--- alias: - Alcor Life Extension Foundation - Alcor Life Extension Foundation Inc - Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Inc. - Alcor Life Extension Foundation Inc. - Alcor - Alcor Foundation - Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia category: Private Organization created: 2026-10-01 location: Scottsdale, Arizona relations: - fn: 19 reverse: true role: president and chief executive officer in the returns for 2011 to 2019 type: head_of with: '[[Max More]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: chief operating officer in the return for 2019; president and chief executive officer in the returns for 2020 to 2022 type: head_of with: '[[Patrick Harris]]' - fn: 2 reverse: true role: president and chief executive officer in October 2003 type: head_of with: '[[Jerry Lemler]]' - fn: 20 reverse: true role: president and chief executive officer in the return for 2023 type: head_of with: '[[James Arrowood]]' - fn: 20 reverse: true role: co-chief executive officer and president in the returns for 2022 and 2023 type: head_of with: '[[Marji Klima]]' - fn: 4 reverse: true role: co-founder and first chief executive officer, per Alcor start: 1972 type: founded with: '[[Linda Chamberlain]]' - fn: 4 reverse: true role: co-founder, per Alcor start: 1972 type: founded with: '[[Fred Chamberlain III]]' - fn: 4 reverse: true role: facilities engineer, per Alcor start: 1982 type: employed_by with: '[[Hugh Hixon]]' - fn: 17 reverse: true role: chief executive officer in 2004 type: head_of with: '[[Joseph Waynick]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2011 to 2016 type: director_of with: '[[Saul Kent]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2013 to 2017 type: director_of with: '[[Catherine Baldwin]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2011 to 2022 type: director_of with: '[[Ralph Merkle]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2011 to 2022; chairman in the returns for 2011 to 2018 type: director_of with: '[[Michael Riskin]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2011 to 2021 type: director_of with: '[[Brian Wowk]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: director in the returns for 2016 to 2023 type: director_of with: '[[Andrew Aymeloglu]]' - end: 2003-08-11 fn: 8 reverse: true role: chief operating officer, per the East Valley Tribune start: 2003-01 type: employed_by with: '[[Larry Johnson]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: research and cryomedicine vendor; payments in the returns for 2013 to 2019, 2022 and 2023 type: contractor_to with: '[[Suspended Animation, Inc.]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: legal services, 452,828 dollars in the return for 2019 and 898,223 dollars in the return for 2020 type: represented with: '[[Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: legal services, 648,038 dollars in the return for 2019 and 567,711 dollars in the return for 2020 type: represented with: '[[Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth]]' - fn: 19 reverse: true role: legal services, 426,049 dollars in 2019, 298,846 dollars in 2020 and 195,132 dollars in 2021 type: represented with: '[[Arrowood Herbert PLLC]]' - fn: 16 reverse: true role: lobbyist during the 2004 Arizona House bill type: represented with: '[[Barry Aarons]]' - fn: 19 role: 12,707,651 dollar grant in the return for 2018; 200,000 dollar grant in the return for 2020 type: funded with: '[[Alcor Care Trust Supporting Organization]]' - fn: 5 role: coroner's inquiry into the death of Dora Kent, search warrants and seizures of January 1988 start: 1987-12 type: subject_of with: '[[Riverside County Coroner''s Office]]' start: 1972 summary: California-incorporated cryonics nonprofit, based in Scottsdale since 1994, whose record includes the 1988 Riverside coroner raids, a 1992 appellate ruling, the Ted Williams dispute, Arizona's failed 2004 regulation bill, and related-party vendor payments. tags: - Organization - AlcorLifeExtensionFoundation - Cryonics - Transhumanism - TedWilliams - DoraKent - LarryJohnson - Scottsdale - Arizona - Section501c3 - SuspendedAnimation updated: 2026-10-01 --- The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Inc. is a cryonics organization that stores the bodies and heads of legally dead members in liquid nitrogen. The [Internal Revenue Service](/organizations/internal-revenue-service/) ruling date recorded for the organization is December 1972, and its returns list 7895 East Acoma Drive, Scottsdale, as its address.[^1] The East Valley Tribune reported in 2003 that it was incorporated in [California](/places/california/) in 1972 as the Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia, took its present name in 1977, and moved its headquarters to the Scottsdale Airpark in 1994.