Few know how little money it took to walk on the moon
On this day, in 2012, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82, uttering the legendary phrase: One small step for a man, one giant leap for humanity.
What few know is how little money Armstrong got to walk on the moon. But even after his return, he didn't show much interest in the paid appearances and speeches that other astronauts are used to.
In fact, the Apollo 11 crew didn't get paid extra for the trip to space.
Of course, most astronauts found ways, later in life, to capitalize on their fame. Buzz Aldrin is asking for $50,000 to $75,000, private jet travel and VIP accommodations to speak at conferences.
Charlie Duke, the 10th and youngest astronaut to walk on the moon, is asking $5,000 for an interview.
However, Armstrong did not show much interest in this during his lifetime. He lived out of the limelight and the only times he raised money were for his alma mater, Purdue.
Not the same for his family, who made $6 million from the astronaut's death. Not by capitalizing on his fame, but in exchange for her silence.
The Unknown Story
When Neil Armstrong died in 2012, his death was officially attributed to complications arising from heart surgery. But, seven years later, the New York Times brought to light the darkest circumstances of this death.
The newspaper obtained by mail 93 pages of documents that reveal a dispute between the family of the most famous astronaut in history and the small Ohio hospital where he was treated and operated on.
According to what it revealed, the family had threatened to publicly accuse the hospital of medical malpractice.
Ultimately, he reached a secret settlement that prevented a scandal from going public, with the hospital paying $6 million. Of that, $5 million went to Armstrong's two sons, Rick and Mark, in exchange for their silence.
In a July 2014 email, Mark's wife, Wendy, a lawyer, threatened to make announcements during the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.
“If this matter becomes public, the reputational damage your client's costs would be far greater than any court order we can imagine,” he wrote.
The case involved the decision by the hospital in Fairfield, Ohio, not to immediately take Armstrong to surgery when he began to has rapid internal bleeding several days after bypass surgery. The original decision to have the operation was also questioned.
However, Armstrong's widow, Carol, who was his second wife, wanted it to be known that she was not part of the deal.
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