Yuri Milner is loaded. He's got over three billion dollars. Sure, it's not Bezos or Gates territory, but it's clearly more than enough. The now-Israeli was trained as a physicist, but then became one of Russia's leading tech investors. Good for him, we guess.

Since earning all those billions, Milner went back to his scientific roots. He established the Breakthrough Prize, which awards $3 million annually to mathematicians, physicists, and life scientists. It even has an awards ceremony, hosted in the past by such luminaries as Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey! (err...) But Milner's true passion is space. Through his Breakthrough Listen initiative (he really wants to break through), Milner is investing millions trying to find proof of life on other planets. And then there is Breakthrough Starshot, which has a rather simple goal.

Proving that you can't take your money with you, Milner wants to build a solar sail spaceship to travel to Alpha Centauri. Seems rather ambitious, but even Stephen Hawking was on board! The ship would travel 20% of the speed of light, meaning it will make it to the Sun's nearest neighbor in just 20 years! (You also have to get back, no?)

There are worse ways to waste billions?