[^2] An Iowa appellate opinion describes it as "a California nonprofit corporation registered as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) scientific organization engaged in the study and practice of cryonic suspension."[^3] Alcor's current staff page states that Linda Chamberlain "is one of the co-founders of Alcor (Alcor Life Extension Foundation) and served as its first CEO," that she and her husband, Fred Chamberlain III, "started Alcor in 1972," and that Hugh Hixon "commenced employment at Alcor in 1982 as the Facilities Engineer."[^4] ### The Riverside Coroner and Dora Kent, 1987 to 1992 According to the timeline Alcor published in its magazine, Dora Kent, the 83 year old mother of the cryonics activist Saul Kent, was brought from a nursing home to the Alcor facility in Riverside, California, on December 10, 1987, examined by the physician Steve Harris, and stopped breathing shortly after midnight on December 11; the account states that Alcor personnel, "misinterpreting" the coroner's requirement of a physician in attendance, proceeded with the suspension without a physician present to pronounce death, and that the physician signed the death certificate the following day.[^5] On December 16 the Riverside County Coroner's Office removed the non-suspended remains, and on December 21 told Alcor that an autopsy had found pneumonia as the cause of death. Alcor's account states that on December 23 two coroner's deputies told its representatives the case was closed, and that on December 24 a newspaper reported that the coroner's office was investigating whether she was alive when her head was removed.[^5] United Press International reported on January 14, 1988, that Coroner Ray Carrillo said the investigation into the cause of death continued, exploring "murder, suicide, accidental or natural causes," that Deputy Coroner Dan Cupido said investigators did not believe she was alive during the decapitation, that sedatives were found in a search of the facility, that Cupido said conversations with her personal physician revealed that the doctor did not consider her a "terminal patient," and that equipment found there was under investigation as possibly stolen from the [UCLA](/organizations/ucla/) Medical Center, which Alcor said it had bought as surplus. Alcor refused to surrender the head for autopsy, arguing that it would prevent future revival, and a judge had temporarily barred the coroner from thawing the head or other specimens.[^6] [Time](/organizations/time/) reported in March 1988 that the coroner had classified the death as a homicide and asserted that she had been injected with barbiturates that hastened her death, while Alcor officials maintained that barbiturates were given immediately after clinical death "to act as a preservative and insulate the brain."[^7] Alcor's account of January 7, 1988, states that coroner's deputies entered the facility under a search warrant for all patient care records and for the head of Dora Kent, copied the names and addresses of members, and handcuffed Mike Darwin and Hugh Hixon and later four others, six people in all, who were taken to the Riverside County Jail; only Darwin was charged with anything, and the account says the charge was dropped when Alcor's attorney arrived. It states that on January 12 and 13 deputies returned with UCLA police and a SWAT team and over about 30 hours removed equipment, and that on January 13 Riverside Superior Court Judge Victor Miceli issued a temporary restraining order barring the coroner from thawing or autopsying any Alcor patient.[^5] The account states that a preliminary restraining order followed on February 1, 1988, and that in a settlement with Saul Kent the coroner agreed to halt the search for the head in exchange for Kent dropping a demand for 25,600 dollars in legal expenses.[^5] The same account reports a further development in October 1989: that, through a leak at the Board of Medical Quality Assurance, Alcor learned that the Riverside County District Attorney's Office was preparing to file 19 felony counts of practicing medicine without a license against members of its suspension team, and that the physician who had accepted the anatomical gift was to be charged with aiding and abetting. It also states that Carrillo lost the coroner's election of November 6, 1990, to his chief deputy Scotty Hill, and that the false arrest claims by the six detained people were settled for about 90,000 dollars, divided among them and their attorneys.[^5] The Tribune later summarized the Kent matter as one in which "the case was dropped after extensive legal wrangling."[^8] ### Alcor v. Mitchell, 1992 In *Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Inc. v. Mitchell*, 7 Cal.App.4th 1287, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 572, the Court of Appeal decided on June 10, 1992, an appeal by the California Department of Health Services, its Office of the State Registrar and their heads from a judgment for Alcor and two of its members. The opinion, by Justice Gates with Justices Nott and Manella concurring, records that "for a number of years Alcor was apparently permitted to operate" under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, but that in March 1988 the State Registrar, David Mitchell, "in a letter making explicit reference to Alcor," advised the Riverside County Coroner that burial permits may not be issued for cryonic suspension.[^9] The opinion states that three months later, answering an inquiry from the Riverside County Department of Health, Mitchell stated that if Alcor was storing bodies or body parts it would be "guilty of a misdemeanor" and "should be reported to the local District Attorney for investigation and prosecution as appropriate," and that the department then issued a handbook instructing local registrars that cryonic suspension is not a "scientific use." The court observed that the state had set up no procedure by which Alcor could be licensed as a procurement organization, called the position a "catch-22" that "exposes Alcor to potential criminal liability," and affirmed the trial court's injunction against interference with death registration and disposition permits for members, writing that the trial court "has expressed no opinion on the validity of cryonics or the manner in which it should be regulated, nor do we."[^9] ### Scottsdale, 1994 to 2003 The Tribune reported in October 2003 that Alcor had operated in the Scottsdale Airpark largely without public scrutiny since 1994 and that "the state has little power to regulate cryonics." It reported 58 patients stored, charges of about 120,000 dollars for whole-body suspension and 50,000 dollars for a head, about 600 members, 12 employees, and a policy since 2001 requiring new members to name Alcor as beneficiary of their life insurance. Revenue rose from 485,310 dollars in 1998 to 875,615 dollars in 2001 according to Internal Revenue Service filings, and a 2002 annual report showed 2.6 million dollars (the Tribune's accompanying fact box gives 2.3 million dollars in total revenue and 5.5 million dollars in assets for 2002); the Tribune quoted Tom Pollak of the Urban Institute on administrative costs of 45 to 50 percent of expenses from 1998 to 2001, against a national median of about 13 percent, and added his caution that reporting methods vary. The chief executive, Jerry Lemler, who joined Alcor in 2001, earned 85,240 dollars in 2001.[^2] ### Ted Williams and Larry Johnson, 2002 to 2012 After the baseball player Ted Williams died in July 2002, his son John Henry Williams had the body frozen at Alcor, a decision that his daughter Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell disputed.[^10] Larry Johnson, described by the Tribune as Alcor's former chief operating officer, worked at Alcor from January 2003 until August 11, 2003, when he said he was fired. Sports Illustrated reported in August 2003, on information Johnson supplied, that Alcor had severed Williams's head, drilled holes in it, fractured the skull and misplaced DNA samples; the Tribune reported that Alcor "has never publicly acknowledged ownership of Williams' body" and denied that his DNA was missing. Alcor sued Johnson for breach of a confidentiality agreement and theft of property, and Johnson filed a counterclaim alleging false accusations and slander.[^8] In the same period Johnson, through the lawyer John A. Heer, wrote to [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) police in mid-July 2003 about the 1992 death of a terminally ill man with AIDS whose remains are stored at Alcor. A [Los Angeles Police Department](/organizations/lapd/) robbery-homicide detective, Brian Carr, confirmed to the Tribune that the death was under investigation on the basis of evidence Johnson provided, which included recordings Johnson made without the speakers' knowledge. On one recording, according to the Tribune, a man Johnson identified as Hixon, an Alcor senior board member and facilities engineer, stated that he was at the scene when a then-employee injected the man with a drug known to paralyze, adding that "after about seven or eight minutes (the patient) quit breathing, which was entirely to be expected." On another, a man Johnson identified as a second Alcor executive said that the information would "absolutely destroy" Alcor if public and that "it's deniable." The Tribune withheld the names of the former employee and of the second executive, who could not be reached; Hixon, contacted by the Tribune, said "I'm declining comment" and referred questions to Lemler, who did not return calls, and Alcor director Carlos Mondragon wrote on the Alcor website that Alcor was in active litigation with Johnson and could not comment.