The billion-dollar project is the brainchild of Dennis Tito (he of ISS space-tourism fame), and is seeking private and charitable funding in time to make the proposed launch window -- opening on January 5, 2018.
It's no different from the playbook of MTV's talent-free reality stars Heidi and Spencer Pratt, who are famous only for desperately seeking fame: Convince everyone that you deserve a certain status, and eventually you'll have it.