Great article on this bet at https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/23/magazine/l-betting-the-planet-503390.html (I couldn't find a non-subscription, no paywall version, sorry.)

I read this back in college. Didn't know it at the time, but looking back in pretty sure it was one of those formative things in my life that helped make me me, shaped the way I see how the world works and how people view life.