[^2][^8] John Henry Williams died of leukemia on March 6, 2004, and the Tribune reported that Boston newspapers said his body was also stored at Alcor.[^10] On March 18, 2004, Ferrell and two nephews of Ted Williams filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court demanding that Alcor produce a "document of gift" under the Arizona Anatomical Gift Act; Alcor chief executive Joseph Waynick said that "every patient we have has a document of gift" and that the plaintiffs had no standing.[^10] In June 2004 the [Associated Press](/organizations/associated-press/) reported that Ferrell and her husband signed a settlement agreeing that they would no longer try to remove the remains from Alcor or object to their preservation, that the estate, which had sued the Ferrells on May 10, would drop its litigation through its executor Al Cassidy, and quoted her husband: "This has cost us about $100,000."[^11] Alcor stated that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas Dunevant III ordered it to present the document of gift to the two nephews, that it submitted a judgment to expedite the order, that the court's final order was dated November 30, 2004, and that it decided not to appeal and delivered the documents on December 20, 2004.[^12] Johnson's book *Frozen*, written with Scott Baldyga and published by Vanguard Press, appeared in October 2009, and Alcor sued Johnson, Baldyga and the publisher in New York.[^13] On February 10, 2012, Alcor published a statement by Johnson, issued, in Alcor's words, "in connection with the end of litigation." It reads: "my account of the Ted Williams cryopreservation, which was not based upon my first-hand observation as noted in my book, is contradicted by information furnished by ALCOR. I am not now certain that Ted Williams' body was treated disrespectfully, or that any procedures were performed without authorization or conducted poorly." Alcor states that Johnson's bankruptcy filing ended its ability to collect damages from him, that on May 1, 2014, its defamation complaint against the publisher and Baldyga was dismissed on the ground that Alcor could not show knowledge of falsity at that stage, and that an appellate court later held Alcor to be a general purpose public figure and dismissed its appeal.[^13] ### Arizona House Bill 2637, 2004 On February 6, 2004, Arizona House Bill 2637 was introduced by Representatives Stump, Gullett, Huffman, Meza and O'Halleran, with a long list of further sponsors that includes Senators Anderson, Bee, Blendu, R. Cannell, Giffords and Martin. Its text did not name Alcor: it required a license or registration under the funeral directors and embalmers chapter for a person or entity that stores a dead human body or remains for more than five years, even if storage began before January 1, 2005.[^14] The version engrossed by the House added that the entity must also accept money or assets as payment, that board rules could not disclose the identity of persons stored or require storage containers to be opened unless a court ordered it, and that a licensed entity would not be an organ procurement organization.[^15] The Tribune reported before the session that Bob Stump, a Peoria Republican, said the state had "scant regulatory authority over companies such as Alcor" and that he was examining what steps to take, and that Rodolfo Thomas, executive director of the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, said "there is no regulation in terms of a mechanism for complaints, or where there is true oversight."[^2] On the March 11, 2004, floor debate, the Tribune quoted Representative Michele Reagan of Scottsdale saying the bill could drive Alcor out of business or out of Arizona and that "the tax revenue from what Alcor does (with one client) is the same as 10 car sales," and Representative Wally Straughn saying he found it "difficult to tell the difference between what Alcor does in Scottsdale and what the man did in northern Arizona who had his deceased wife in the deep freeze on the back porch." Alcor's lobbyist Barry Aarons said that after an outcry from Alcor supporters Stump added amendments allowing Alcor to keep client identities secret and containers sealed absent a court order.