Adventurer Steve Fossett, missing on a routine solo flight in a small aircraft in the Nevada desert, once told me he saw himself as the ultimate Boy Scout. "It was in the Scouts that I climbed my first mountain," he said, "and where I learned my leadership skills.
"I think that each record I break is like earning myself a new and higher Scout award. And I can't think of anything I would rather do."
This was an unexpected self-analysis from a man as known for his few words as for his many records. Famous for the first solo round-the-world balloon flight - the obsession that made him a rival and friend to Richard Branson - he also holds world titles for sailing, including the record for the fastest sailing trip around the world and flying. He has climbed five of the world's seven tallest mountains, and even holds the record for the slowest swim |
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‘I enjoy the thrill but I’m not a risk-taker,’ Fossett once told charles laurence |
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across the English Channel (22 hours, 15 minutes).
He brushed aside his American media image as the ultimate Dangerman of 'extreme sports': at the height of his ballooning adventures, Penthouse magazine paid him the compliment of being The Most Extreme Man on Earth. "It's nonsense," he said. "I am not the least bit interested in thrill-seeking. I am not drawn to risk."
Fossett, 63, made his fortune taking calculated risks on the notoriously volatile Chicago commodities markets, and became a billionaire by placing the emphasis on 'calculated'.
"I do an enormous amount of planning to reduce the risks. That's what I am interested in. I want to have control over the experience," he said. His strength, he said, was an ability to make the right decision in a split second.
FIRST POSTED SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 |
In pictures: Steve Fossett's disappearance