Owner of Dole Foods Invests $1B in Health Ventures

The Wall Street Journal on Friday profiled Dole Food owner David Murdock, who is "spending more than $1 billion of his personal fortune on ventures that combine his commercial interests with his zeal to spread the gospel of good health." Murdock, 83, made billions of dollars throughout his career by investing in real estate and in private and public companies, among other ventures. According to the Journal, Murdock advocates that the secret to a long and healthy life is eating more fruits and vegetables. One of Murdock's projects is the California Wellbeing Institute, which is scheduled to open in November. The institute will combine a Four Seasons luxury resort, conference center and nutrition-counseling school. Health insurance company WellPoint has invested $50 million for a 15% ownership in the institute. For up to $2,500 for a three-day visit, guests will receive cancer screenings such as colonoscopies; undergo genetic tests to measure DNA damage caused by poor diet, smoking and sun exposure; and meet with specialists and advisers from other institutes such the Mayo Clinic and major universities, the Journal reports. Murdock also is building a 350-acre biotechnology research complex in Kannapolis, N.C. The research center -- which he plans to name after himself -- will study the role of food and nutrition in human health, he said. "What I'm doing isn't to make publicity or aggrandize myself," Murdock said, adding, "I am spending a fair part of my wealth while I'm alive on a subject that I am rabidly interested in" (Rundle, Wall Street Journal, 7/28).