Voting Station

Dennis Tito

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (August 8, 1940- )
    Born in Queens, New York
    Founded the investment management company Wiltshire Associates (1972)
    Became the first space tourist, paying $20 million to join the Soyuz TM-32 mission to the International Space Station (April 28-May 6, 2001)

Why he might be annoying:

    NASA's refusal to let him train with his fellow Soyuz crewmembers at the Johnson Space Center triggered a minor international incident.
    He suffered motion sickness during launch.
    He was not allowed into the American segments of the space station without an escort.
    After his trip, NASA demanded compensation from Russia for lost research time.
    He hates being called a 'space tourist' and asks to be called an 'independent researcher' since he performed experiments in orbit.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), calculating flight paths for the Mariner missions to Venus and Mars.
    He reportedly used the mathematical models he developed at the JPL to analyze the market and amass a personal fortune of $200-300 million.
    He said of the $20 million price tag, 'We all know you can't take it with you.... Here is a chance to have a once in a lifetime experience... I think that is a fantastic deal.'
    He made a less embarrassing poster boy for space tourism than Lance Bass probably would have.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 36 Votes: 94.44% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 24 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 60 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 21 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying