Businessman Sees Cash in the Clouds

A star with your name? Check. A plot on the moon? Check. Your very own cloud? Coming soon, quite possibly. At least if enterprising lawyer Vladimir Osipiv gets his way.

Osipiv, 48, from Russia, in a bid to follow in the footsteps of American Dennis Hope, who laid claim to the moon in 1980, has posted ownership papers in 150 countries, effectively hoping to privatize heretofore ownerless clouds worldwide.

But what, you may ask, could anyone do with a bunch of clouds? According to London daily Metro, Osipiv plans to sell the clouds to environmental campaigners, cleverly paving the way for people wanting to sue governments everywhere for pollution of the aforementioned objects. Not to mention to make a quick buck for himself, I reckon.

After all, Hope, whose self-prescribed alias is The Head Cheese, managed to sell plots on the moon to more than 2 million people worldwide and continues to do so through his Lunar Embassy Web site, where $19.95 gets you a whole acre (prime view, obviously) on the moon and an extra $2.50 gives it that extra special touch by personalizing the deed with your name.

So far Osipiv has not said how much he will be asking per cloud, and whether size, density and fluffiness will be factors in individual sales. But if you're still searching for that perfect present for that special someone, you'd better get in on the deal early, before JLo snaps up a bunch and makes it a trend. -- Eva

Posted by Mac at January 10, 2005 08:31 PM