Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei spent a reported $50,000 to clone his beloved English mastiff after the dog died in 2017, naming the resulting puppies after free-market economists he admires most.
Quick Take
- Milei’s mastiff Conan died in 2017 after a degenerative illness, and reports say he paid a cloning company roughly $50,000 for genetic copies.
- Five puppies reportedly resulted from the cloning process, with names tied to economists Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and Robert Lucas Jr.
- Reports differ on whether the company involved was PerPETuate or ViaGen, and on exactly how many dogs survived.
- A journalist’s unauthorized biography, “El loco,” is a key source for details on the payment and Milei’s private remarks about the dogs.
- Pet cloning is a real, growing industry, with one U.S. firm charging similar fees and reporting over 1,000 cloned pets since 2015.
A President’s Devotion to His Dog Shapes Policy Branding
Javier Milei built his political identity on free-market economics long before he became Argentina’s president. His English mastiff, Conan, was reportedly diagnosed with a degenerative disease in 2017 and died that same year. Rather than simply mourning, Milei turned to genetic science. He reportedly paid a cloning company about $50,000 to preserve Conan’s genetic line.
Buenos Aires Times reported that the cloning company, identified as PerPETuate, listed Milei as a client on its own website and stated that the process produced five puppies. That detail matters because it ties the claim to a business record rather than just political rumor. Still, the outlet noted the company’s statements were described secondhand, not published as a formal document.
Five Puppies Named for Economic Icons
Reports consistently describe five cloned puppies arriving from the United States in early 2018. Four of the dogs reportedly carry names tied to legendary free-market thinkers: Milton, Murray, Robert, and Lucas, honoring economists Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and Robert Lucas Jr. A fifth dog was reportedly named Conan, after the original mastiff.
For a leader who built his career attacking socialist spending and central-bank money printing, naming his dogs after these economists sends a clear message. Friedman championed free markets and limited government. Rothbard argued for minimal state power. Milei has repeatedly cited both men as influences on his push to slash Argentina’s bloated bureaucracy and tame runaway inflation.
Conflicting Details Remain Unresolved
Not every detail lines up across reports. Spain’s El País named a different company, ViaGen, as Milei’s choice for the cloning work, while Buenos Aires Times and other outlets pointed to PerPETuate. Accounts also disagree on how many dogs survived, with figures ranging from four to six depending on the source. These inconsistencies reflect the usual gaps in secondhand reporting on a private transaction, not a dispute over whether cloning occurred at all.
A biography by journalist Juan Luis González, titled “El loco,” is cited repeatedly for specifics on the payment and on Milei’s own words describing the dogs as his “four-legged sons”. Unauthorized biographies carry their own limitations, since they rely on the author’s sourcing rather than official records. Even so, the core claim that cloning took place is echoed across multiple independent outlets, not just that one book.
Pet Cloning Is a Real, Growing Business
Milei’s choice was not as outlandish as critics suggest. Pet cloning has become an established, if pricey, industry. U.S.-based ViaGen Pets charges close to $50,000 to clone a dog and has said it has cloned more than 1,000 dogs and cats since 2015. The global pet-cloning market reportedly reached $300 million in 2024, driven largely by wealthy owners unwilling to let a beloved companion’s genetic line simply end.
For conservatives who value personal liberty and private property, the story boils down to a man spending his own money on a legal service to honor a pet he loved. Whatever one thinks of the price tag, Milei’s choice reflects the same principle he champions in economic policy: individuals, not bureaucrats, should decide how to spend what they earn. The dogs’ names, tributes to the economists who shaped his worldview, only reinforce that this is a man who lives his free-market convictions down to his household pets.
Sources:
reason.com, yahoo.com, batimes.com.ar, orato.world, english.elpais.com
