The pitch is irresistible: Pay enough money, take enough supplements, get enough whole-body MRIs, and you can hold off death indefinitely.<\/p>\n
A wave of clinics, drugs, and tech-bro experiments now promises exactly that. The marketing\u2019s gotten so slick it\u2019s hard to tell the science from the hustle.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been writing about money for more than 40 years. Every decade brings a new \u201cyou can buy your way to a better outcome\u201d pitch. Most of them don\u2019t pan out.<\/p>\n
Before you sign up for the executive longevity package, here are five things you should know.<\/p>\n
1. The longevity industry is now a massive business<\/p>\n
Researchers at SNS Insider value the global longevity market at $27.61 billion in 2025<\/a>, with projections of $67 billion by 2035.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a lot of customers, roughly 120 million of them in 2025, by the firm\u2019s count.<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving it? A massive aging population, an obsession with biological-age testing, and a flood of venture money. Mordor Intelligence reports that single cellular-reprogramming funding rounds now top $3 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n The longevity boom isn\u2019t a fringe wellness fad anymore. It\u2019s a healthcare megatrend. And like every megatrend before it, the marketing\u2019s outrunning the evidence.<\/p>\n 2. The FDA doesn\u2019t consider aging a disease \u2014 so there are no approved anti-aging drugs<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the part the brochures bury. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves drugs to treat specific diseases. As of right now, aging isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n Translation: Every longevity drug you\u2019ve heard of \u2014 rapamycin, metformin, peptides \u2014 is being used off-label. None has been approved to slow human aging.<\/p>\n That matters for two reasons. First, your insurance won\u2019t pay. Second, the safety data for using these drugs as longevity tools, rather than for the conditions they were originally approved to treat, is thin.<\/p>\n The American Federation for Aging Research has spent years pushing a landmark trial called TAME \u2014 Targeting Aging with Metformin<\/a>. The goal is to convince the FDA to recognize aging as something treatable. After years of fundraising, it\u2019s still partially funded and incomplete.<\/p>\n So when a clinic tells you they\u2019re prescribing the latest longevity protocol, remember that no regulator has signed off on it yet.<\/p>\n 3. Even the most promising drug comes with serious asterisks<\/p>\n In July 2025, researchers at UT Health San Antonio published the first comprehensive review of the NIH National Institute on Aging\u2019s 20-year Interventions Testing Program<\/a>. The standout compound? Rapamycin, which extended animal lifespan by up to 28%.<\/p>\n Sounds amazing. Here\u2019s the catch.<\/p>\n Rapamycin is an immunosuppressant. Its known side effects include impaired wound healing, elevated blood sugar, and higher infection risk. Long-term human safety data at low longevity doses simply doesn\u2019t exist yet.<\/p>\n Bryan Johnson \u2014 the tech millionaire who spends $2 million a year on his Blueprint anti-aging protocol \u2014 actually quit rapamycin. He cited those exact side effects himself.<\/p>\n If the guy who\u2019s turned his own body into a science experiment can\u2019t make it work, that ought to give the rest of us pause.<\/p>\n Quick aside \u2014 most internet financial advice comes from people who weren\u2019t alive during the last recession. I\u2019ve been writing about money for more than 40 years. Want rock-solid advice? Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter<\/a>. Takes 10 seconds. No fluff. No spam.<\/p>\n 4. The cost of going all-in is out of control \u2014 and out of pocket<\/p>\n Most people picture a $50 supplement bottle when they hear \u201clongevity.\u201d The reality looks more like this.<\/p>\n A Prenuvo whole-body MRI membership starts at $1,199 a year<\/a>. Its Executive membership runs $3,999 \u2014 or $4,499 if you\u2019re in New York City.<\/p>\n Human Longevity\u2019s Executive Health screening<\/a> is around $8,000 a pop. The Cleveland Clinic\u2019s executive physical tops out around $25,000. The Mayo Clinic\u2019s program isn\u2019t cheap either.<\/p>\n Want to copy Bryan Johnson\u2019s Blueprint supplement stack? His core monthly bill is roughly $360. Layer on his full protocol \u2014 every test, medication, and monitoring tool \u2014 and he says he spends $2 million a year.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s the kicker: Practically none of this is covered by insurance. It\u2019s all out of pocket.<\/p>\n Now keep in mind, you\u2019ve already got a hefty medical bill coming. Fidelity estimates a 65-year-old retiring in 2025 will spend an average of $172,500 on health care<\/a> over the course of retirement. Stack a $20,000-a-year longevity habit on top of that and you\u2019re trading the retirement you\u2019re trying to extend<\/a> for an unproven shot at extending it.<\/p>\n 5. The boring stuff still wins<\/p>\n Now for the punch line. Decades of research \u2014 the kind paid for by the NIH, not by supplement companies \u2014 keep landing in the same boring spot.<\/p>\n A study published in The Lancet\u2019s eClinicalMedicine in early 2026 tracked 59,000 U.K. adults. Adding just 15 extra minutes of sleep, 1.6 extra minutes of moderate exercise, and half a serving of vegetables per day was linked to a 10% drop in all-cause mortality<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fifteen minutes. Not $20,000 a year.<\/p>\n Other research links a small set of basic habits \u2014 moving more, not smoking, managing stress, limiting alcohol, eating well, decent sleep, social connection \u2014 to roughly 20-plus extra years of life<\/a> for people who hit them all by middle age. Layer in proven daily practices<\/a> like learning something new and staying socially engaged, and the picture gets even better.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying every longevity tool is snake oil. Whole-body MRIs can catch real problems. Biomarker testing is genuinely useful for some people. Knowing your numbers matters.<\/p>\n But if you\u2019re a normal person with normal income trying to maximize healthy years, the order of operations is simple: Nail the cheap, proven basics first. Then, if you\u2019ve got money left over, look at the fancy stuff.<\/p>\n