned to put an inflatable "space hotel" into orbit by 2022.[15] The plan was part of a partnership withUnited Launch Alliance, and the project was estimated to cost US$2.3 billion in total. The cost of a three-day stay in this spatial hotel was estimated at 5 million dollars.[16]
In April 2016, Bigelow'sBEAM module was launched to theInternational Space Station[8] on theeighthSpaceXcargo resupply mission.[17]
In March 2020, Bigelow Aerospace laid off all 88 members of staff and halted operations after over 20 years of business, in a move that was partially caused by thecoronavirus pandemic.[18]
In March 2021, he sued NASA for US$1.05 million, alleging he was not paid according to contract for product testing and development.[19]
In 1995, Bigelow founded theNational Institute for Discovery Science to fund the research and study of variousfringe sciences andparanormal topics, most notablyufology.[20] The organization researchedcattle mutilation andblack triangle reports, ultimately attributing the latter to secretive advanced aircraft operated by the military.[21] The institute was disbanded in 2004.
In 1996, Bigelow purchasedSkinwalker Ranch, a 512-acre (205 ha) cattle ranch located in Utah that is the site of purported paranormal phenomena, such as inter-dimensionalshape-shifters,[22] for $200,000. In 2016, Bigelow sold the ranch to Brandon Fugal for $4 million.[23]
In December 2017, Bigelow was reported by theNew York Times to have urged SenatorHarry Reid to initiate what became theAdvanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, a government study which operated from 2007 to 2012 tasked with the study ofUFOs.[24][25] According to theNew York Times, Bigelow said he was “absolutely convinced” that extraterrestrial life exists and that extraterrestrials have visited Earth.[26]
In June 2020, Bigelow founded the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (BICS) to support investigations into life after death.[5] In January 2021, the institute put up an award of US$1 million asking for essays arguing for existence of a life after death.[27] The institute awarded the first-place $500,000 prize to Jeffrey Mishlove, the second-place prize toPim van Lommel, and the third-place prize toLeo Ruickbie.[28]
On February 4, 1965, he married Diane Mona Grammy (April 9, 1947 – February 19, 2020) of Camden, New Jersey.[29][5]
They had two children together, Robert Michael "Bobby" Bigelow, and Rod Lee Bigelow.[29] In 1992, Rod Lee Bigelow died by suicide, aged 24.[30] In 2011, Robert Bigelow's grandson, Rod Lee Bigelow II, died by suicide, having suffered from drug addiction.[30]
Diane Bigelow died on February 19, 2020, ofmyelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) andacute myeloid leukemia (AML).[29][5]
Bigelow has made political donations to conservativeRepublican candidates.[31][32] In July 2022, he donated $10 million to Florida Republican GovernorRon DeSantis, which was the single biggest donation of his re-election bid.[33][34] Bigelow has contributed over $25 million[35] to groups and causes supportingJoe Lombardo's candidacy for governor of Nevada. Campaign finance experts believe this may be the most a single donor has spent on a statewide race in modern history.[36]In January 2024 he stated in an interview that he had donated toDonald Trump, "I gave him $1 million towards his legal fees a few weeks ago. I made a promise to give him $20 million more, that will be to thesuper PAC..."[37]