One can argue that he’s part of a hallowed American tradition, whereby land speculators sell plots of useless land on the next “frontier,” from the southern swamps to the western desert. How does he get away with this? He told me that, back when he was a ventriloquist in the days before he “owned” the moon, his dummy taught him a valuable lesson: you can say anything you want to anybody as long as you smile. Of course, he has no legal authority to do so. For three decades, he has built a thriving business by “selling” land plots in space, on places like the moon, Mars and Venus. Hope, 65, of Gardnerville, Nev., the subject of this Op-Doc video, believes just that. Feelings of optimism and wonder can be worth quite a lot.The notion that one man can lay claim to all the extraterrestrial bodies in our little corner of the galaxy sounds preposterous. The moon inspires awe - its white blankness is the perfect backdrop for any kind of dream we might have. Hope’s lunar land certificates have no financial value, they do seem to provide another benefit. Personally, I think what he’s doing is acceptable. However, says Ennis for the Times, the business, which as of a few years ago had earned Hope millions of dollars, has an alternative justification: Individuals’ rights cannot prevail over the rights and obligations of a state.” “The moon is a common property of the international community, so individuals and states cannot own it. Nor, for that matter, would any nation’s. Ram Jakhu, law professor at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, says that Hope’s claims aren’t likely to hold much weight. Hope’s claim to the Moon isn’t very strong, as Discover explained years ago: Ennis’ profile gives a glimpse into the life of the man who self describes as “the wealthiest individual on the planet… in theory.” In the documentary, Hope details his justification of his business and his plan for a interplanetary embassy based on the Moon. Hope and his controversial (and wholly flawed) claim to own the Moon is a semi-regular topic of discussion, with National Geographic and Discover both looking into (and debunking) the business sense.īut Simon Ennis made a fun mini-documentary for T he New York Times, looking at the curious man behind the plan-a ventriloquist-turned-entrepreneur with an eye on the sky.

For the price of a nice dinner, Hope and his company- the Lunar Embassy Corporation-will offer you an acre of terra luna. For the past 33 years, Dennis Hope has been selling the Moon, piece by piece.

Man who sold the moon