[^16] Alcor's own chronology records Alcor testifying at the February 26 committee hearing through Aarons, Waynick, a funeral director under contract and the researcher Aubrey de Grey; a third reading vote of 43 to 14 with 3 not voting on March 15; assignment to the Senate Commerce Committee on March 24; and withdrawal of the bill on April 1, 2004.[^17] ### Alcor v. Richardson, 2010 On May 12, 2010, the Iowa Court of Appeals decided *Alcor Life Extension Foundation v. Richardson*, No. 09-1255. A Burlington, Iowa, pharmacist had applied for membership on June 1, 2004, chose neurosuspension, signed documents on December 15, 2004, authorizing Alcor to take his remains, and paid a lump-sum lifetime fee of 53,500 dollars. After his death on February 19, 2009, his brother and sister, who had been appointed his co-conservators in 2008, had him embalmed and buried on February 21 without notifying Alcor. The court reversed the district court, held that Alcor was entitled to a mandatory injunction directing the siblings to sign the application for a disinterment permit at Alcor's expense, and declined to find the request moot, stating that it could not do so "without making scientific and philosophical judgments we are not prepared to make."[^3] ### Litigation from 2017 and Legal Spending The Santa Barbara Independent reported in April 2019 that a Goleta, California, member who had signed a whole-body contract in 1990 died in 2015 at age 90, that Alcor technicians removed his head and the rest of his remains were cremated and mailed to his son in Montana, and that Alcor sued the son over the life insurance proceeds and the son sued back, in a case to be tried in Santa Barbara Superior Court the following year. The Independent wrote that the son's lawyers intended to challenge "the validity of the entire cryonics industry by questioning its basis in science and the promises it makes to customers," quoted the son's lawyer, David Tappeiner of Fell Marking, as asking "does the model itself work?", and wrote that "if they win, it could put Alcor out of business." Alcor's attorney, James Arrowood, wrote that Alcor was confident that the court and, if necessary, a jury "will properly weigh all the facts and, as they have in the past, find that Alcor has acted appropriately."[^18] Alcor's returns list its highest paid independent contractors. In 2019 these were Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth (648,038 dollars for legal services), Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (452,828 dollars), Arrowood Herbert PLLC (426,049 dollars) and Suspended Animation, Inc. (134,585 dollars for research). In 2020 they were Quinn Emanuel (898,223 dollars), Stradling Yocca (567,711 dollars), Arrowood Herbert (298,846 dollars), Sonoran Crest Development, LLC (277,062 dollars for construction) and International Cryomedicine Experts (116,935 dollars). In 2021 they were Arrowood Herbert (195,132 dollars), International Cryomedicine Experts (173,654 dollars) and Advanced Neural Biosciences (109,250 dollars for research and case outcomes).[^19] Total expenses on the 2018 return were 15,641,107 dollars, including a grant described below, against 4,936,084 dollars in 2019 and 4,386,958 dollars in 2020.[^1] ### Directors, Officers and Related Parties The Form 990 for 2011 lists as directors Ravin Jain, Saul Kent, Ralph Merkle, Michael Riskin (chairman), Michael Seidl, Brian Wowk, Tim Shavers and James Clement, with [Max More](/people/max-more/) as president and chief executive officer and Michael Perry as secretary, treasurer and chief financial officer. Catherine Baldwin appears from the 2013 return; Andrew Aymeloglu and Michael O'Neal from 2016; Michael Anzis and Bonnie Magee (vice president of finance) from 2017; Patrick Harris as chief operating officer in the 2019 return and as president and chief executive officer from the 2020 return; and Linda Chamberlain as secretary in the 2022 return, with Marji Klima as co-chief executive and president and Jason Harrow as a director.[^19] Saul Kent appears as a director through the 2016 return and not in the 2017 return.[^19] Alcor's staff page, which lists its current directors, describes Andrew Aymeloglu as "Director of Engineering at [Palantir Technologies](/organizations/palantir-technologies/) from 2005-2015" and an Alcor member since 2011; Jason Harrow as a partner at Gerstein Harrow LLP, formerly chief counsel and executive director of Equal Citizens and an assistant solicitor general in the New York Attorney General's office; Rebecca Lively as an attorney who worked "in the private sector and in government, with a focus on legal and policy issues relating to acquisitions, intellectual property, and cyberspace operations"; and Ralph Merkle as a co-inventor of public key cryptography formerly at Xerox PARC and Zyvex, stating of him that in 2008 he and Robert Freitas wrote "A Nanofactory Roadmap," a research proposal "which was declassified and published in 2025."