When the lift door opens into the apartment of Christian Angelmeyer’s penthouse, visitors are greeted and threatened by the large Triceratops skull. For German-born investors, this replica is “cute.” The real skull, which he also owns, was three times its size and had to be brought in by a crane. “It’s so beautiful, I wanted it here…it’s my favorite dinosaur,” he says. “No, no, it’s not to scare people.”
The dinosaur skeleton that Angermayer excavates in collaboration with paleontologists is just one of many niche interests in a vast, refined modern East London flat.
He grew up in a “very ordinary family” in a “very small house” in a “very ordinary house” in a rural German countryside, the son of an engineer and the son of a secretary. But a biotech entrepreneurial venture – his company Ribopharma, pursuing ways to negate problematic genes, merged with US Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in 2003 – means that he is a billionaire today. In his monkey investment group, he is currently investing in a variety of startups, including people developing psychedelics for people with paralysis, life-expanding treatments, and brain implants. He is also the co-founder of The Enhanced Games and is a true follower of the Olympic proposals on steroids – literally – code.
Replica of the original Triceratops skulls also owned by Angermayer in front of Bitcoin-inspired artwork
There is a more gentle surprise through the door to the main living space. It is one of the most drastic views in London. From the top of the tower, located between Old Street and Angel, Angermeyer can be seen from St. Pancras Station and BT Tower to the west to Canary Wharf to the east. “I’m a fetishist view,” he laughs.
He bought the place in 2019 and was drawn to the views rather than the place. An impressive background was then held for work meetings and social gatherings. However, the penthouse is now a secondary home following its move to Switzerland in the wake of a recent UK tax change.
When Angermayer first moves in, “My main message is, let’s open it,” he says with a broad smile. He knocked down the walls, reduced the guest’s bedroom and created a study abroad area on the edge of the main room. Now while working he looks down at London’s eyes and the River Thames. The only thing that divides the vast space is a 6-foot aquarium between the dining table and the sofa. He thinks it’s calm.
Neutral decorations are the perfect environment for his quirky taste, along with a collection of pot plants and orchids
The flats with white walls, gray upholstery, figs of fiddle leaf and palms in a concrete pot are neutral and a modest background for his more quirky pieces. Around the edge of the room, sitting on a glass wall, is a sideboard with a large pot of pink and white orchids, and dozens of silver frames featuring his photos alongside his “politician friends,” including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The couple showed him with his boyfriend and recently moved.
A bronze statue of the Egyptian god Osiris, on a pedestal near the sofa, was a purchase that kickstarted Angermeyer’s collection of ancient crafts, but intersects with another of his passions. Angermayer believes Osiris’ followers are part of the “DMT cult,” which derives the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine from local bushes. He compares taking DMT with Ayahuasca, a South American mental activity.
The bronze statue of the Egyptian god Osiris was a purchase that kickstarted the collection of ancient crafts Angermeyer. Her disciples are believed to have been hallucinatory trips, Angermayer says
On the other side of the sofa, a large stone statue of Demeter, the Greek goddess of Persephone, looks out over the room. Her disciples are believed to have hallucinated twice a year at the solstice, Angermayer says. “While they were ritually stumbling, they were reliveing the story of Persephone,” he says. In other words, you symbolically move to the Underworld and come back again. “We describe it as ‘ego death’,” he says.
In the plunge pool, Angermeyer’s dog Dante is a replica of “Nike in the Samot Race” ready for takeoff or diving
This temporary loss of self-identity is considered to be one of the promising reasons for psychedelics in treating several mental health disorders. Angermayer’s Berlin-based company Atai Life Sciences, founded in 2018, tests psychedelic compounds in clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorders and social anxiety disorders. Early results, they say the use of DMT in treatment-resistant depression is promising, and phase 2 clinical trials began on March 2. Others in this field are considering developing psychedelic treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and anorexia.
Many public investors have been wary of the biotech market since their peak during Covid. They consider psychedelics to be at the dangerous end of the dangerous sector, and this tension sent 90% of their shares from their highest. However, Angermayer believes the new US administration and its drug regulators are more “open” to psychedelics, but the substances he is interested in are still not being used.
“I think the world is really changing,” he says. In particular, attitudes towards “the whole topic of human reinforcement, and mental health.” He believes that a “rethinking” is taking place. It opens up a broader view of “what is actually a disease, what is a treatable condition?” Angalmeyer has great hopes for a new government that will bring about major changes, where many in the longevity sector want to define “aging” as disease.
The apartment has a view of London and has a rich light
The second floor is a guide to Angermayer’s own health system. Filled with weights and exercise machines, the gym overlooks (and again the view of it). He has a small sauna that he uses every day. Sleep prioritization is another standard. His bedroom is black and he always wakes up to nature. “My most important thing is I don’t have an alarm clock,” he says. “I try not to have a meeting in the morning (the first thing).”
Angermayer also adheres to an intermittent fasting regime. This was popular in light of some evidence that it helps slow the effects of aging. He won’t eat by 2pm. This was partially supported by taking weight loss medication and appetite suppressant Ozempic. “I have a certain degree of discipline. When it’s all sucked into work, I’m not healthy, so Ozempic helps me as an outsourcing discipline,” he says.
Filled with weights and exercise machines, the gym overlooks the large outdoor deck © The Small Sauna, he uses every day
On the outside and above steps, tarpaulins are draped over a plunge pool opened in the summer. The statue stands with its wings stretched out, as if ready to take off. This is a replica of the “Nike of the Samot Race” housed at the Louvre, showing the Greek goddess’ headless but constant movement.
Angermayer wasn’t interested in sports until he was involved in an enhanced game created by Australian tech entrepreneur Aron D’Souza as “the ultimate demonstration of what the human body can do.” Early supporters announced last year include venture capitalist Peter Tiel. Competitors are permitted to use performance-enhancing substances that are prohibited from traditional competitions.
The proposed game has been criticized by the world’s anti-doping agencies as a “dangerous and irresponsible concept,” but Angermayer considers his investment as part of a strategy to fund activities where our time may be freed by artificial intelligence or that may occur. “I believe we will all quit our jobs for the next 10 years. That’s my deep, deep belief (but) that doesn’t mean we’re going to do anything.”
Angalmeyer’s dog Dante enjoys the rays of the London sun
He draws positive pictures of how these times can be spent, but he accepts that AI scares many people. “Unknown fears really bring the worst out of people,” he says, but “I think psychedelics can take away fear.
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His own next level may actually move down and give up on penthouse life. Angalmeyer admits that his apartment is not set up for children, as the wooden box of dinosaur eggs by the balcony is clearly dangerous. He fantasizes replicating his simple beginnings for his future children. “My childhood was so great, so I think I’m rethinking it. I can’t see how to replicate it and reveal it. That’s not true,” he muse.
Then again, he says, perhaps, he just “lives in a castle or something and builds a playground.” Though it can be argued that it is exactly what he already has.
Hannah Kuchler is FT’s global pharmaceutical editor
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