I don't think it is surprising most billionaire do not pursue this kind of greatness. They just aren't different from other guys. There, the few who go and try to climb mount Everest "because it's there" or who try and row the pacific are rare, too.
Secondly, if half the billionaires were to do the same outlandish things, we wouldn't call them outlandish.
For example, there probably was a time when quite a few billionaires went elephant hunting. Then, that was not outlandish. Now, it would be.
Now, I think there are plenty of billionaires doing outlandish things, but just not in a highly visible technical direction. For example, Ted Turner started a world-wide news network, tried to start his own Olympic Games, and has a huge herd of bison. Others buy sports clubs, try to win the America's cup, or try to build a mechanical clock that will run for 10000 years (http://longnow.org/). Yet others see it as their goal to get higher on Forbes' list of billionaires (http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml)
Another thing I am curious about: who are the one or two billionaires at the other end of that curve?
Secondly, if half the billionaires were to do the same outlandish things, we wouldn't call them outlandish.
For example, there probably was a time when quite a few billionaires went elephant hunting. Then, that was not outlandish. Now, it would be.
Now, I think there are plenty of billionaires doing outlandish things, but just not in a highly visible technical direction. For example, Ted Turner started a world-wide news network, tried to start his own Olympic Games, and has a huge herd of bison. Others buy sports clubs, try to win the America's cup, or try to build a mechanical clock that will run for 10000 years (http://longnow.org/). Yet others see it as their goal to get higher on Forbes' list of billionaires (http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml)
Another thing I am curious about: who are the one or two billionaires at the other end of that curve?