[^4] More's reportable compensation was 131,328 dollars in 2011, 126,532 dollars in 2012, 123,728 dollars in 2013 (with 15,499 dollars of other compensation), 128,245 dollars in 2014 and 141,493 dollars in 2015; Perry's was 31,593 dollars in 2011 and 31,951 dollars in 2013.[^19] The 2020 return states that Alcor has no employees and leases them from Employers Resource on a direct reimbursement basis.[^19] The return for 2023 lists James Arrowood as president and chief executive officer (reportable compensation 203,665 dollars), Marji Klima as co-chief executive and president (176,500 dollars), Michael Perry as treasurer (42,000 dollars) and Linda Chamberlain as secretary (54,500 dollars), with directors including Aymeloglu, Harrow, Merkle, Michael O'Neal, Michael Seidl, Blake Honiotes and Lively, and total revenue of 5,728,535 dollars of which membership dues were 872,439 dollars.[^20] Arrowood Herbert PLLC appears among the highest paid contractors in the returns for 2019 to 2021, and the Santa Barbara Independent named James Arrowood as Alcor's attorney in April 2019; Alcor's staff page now gives his title as "CEO/President, General Counsel," and states that before becoming chief executive he served as Alcor's general counsel.[^4] Schedule L of the 2011 and 2012 returns reports a business transaction with 21st Century Medicine, described as a common officer relationship with Saul Kent, for licensing, 18,008 dollars.[^19] The 2013 return reports a research payment of 113,125 dollars to Suspended Animation, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida, stating that "Saul Kent and Catherine Baldwin, directors with Alcor are officers with Suspended Animation, Inc, a vendor of the organization." The same statement appears with 75,896 dollars in 2014, 88,520 dollars in 2015 and 92,740 dollars in 2016.[^19] Alcor's reviewed 2014 financial statements state that in 2014 and 2013 Alcor purchased 75,896 dollars and 113,125 dollars of services from a company for which board members are officers.[^21] The return for 2017 reports 14,704 dollars of research payments to Suspended Animation with the statement that Baldwin, "a director with Alcor," is an officer of the company. The return for 2018 lists it as the only contractor above 100,000 dollars (164,076 dollars, research) with the statement that Baldwin, "a former director," is an officer of the company; neither Kent nor Baldwin appears among the directors in the 2018 return. The returns for 2019 and 2022 list Suspended Animation as a contractor (134,585 dollars for research and 216,367 dollars for cryomedicine) without a related-party statement, and the return for 2023 lists it at 239,846 dollars for cryomedicine. The company's address is given as Boynton Beach, Florida, in the return for 2013, Santa Margarita, California, in those for 2018 and 2019, and Lake Forest, California, in those for 2022 and 2023.[^19][^20] The 2020 financial statements add that "in 2013, the Alcor Patient Care Trust purchased an investment of preferred stock in a privately held company for which Alcor Life Extension Foundation's board members are officers," without naming the company.[^21] ### Trusts, Supporting Organizations and Transfers The consolidated statements, prepared under an accountants' review report and not an audit, describe the Alcor Patient Care Trust as an irrevocable trust for patients in biostasis, which held an 84.058 percent interest in Cryonics Property, LLC, the owner of the Scottsdale building, through 2018 and 95.6542 percent after an additional purchase of 11.5962 percent in 2019; the Alcor Endowment Trust Supporting Organization, formed in 2013 and controlled through a shared board; and the Alcor Care Trust Supporting Organization, formed in June 2016.[^21] The statements for 2018 state that during that year the Patient Care Trust transferred approximately 12 million dollars of investments to the Care Trust Supporting Organization, with the intent that the deferred patient care reserve liability follow, though "the liability was not legally assumed as of December 31, 2018." The 2018 return's Schedule I reports a grant of 12,707,651 dollars to the Alcor Care Trust Supporting Organization (EIN 32-6428275), a 200,000 dollar grant to it appears in 2020, and the 2020 statements record an August 9, 2020, board approval of the transfer of the Deferred Patient Care Reserve to it, establishing a 12 million dollar liability at year end.