Millionaire's new goal: to live forever

Live forever, work forever? Image from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"We are on the verge of a lifespan revolution. Life expectancy is going to rise to between 110 and 130 in the next 30 years. This is not science fiction."

Jim Mellon's vision may be optimistic but it's certainly not fanciful. He came to the conclusions he draws in his new book, Juvenescence, after he immersed himself in the subject of longevity research for well over a year.

This included a 7,000-mile road trip around America, visiting scientists at the cutting edge of this research.

He's not doing it for the money: Mellon's wealth is estimated at £920 million (NZ$1.7 billion) and he's giving away the profits from the book to help fund further research into anti-ageing.

Neither is he a starry-eyed optimist. His first book, Wake Up! Survive and Prosper in the Coming Economic Turmoil warned - correctly of course - of the impending financial crisis. Since then his predictions have been followed closely by investors.

He has already written about disruptive technology and investing in drug research, and this new book, a logical follow-on from the latter, is about investing in anti-ageing research.

This is not just about finding drugs to eliminate what he calls the "Deadly Quintet" of life-threatening diseases: cancer, cardiac disease, respiratory disease, dementia and diabetes.

"That would confer a maximum of about 15 years of extra life to human beings, well below the 30 extra years that we believe is possible in the relatively short term," Mellon said. "If you can stay alive for another 10 to 20 years, if you aren't yet over 75 and if you remain in reasonable health for your age, you have an excellent chance of living to more than 110."

Rapid increases in our average lifespan are not new. Following single-figure percentage increases in each of the previous five centuries, the 20th century saw life expectancy rise by 42 per cent from its 1900 level of just 49 years.

Mellon said: "The reasons for that are better sanitation, more effective treatment for cancer, lower cardiac death rates and less bacterial infection, though there's antibiotic resistance now so that's a bit of a problem. But generally a whole accumulation of things is leading to longer lifespans."

The next quantum leap he foresees, one that a growing band of distinguished scientists around the world are currently researching, will centre on finding ways to allow our bodies' repair mechanisms to stay ahead of the wear and tear of everyday existence.

And Mellon reckons that we will not just be living longer but remaining healthy too, "not dribbling away in a nursing home", as he put it.

The implications are enormous. "This will be the biggest thing in the history of the world," he said. "The old paradigm of born, learn, work, retire, expire will change as careers become multi-faceted and education continues throughout our lives."

Britain's pensions system is already groaning under the strain, despite rises in the state pension age, and those strains will only intensify with an ageing population. Retiring at 65, or even 70, will soon no longer be viable - and, if we remain fit, probably no longer desirable either.

As a result, "we need to be a little smarter with our investments and savings", Mellon said. But this is where, in a neat full circle, anti-ageing research itself comes in. "[People] are going to need more economic fuel - savings - to keep them going as their life extends to a far-off horizon," he said.

"With the science now catching up to the aspirations of 'life-extensionists', this is truly the biggest money fountain we have ever seen. "We are also fortunate to be present at the birth of a new industry - the business of longevity. This industry will be bigger than technology, alternative energy, transportation, education and the rest of the 'zeitgeist' sectors put together."

One of the problems in finding ways to make us live longer is that there are a number of competing theories as to why we age, and therefore how we might reverse it. Mellon particularly likes the look of senolytics and gene therapy, all explained in his book. But, as an investor, which one would you back?

The Telegraph put the question to Aubrey de Grey, once called the "godfather of gerontology", who is among the distinguished scientists Mellon interviewed for his book. His advice was: "Don't bet on just one: it will take a whole bunch of things in unison."

Mellon's book offers three possible portfolios and includes a thorough analysis of the companies recommended. The book also covers lifestyle. Common sense tells us that science can't do it all for us. If we smoke heavily or eat sugar-loaded diets, the chances are we are going to miss out on longevity gains.

Some anti-ageing gurus advocate a calorie-restricted diet and many routinely take drugs such as metformin, more usually given to patients with Type 2 diabetes, or the immune-suppressing drug rapamycin, in the belief that they will help stave off the ravages of time.

But when asked what de Grey thought we needed to do to live longer, his reply was simple: "Put money into this research - it all takes money."

Mellon added: "Because the science is so complex, and indeed contentious, this is not an area where darts can be thrown at the bull market. Knowledge is vital and we are hopeful that the portfolios outlined in the book will do well. "I've got no doubt that in five or 10 years' time we'll have the answer to how we will live longer."