Billionaire businessman Jim Mellon believes in living life to the full.

Isle of Man based investor Mr Mellon, 62, reckons it will be common for people to be living to well over 100 in a matter of years.

But in a new interview he absolutely rules out immortality.

He said: ’We would die of boredom if we lived to say 1,200, but if we routinely lived to 110 or 120, then the trajectory of life - we are born, we learn, we earn, we retire, we inspire - changes.

’It’s like waking up in the morning and having 36 hours ahead, not 24. I think it’s a high probability outcome in 20 to 30 years.’

Mr Mellon lifted the lid on his latest views in a wide-ranging interview with the Telegraph Business section.

Mr Mellon is in the Sunday Times Rich List with wealth estimated at £1.1 billion, £100 million up on the previous year.

The Rich List says the Oxford graduate has two homes in the Isle of Man along with a portfolio in Europe and an apartment in San Francisco.

Starting out as a fund manager in Hong Kong, Mr Mellon made his first million at 28.

He made his money in property and finance and has made no secret about using science and technology to advance human life and has written a book about it.

His views on business news matters are often sought in the media.

Mr Mellon has set up and is chairman of Juvenescence, described as a ’people-light, asset rich’ company that has recently raised millions to invest in longevity assets.

The Telegraph notes that the private company has already taken a dozen stakes in businesses promising to extend life. Some are focused on drug discovery using artificial intelligence. One business is said to be working on researching so-called ’senescent’ or ’zombie’ cells, which are responsible for some of the effects of ageing.

Life sciences are said to be getting Mr Mellon particularly excited.

Despite the risks involved he claims there could be a ’money fountain’ if one of his longevity investments pays off. Mr Mellon is also the owner of the Claremont Hotel in Douglas and he is executive chairman of Manx Financial Group PLC which includes Conister Bank and Edgewater Associates.

The paper points out that fellow prominent Brexit backer Arron Banks remains a shareholder in Manx Financial.

As reported in the Manx Independent, Mr Banks, who has links with the Isle of Man through his company Rock Holdings Ltd, has threatened to sue the Electoral Commission after he was cleared of any criminality over £8 million EU referendum campaign funding.

The outspoken businessman reacted with triumph to the National Crime Agency’s announcement that he had been exonerated.

Mr Mellon is said to be bullish on the prospects of life sciences in the British Isles, regardless of Brexit.

According to Mr Mellon, life expectancy increase in the last century was all environmental factors such as sanitation, antibiotics, vaccinations and less manual labour.

’Now the pathways of ageing have been uncovered’, he says. He believes biotechnologies such as drugs that slow or even reverse the ageing process and stem cells that regrow dying organs could extend human life by 20 or 30 years.

On a personal level Mr Mellon is a firm believer in keeping fit - for example he has run 42 marathons.

The Telegraph asks him what can people do to reap the benefits of all the advancements and work going on.

He replied: ’Stay alive for the next 10 years.’