Over the past year, the gap between the super-rich and the rest of us has grown wider than ever before.

But the difference between ordinary people and billionaires might be more than just money. Some high net worth individuals have been looking into extending their lives far beyond the 70 or 80 years most of us might hope for.

Peter Thiel, for example, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, has invested in a number medical research start-ups looking extending life expectancy though his Breakout Labs fund.

One of the companies longevity obsessive Thiel has bankrolled is Ambrosia.

Ambrosia is one of three outfits looking at experimental "vampire" blood transfusions that put the blood of young people into the lens of oldies.

According to commercial finance experts ABC Finance, the cost of the trials currently ranges from £6,000 to about £215,000.