[^19][^21] ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer lists revenue of 9,205,020 dollars for 2010, 5,447,800 dollars for 2011, 7,169,093 dollars for 2018, 15,560,830 dollars for 2020 and 5,728,535 dollars for 2023, and total assets of 30,564,278 dollars for 2023. The 2020 return reports 14,344,987 dollars of noncash contributions on line 1g of Part VIII; the returns do not identify donors.[^1][^19] ### Peter Thiel [Peter Thiel](/people/peter-thiel/), asked by Bari Weiss in an episode of her *Honestly* podcast, reported by Mediaite on May 5, 2023, whether he is signed up to be cryonically preserved, answered: "Yes, but ... think of it more as an ideological statement. I don't necessarily expect it to work, but I think it's the sort of thing we're supposed to try to do." Mediaite added, without naming a source, that in 2016 he "was named as one of many tech investors behind the Alcor Life Extension Foundation."[^22] The Form 990 and financial statement text reviewed for this page, covering 2010 to 2022, does not name Thiel as a donor or officer, and the Form 990-PF of the [Thiel Foundation](/organizations/thiel-foundation/) for 2023, which lists 59 grants totaling 4,334,013 dollars, contains no reference to Alcor.[^19][^21][^23] ### Epstein Library References Documents in the [Department of Justice](/organizations/department-of-justice/) [Epstein Library](/concepts/epstein-files/) mention Alcor in correspondence. On January 17, 2013, Ben Goertzel sent [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) a "cleaned-up list of interesting people" that includes Max More, described as "CEO of Alcor (the leading cryonics firm), and before that, arguably the founding philosopher of transhumanism."[^24] On August 24, 2016, Joscha Bach wrote to Epstein under the subject "Marvin and Alcor": "Marvin had a contract with Alcor to cryopreserve his brain. Do you happen to know if they got to him in time?"[^25] On April 15, 2018, Bach wrote to Epstein about the brain preservation company Nectome that "since they only share it with Alcor even that might work out"; Epstein's reply, on another subject in the same message, was "jim is clever. only spoke once to him."[^26] No document located in this search shows a contract or payment between Epstein and Alcor. [^1]: ProPublica, Nonprofit Explorer API, Alcor Life Extension Foundation Inc (EIN 23-7154039, Scottsdale, AZ; IRS ruling date 1972-12; Form 990 totals for 2010 to 2023). https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/237154039.json [^2]: Bill Bertolino, "Alcor may face tighter controls," East Valley Tribune, October 12, 2003. https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/alcor-may-face-tighter-controls/article_168b6466-490f-5d17-8515-769f79968123.html [^3]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation v. Richardson, No. 09-1255, 785 N.W.2d 717 (Iowa Ct. App. May 12, 2010) (Mansfield, J.), slip opinion, sections I and F. https://www.iowacourts.gov/moduledocuments/embed/18885/0098_86FEF47040AE0.pdf [^4]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, "Meet the Team" (Alcor Leadership and Board of Directors biographies), alcor.org, accessed October 1, 2026. A description by the organization of its own staff. https://www.alcor.org/about/alcor-staff/ [^5]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, "Alcor's Dora Kent Crisis and Legal Aftermath," compiling articles from CRYONICS magazine of January 1988, February 1988, October 1989, December 1990 and September and November 1992 (timeline of December 9, 1987, to January 13, 1988; February 1, 1988 update; Legal Update; Out-of-Court Settlement for False Arrest). An account by a party to the dispute. https://www.cryonicslegal.org/dorakent/DoraKent.html [^6]: Susan Seager, "Woman died before cryonics lab cut off her head, coroner says," United Press International, January 14, 1988. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/01/14/Woman-died-before-cryonics-lab-cut-off-her-head-coroner-says/6063569134800/ [^7]: "California: How Mama Lost Her Head," Time, March 7, 1988. https://time.com/archive/6711741/california-how-mama-lost-her-head/ [^8]: Bill Bertolino, "Scottsdale company's role in death probed," East Valley Tribune, September 28, 2003. https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/scottsdale-company-s-role-in-death-probed/article_c5d5e866-8926-5e28-b077-adca15135be0.html [^9]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Inc. v. Mitchell, 7 Cal.App.4th 1287, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 572 (Cal. Ct. App. June 10, 1992) (Gates, J.; Nott and Manella, JJ. concurring), text as reproduced by the Cryonics Archive. https://www.cryonicsarchive.org/library/california-appellate-court-decision/ [^10]: Bill Bertolino, "Williams' family sues Alcor," East Valley Tribune, March 