In 2012, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced he would be making an almost exact replica of the Titanic, which famously sank on its maiden voyage from London to New York on April 15, 1912.

After hearing this announcement many questioned why Palmer would want to do this. He said, “Millions have dreamt of sailing on her, seeing her in port and experiencing her unique majesty.”

But to understand Palmer’s motives in this, one must also look at his previous business dealings. First, consider his dealings in entertainment. He bought one of the most beautiful resorts in Australia and tried to make it into a dinosaur theme park called Palmersaurus titled after his own last name. The main attraction was a T-Rex named Jeff.

The PGA Australian Championship had to be relocated due to the abundance of dinosaurs Palmer had put where the course was. He also tried to build a Zeppelin. When people brought up the Hindenburg, he stated if the Germans had been granted access to helium during war time, instead of the highly-flammable hydrogen, “there wouldn’t be any problems.”

Any time after, when someone would bring up the Hindenburg, he would state it blew up because they had the wrong gas in the airship. He also mentioned that the new Zeppelin International would also be investing in beef, and that it was called Zeppelin International because he was partnering with the descendant of the original Zeppelin’s inventor.

He also bought a soccer team and wanted to make it so only 5,000 people were allowed in their massive home stadium because he would have had to pay for transportation subsidies. He also refused to pay players for their contracts for the last few months of a season. The FFA (Football Federation Australia) revoked his license to own a team in their league. He called the FFA director “a dictator who is trying to take away his freedom of speech.” He lost this case in the Supreme Court and decided to start his own football league called Football Australia. This wouldn’t be the last time he would fight in the Supreme Court. It also wouldn’t be the last time he was rejected and started his own thing.

The business where he makes most of his money is mining. He makes most of his money mining coal, nickel, and iron. His nickel business went bankrupt, and he has had to since fight tooth-and-nail in the Supreme Court for the workers he didn’t pay. He lost and had to pay $110 million to the federal government, investors, and employees. Next is his iron and coal business Mineralogy, which is doing exceedingly well. It is probably important to mention that he is locked in a court case with the government of Western Australia because he said COVID lockdowns were unconstitutional. Allegedly, this case is for $30 billion, much more than the Western Australia yearly budget. His business is also locked in a back-and-forth lawsuit with the Chinese shipping company that is building the Titanic II, which is estimated to set sail on its original path in 2022.

But considering the lawsuit, it may not make that date. As for the real reason Palmer wants to build the Titanic II? He is passionate about the Titanic and has a habit of doing whatever business venture pops into his head. As a final quote to leave on, he said, “I hope that in a hundred years’ time people will look back and say, ‘Well, we are building Titanic IV and Titanic V in memory of the guys that built Titanic II.’”