When you are making your millions in real estate, there will always be risk. And even when you have made enough to retire happily, there will never be a shortage of reptiles eager to prove a point by taking you down. Consider the case of Ronald Bergeron, as told by the Associated Press:
A real estate tycoon who owns a nature preserve tried to show off for visitors by jumping on an alligator’s back for a ride, but the reptile bit his hand and dragged him into 15 feet of water.
The 8-foot alligator let go of Ronald Bergeron, 62, after witnesses pulled its tail.
He suffered a shattered pinky, a broken ring finger and puncture wounds in his palm.
The multimillionaire developer was injured Sunday while giving a tour of his preserve to weekend guests who had made large donations to the Boys & Girls Club. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried the stunt.
“I always tell them I’m going to wrestle an alligator,” Bergeron said Wednesday. “It’s part of my Florida cracker culture. My grandfather was a game warden in the Everglades, and I grew up around alligators.”
He said he usually rides the alligator for a minute before letting it go.