19, 2004. https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/williams-family-sues-alcor/article_2e0302c6-e6e5-5f96-b78a-97944e607bcd.html [^11]: Associated Press, "Daughter of Ted Williams drops case against Alcor," Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine), June 16, 2004. https://www.sunjournal.com/2004/06/16/daughter-ted-williams-drops-case-alcor/ [^12]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, press releases of September 17, October 4, December 3 and December 20, 2004, collected as "Alcor Press Releases Re: Ted Williams," Cryonics Archive. Statements of a party. https://www.cryonicsarchive.org/press/alcor-press-releases-re-ted-williams/ [^13]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, "Response to Larry Johnson Allegations" (entries of February 10, 2012, and May 19, 2014, with updates of March and August 2015), Cryonics Archive. Statements of a party. https://www.cryonicsarchive.org/press/response-to-larry-johnson-allegations/ [^14]: Arizona Legislature, Forty-sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session, HB 2637, introduced version (462R, "I Ver"), 2004. https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/46leg/2R/bills/HB2637P.htm [^15]: Arizona Legislature, HB 2637, House engrossed version (462R, "H Ver"), 2004, section 1 (A.R.S. 32-1340). https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/46leg/2R/bills/HB2637H.htm [^16]: Le Templar, "03/12 - Preliminary approval given for cryonics oversight," East Valley Tribune, March 12, 2004. https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/special_reports/cryonics/article_4e6e16f3-3912-5735-98bf-70f95322bacf.html [^17]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, "Chronology of Attempted 2004 Cryonics Legislation in Arizona," Alcor Library. A chronology by a party. https://alcor.org/Library/html/legislation.html [^18]: Tyler Hayden, "In Cryonics Lawsuit, Son Fights for Father's Frozen Head," Santa Barbara Independent, April 17, 2019. https://www.independent.com/2019/04/17/in-cryonics-lawsuit-son-fights-for-fathers-frozen-head/ [^19]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Form 990 for tax years 2010 to 2022 as posted by Alcor (Part VII, Sections A and B; Part VIII; Schedules I, L and O), e.g. https://www.alcor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/alcor-form-990-2013.pdf, .../alcor-form-990-2018.pdf, .../alcor-form-990-2019.pdf, .../alcor-form-990-2020.pdf and .../alcor-form-990-2022.pdf. [^20]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Form 990 for the year ended December 31, 2023 (Part VII, Sections A and B; Part VIII; Schedule L), Internal Revenue Service e-file object 202423209349326972, IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data, 2024_TEOS_XML_11A. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/990/xml/2024/2024_TEOS_XML_11A.zip [^21]: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Inc. and Affiliates, consolidated financial statements with independent accountants' review report, years ended December 31, 2014, 2018 and 2020 (notes on principles of consolidation, related parties and investments). https://www.alcor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/alcor-financial-statement-2014.pdf, .../alcor-financial-statement-2018.pdf and .../alcor-financial-statement-2020.pdf [^22]: Mediaite, "Peter Thiel Confirms His Plans to Be Cryogenically Frozen When He Dies But Admits 'I'm Not Convinced It Works,'" May 5, 2023, citing the New York Post and reporting the *Honestly with Bari Weiss* interview. https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/peter-thiel-confirms-his-plans-to-be-cryogenically-frozen-when-he-dies-but-admits-im-not-convinced-it-works/ [^23]: The Thiel Foundation (EIN 20-3846597), Form 990-PF for the year ended December 31, 2023 (Part XV), Internal Revenue Service e-file object 202403209349108200, IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data, 2024_TEOS_XML_11A. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/990/xml/2024/2024_TEOS_XML_11A.zip [^24]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, DataSet 9, EFTA00715319, email from Ben Goertzel to Jeffrey Epstein, January 17, 2013. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00715319.pdf [^25]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, DataSet 11, EFTA02454349, email from Joscha Bach to Jeffrey Epstein, August 24, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02454349.pdf [^26]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, DataSet 9, EFTA00832674, email exchange between Joscha Bach and Jeffrey Epstein headed "Re: Nectome," April 15, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00832674.pdf