Investing in people

Ana Ivanovic was from a poor Serbian family but wanted to become a professional tennis player. When she was 14, her parents found a Swiss businessman who spent a total of $500,000 on her coaching and training in Switzerland in exchange of a share of her future earnings. Years later, Ivanovic was signing a four-year, multimillion dollar endorsement contract with Adidas. The Swiss businessman had made a sound investment.

There is now a Jock Market run by Little Yim. You can provide financial support to talented athletes with the aim of receiving a return on your investment!

But it's not only athletes. Marginal Revolution has a post about Kjerstin Erickson, a 26-year-old Stanford graduate who founded a non-profit called FORGE that rebuilds community services in Sub-Saharan African refugee camps, who is offering 6% of her life’s income for $600,000.

This is actually an old idea from...Milton Friedman.