From the heady heights of space to the deepest depths of the ocean and everything in-between, British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding has led a life of daring.
Born in Hammersmith, west London, the 58-year-old runs an airplane company in Dubai, catering to the needs of the world’s wealthiest people by selling and buying jets.
His business has seen him rack up a vast personal fortune – though his exact net worth is unclear.
What is clear, however, is that his extracurricular adventures outside of the corporate world are what make him stand out from the crowd.
Harding has made a career out of ‘making unusual things happen’ and has three Guinness World Records, as well as a trip to outer space on the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin on his resume.
In 2021, he set the world record for the longest time spent at the bottom of the sea after exploring the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, for four hours and 15 minutes. At the same time, he set the record for the greatest distance covered at full ocean depth.
But that wasn’t even his first world record with the Dubai-based businessman previously setting the mark for the fastest circumnavigation of the earth via North and South Poles in a Gulfstream 650ER business jet in 2019.
This was to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, according to the Living Legends of Aviation.
Among those taking part in the expedition is billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai. He excitedly posted to social media about being there on Sunday
Harding has made a career out of ‘making unusual things happen’ and has three Guinness World Records. Harding is pictured with his son Giles, who is the youngest person to make it to the South Pole
Born in Hammersmith, west London, the 58-year-old runs an airplane company in Dubai alongside his adventuring
John Travolta hands Hamish Harding a Guinness World Record award after his success
Harding lives in Dubai with wife Linda, and sons Rory, 18, and Giles, now 15, as well as their two Golden Retrievers
In truth, his world records barely scratch the surface of a life filled with danger and excitement.
Harding, who has degrees in natural sciences and chemical engineering from the Cambridge University, also holds 16 air speed records and last year became the first Briton to travel on Blue Origin’s fifth human spaceflight mission.
In 2016, he joined close friend Mr Aldrin on an expedition to Antarctica, where the astronaut became the oldest person to reach the South Pole at the age of 86.
Harding repeated the trick in 2020, returning to the South Pole with his son Giles who, at the age of 12, became the youngest person to reach the South Pole.
The businessman lives in Dubai with wife Linda, and sons Rory, 18, and Giles, now 15, as well as their two Golden Retrievers.
He also has a stepdaughter named Lauren and a stepson named Brian Szasz.
Harding previously said his love for space and aviation began while watching the Apollo moon landing aged five.
Speaking about his daredevil lifestyle, Harding also said: ‘People, especially as they grow older, tend to give up on their dreams. When I think of something unusual, I just try to find ways to make it happen.’
Last year, he was awarded a Living Legends of Aviation honour by Morgan Freeman.
The award has previously been given to Mr Aldrin, as well as billionaires Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Discussing his awards, Harding said recently: ”I used to read the book of Guinness World Records regularly as a child.. I always wondered how I could get into it.
Speaking about his daredevil lifestyle, Harding also said: ‘ People, especially as they grow older, tend to give up on their dreams. When I think of something unusual, I just try to find ways to make it happen’
Harding is one of five people on board a submersible, which at 4am on Sunday, began its descent to the resting place of the Titanic
Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian explorer, is pictured with Hamish Harding, who she described as a mentor and friend. Harding is currently missing after attempting to reach the Titanic on a submersible
Last year, he was awarded a Living Legends of Aviation honour by Morgan Freeman
In 2016, he joined close friend Buzz Aldrin on an expedition to Antarctica, where the astronaut became the oldest person to reach the South Pole at the age of 86
‘I did not think I could do it. And I didn’t want to do something stupid-like setting a record for the number of ping-pong balls bounced in a day, or something like that.’
Now, as rescuers desperately try to find him and his fellow explorers trapped inside a missing Titanic sub, his family have asked for prayers for Harding.
However, the man himself is most likely remaining calm, according to friend Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian explorer.
Meanwhile, another friend, retired Nasa astronaut Colonel Terry Virts, shared a final text from Harding ahead of his expedition.
The text read: ‘Hey, we’re headed out tomorrow, it looks good, the weather’s been bad so they’ve been waiting for this.’
Harding is one of five people on board a submersible, which at 4am on Sunday, began its descent to the resting place of the Titanic, nearly 13,000 feet below the surface.
The round trip – for which participants pay $250,000 – usually takes eight hours. But contact with the mothership was lost one hour and 45 minutes into the trip, before reaching the wreck, and rescuers are now engaged in a race against time to try and recover the submersible and its crew.
Before setting off on the Titanic tourist submarine, which is now missing, Harding told his social media followers: ‘A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.
Harding previously said his love for space and aviation began while watching the Apollo moon landing aged five
Harding, who has degrees in natural sciences and chemical engineering from the Cambridge University, also holds 16 air speed records
In 2021, he set the world record for the longest time spent at the bottom of the sea after exploring the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, for four hours and 15 minutes
‘We started steaming from St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then, we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.’
An employee of Harding last night revealed the billionaire had wanted to go on the trip for ‘a long time’.
It is not the first time Harding has faced peril on one of his expeditions.
He told an interviewer in 2021 how his submarine, Challenger Deep, had sustained a damaged thruster during his journey to the ‘truly spectacular’ Mariana Trench, which lies seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
He said: ‘The sub has many safety features, including four days’ reserve of oxygen, water and emergency rations. The only problem is that there is no other sub that is capable of going down there to rescue you. It will take three years to build another one. So, having four days of supply doesn’t make a difference really. If something goes wrong, you are not coming back.’
He joined Victor Vescovo, a US explorer, on the 12-hour dive to Challenger Deep, the deepest known point of the seabed at around 36,000ft beneath the surface.
Mr Vevesco then travelled with Mr Harding on the Blue Origin flight last year.
This made them the first crew to visit both Challenger Deep and space.
Meanwhile, his circumnavigation of the globe saw the air temperature plunge to -83C, just three degrees above the aircraft’s tolerance limit.
That forced the crew to drop 5,000ft to avoid catastrophic cold damage, though they managed to complete the flight.
Harding has been into space, visited both poles, circumnavigated the globe and holds three Guinness World Records
Harding excitedly posted to social media about being on the mission
Harding’s post before the dive. The boat departed St John in Newfoundland on Saturday
Harding’s stepson posted on social media that he was among the missing
The Boston Coast Guard is now looking for the missing vessel. The wreckage of the iconic ship sits 12,500ft underwater around 370 miles from Newfoundland, Canada
Colonel Virts joined Harding as they made the trip in 46 hours, 39 minutes and 38 seconds, beating the previous record of 54 hours, seven minutes and 12 seconds.
‘I’m ecstatic,’ Harding said at the time. ‘We pushed the boundaries of aeronautics and the aircraft handled it flawlessly.’
Among his other accolades, Harding helped introduce the first regular business jet service to the Antarctic.
And, in September 2022, his aviation company Action Aviation supplied a customised Boeing 747-400 to transport eight wild cheetahs from Namibia to India to launch the Reintroduction of the Cheetah to India project by the Indian Government and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.
Cheetahs had been extinct in India since independence in 1947.
