Rich and Famous Line Up for Genome Sequencing

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted September 6, 2007 in Personalities with DNA

Whole genome sequencing may be the latest must-have procedure on the radars of the rich and famous.

Celebrities haven’t shied away from DNA testing before. African Ancestry has tested the DNA of many African-American celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg, Blair Underwood, Spike Lee, Isaiah Washington, LeVar Burton, Quincy Jones, Forest Whitaker, Chris Tucker, Andrew Young, and Oprah Winfrey. (See this story in pictures from Forbes.com – Celebrity DNA.) Susan Sarandon had her DNA analyzed for the BBC program Coming Home which showed that her family tree was predominantly Welsh.

The Globe and Mail reports that these uncommon folk have also asked to have their genomes sequenced:

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft
Larry Page, co-founder of Google
Michael Milken, junk-bond king
Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist
Larry King, talk show host

At this point in time, whole genome sequencing is estimated to cost around $2 million but that does not include interpretation and practical application. Unfortunately, no amount of money can buy knowledge that is slow and hard to come by and patience isn’t always the forte of the rich and famous. Perhaps if they want it bad enough, they’ll push hard to make it possible for them and for the rest of us to get whole genome sequencing quickly and affordably. One can only hope that such fantastic power is harnessed for the greater good!

Tags: celebrities, genetics, genes, genome, dna, paul allen, larry page, michael milken, stephen hawking, larry king, rich and famous