Tim Boyle, the billionaire CEO of Columbia Sportswear, has put forward an extraordinary challenge aimed at supporters of the flat earth theory, offering a stunning reward that has sparked widespread attention.
The 76-year-old executive announced a new competition daring flat earth proponents to locate the “actual edge” of the Earth and capture photographic evidence of it.
Tim Boyle, stated that anyone who successfully completes this feat would be awarded full control of his family’s business, valued at nearly $3 billion, which was founded in 1938.
Boyle, whose personal wealth is estimated at $1.6 billion, made the announcement as part of Columbia’s latest marketing campaign titled “Expedition Impossible.”
In the promotional video, he is seen walking through the company’s Oregon headquarters, promising that the winner would receive everything from meeting rooms and office furniture to coffee machines without legal complications.
“This message is for flat earth believers,” Boyle said. “You claim there’s an edge. Go find it, take a picture, and the company is yours. No lawyers, no fine print, no paperwork.”
Despite scientific consensus for more than two millennia confirming that Earth is spherical, flat earth supporters continue to dismiss this evidence, often labeling it as fabricated or manipulated.
The modern flat earth movement traces its roots to 19th-century England, pioneered by Samuel Rowbotham, who published Zetetic Astronomy and argued that Earth is a flat disc. His ideas later gave rise to the Zetetic Society, which laid the foundation for today’s movement.
Contemporary flat earth believers frequently distrust organizations like NASA and reject mainstream science, insisting that global institutions are involved in covering up the “truth.”
Boyle belongs to the founding family of Columbia Sportswear, which was originally launched as the Columbia Hat Company after his grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany.
While Boyle initially claimed there would be no paperwork involved, the company later clarified that the assets tied to “The Company, LLC” are valued at around $100,000, meaning a participant could still walk away with a substantial prize.
The company also emphasized that trivial tactics such as filming from a mountain or legally changing a person’s name would not qualify. To win, entrants must provide genuine visual proof of Earth’s physical edge, depicting elements such as deep space, an infinite drop, or endlessly stretching clouds.
Concluding his challenge, Boyle added with a touch of humor, “Flat earth believers, do one thing if you’re heading to the edge of the world, wear Columbia. You’ll need it. Good luck.”