Robert Bigelow

Las Vegas businessman who funded private UAP research for three decades, ran the Pentagon's AAWSAP contract, and says he urged Trump in the Oval Office in February 2026 to confirm a non-human presence.

Current role: Founder and owner of Bigelow Aerospace and Budget Suites of America; founder of the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies; host of the Bigelow Podcast (since August 2026)

Former roles:

Owner of Skinwalker Ranch, Utah (1996–2016)
Founder, National Institute for Discovery Science (1995–2004)
Principal, Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), the DIA's AAWSAP contractor (2008–2010)

Background

Las Vegas hotel and aerospace businessman, born 1944, who has spent more of his own money on UAP research than any other private individual by his own account. He founded the National Institute for Discovery Science in 1995, bought Skinwalker Ranch in Utah in 1996 (sold 2016), and founded Bigelow Aerospace in 1999. His company Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) held the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program contract (HHM402-08-C-0072) from 2008 to 2010, reported by the New York Times in 2017 at about $22 million, which Sen. Harry Reid had helped set up. Nineteen BAASS documents from that contract were released by the Pentagon in PURSUE release 7 in October 2026. He told 60 Minutes in 2017 he was "absolutely convinced" of an ET presence. In 2026 he started a podcast with George Knapp and said he had met President Trump in the Oval Office in February to press for a presidential confirmation of a non-human presence. He is a long-standing Trump donor.

On the record

2026-08-11 – Bigelow Podcast Ep. 2, on AAWSAP – recounted the 2008–10 DIA contract and, per 8 News Now's account of the episode, said he had come to regard AARO as a disguise and probably a fraudulent effort to suppress disclosure, contrasting Sean Kirkpatrick's April 2023 Senate testimony with ODNI's 2021 assessment. Episode · UFO News summary
2026-08-04 – Bigelow Podcast Ep. 1, with George Knapp – said he met President Trump in the Oval Office in February 2026, with White House staff secretary William Scharf present, brought seven reports, and proposed a statement for the President: "A non-human, intelligent presence has been on Earth for a very long time, using spacecraft". "I was emphasizing that the disclosure process, starting with confirmation, is a big deal." He said he would tell the President about reported crashes, recovered bodies and reverse-engineering programmes: "The rest of the world already knows that." He proposed a pre-emptive pardon for contractors who have allegedly concealed materials, and declined to say how Trump reacted. Trump's Feb 19 post directing file releases came thirteen days after the date Bigelow gives for the meeting; no link between the two is established. Episode · 8 News Now
2017-05-28 – 60 Minutes, to Lara Logan – asked if he believes in aliens: "I'm absolutely convinced. That's all there is to it." Asked if UFOs have come to Earth: "There has been and is an existing presence, an ET presence." … "I probably spent more as an individual than anybody else in the United States has ever spent on this subject." Asked if it was risky to say so: "I don't give a damn. I don't care." The FAA confirmed to CBS it had for years referred UFO reports to a Bigelow company. CBS News
2008-12-02 – BAASS Project Management Plan for DIA contract HHM402-08-C-0072 – states the programme's objective as understanding "the physics and engineering of advanced aerospace weapon system applications as they apply to potential foreign threats out to the far term", with twelve technical areas; monthly reports (2009) and a November 2010 self-assessment of BAASS's UAP analysis capabilities followed. Released in PURSUE release 7, Oct 23, 2026. PURSUE release 7

Reported claims (secondary / anonymous-sourced)

2026-10-16 – per Liberation Times – that Bigelow advised the President on how to address the nation about a non-human presence (consistent with his own account above). Liberation Times
2017-12-16 – per the New York Times, citing programme documents and named officials – that most of the AATIP/AAWSAP money went to Bigelow's company, which modified buildings in Las Vegas to store metal alloys and other materials said to have been recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena. NYT

Responses and criticism

2024 – Sean Kirkpatrick, after leaving AARO, named Harry Reid and Bigelow among the people he said had driven government UAP spending through congressional earmarks. PARADIGM
2024-03 – AARO's Historical Record Report, Volume I, found no empirical evidence that any programme had recovered or reverse-engineered non-human technology, covering the AAWSAP period. Documents page

Timeline of involvement

1995 – founds NIDS
1996 – buys Skinwalker Ranch
2008–2010 – BAASS runs the DIA's AAWSAP contract
2016 – sells Skinwalker Ranch
2017-05-28 – "absolutely convinced" on 60 Minutes
2017-12-16 – NYT reveals AATIP/AAWSAP and his company's role
2020-06 – founds the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies
2026-02 – Oval Office meeting with Trump, by his account
2026-08 – launches the Bigelow Podcast with George Knapp
2026-10-23 – nineteen BAASS documents released in PURSUE release 7

Relevant links

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-11-03. Spotted an error? Reach out.