He plans to select six to eight artists to accompany him on the journey, although they have not yet been selected.

His identity was revealed at an event on Monday evening at SpaceX’s headquarters and rocket factory in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne.

“He’s a very brave person to do this,” Musk said of the Japanese entrepreneur.

Maezawa, 42, who is the 18th richest person in Japan, is a keen art collector.

He says the artists on the rocket will be part of a project called #dearmoon, which will involve them creating work inspired by their lunar journey.

It is unclear exactly how much the moon’s first space tourist has paid for the seats on the lunar flight, although Musk says Maezawa is “paying a lot of money that would help with the ship and its booster”.

“He’s ultimately paying for the average citizen to travel to other planets,” says Musk, who is also CEO of the electric car maker, Tesla.

Here’s what we know about the man who could be part of the space travel revolution.

Maezawa was born in Japan’s eastern Chiba prefecture in 1975.

He formed an indie rock group called Switch Style, which released an EP in 1995.

He adopted the stage name YOU X SUCK and played the drums in the band.

Maezawa also had a passion for collecting CDs and records, and launched a CD and record mail-order business in 1995.

He says he decided early on that he did not want to become a white-collar worker in Japan “after seeing all the tired faces on my morning commutes”.

In 1998, he launched a company called Start Today.

Maezawa owns about 38 per cent of Start Today, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The firm’s market capitalisation – the market value of all of the shares of a publicly trade company that have been authorised, issued and bought and held by investors – was US$7.2 billion as of July 2017.

After announcing a hiatus from music, his company moved to an online platform and then began selling clothing.

His companies, include the hugely popular online clothing website Zozotown and Wear, which are among Japan’s largest.

Maezawa introduced his customised clothing brand, Zozo, which sends customers an at-home measurement system called the Zozosuit, in July.

The service captures a 3D measurement of the customer’s body and delivers bespoke clothing.

The service is now available in more than 72 countries and territories.

Maezawa is also an avid art collector.

He owns an impressive collection of works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Prince and Jeff Koons.

In May 2017, Maezawa broke records by paying US$110.5 million for a 1982 painting by the late American graffiti and street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, called Untitled (pictured above with Maezawa) – the largest amount ever paid at auction for a work by a US artist.

“I am happy to announce that I just won this masterpiece,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.

“When I first encountered this painting I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art. I want to share that experience with as many people as possible.”

Maezawa says he was inspired to bring artists with him on the space flight space after thinking about the art that Basquiat might have created had he flown through space.

“One day when I was staring at his painting, I thought, ‘What if Basquiat had gone to space and had seen the moon – what wonderful masterpiece would he have created?’,” Maezawa says.

His net worth is estimated to be worth about US$3 billion and he is well connected in the tech world.

He is preparing to embark on one of the most elaborate space missions to date.

Musk says Maezawa’s desire to take part in – and pay for this trip – has restored his faith in humanity.

“This is going to be dangerous,” Musk says of the mission. “This is no walk in the park.

“It’s not 100 per cent certain that we succeed in getting this to flight ... But we’re going to do everything humanly possible to bring it to flight as fast as we can and as safely as we can.”

Additional reporting by Reuters

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