Billy meier
Executive summary
Billy Meier (Eduard Albert “Billy” Meier) is a Swiss figure who since childhood has claimed sustained contact with Pleiadian extraterrestrials, produced hundreds of UFO photos and films (many auctioned or exhibited), founded a follower organization (FIGU), and issued long-running prophecies that supporters say number in the hundreds [1] [2] [3]. Meier’s images and claims have been widely promoted by advocates and featured in documentaries and even popular culture (X‑Files poster), while skeptics and several investigators have labeled aspects of the case controversial or fraudulent [4] [5] [6].
1. A singular life that reads like a legend
Meier’s biography circulated in multiple outlets: born February 3, 1937, he says he was first contacted as a child and later served in the French Foreign Legion, lost his left arm in a Turkish bus accident, married, settled on a Swiss farm and became a recluse who claimed repeated visits from beings called the Plejarans [3] [5] [6]. His personal story—part adventure, part mystic mission—is central to why followers see him as more than a photographer or prophet [5] [6].
2. Photographs, films and artifacts: collectible evidence or clever staging?
Meier produced roughly 1,400 photos and dozens of films from the 1960s–1980s, with about 600 photos and several films purporting to show “Beam Ships”; some of those prints have appeared at major outlets and auctions, including Sotheby’s and museum-led features [2] [4] [1]. Supporters and some investigators treat those items as rare documentary traces [4]; critics and many ufologists remain skeptical and have questioned authenticity and provenance [5] [1].
3. Prophecies and predictive claims: many followers, contested corroborations
Meier published warnings and long lists of predictions starting in the 1950s; promoters claim hundreds of corroborated prophetic items—climate warnings, geopolitical forecasts and medical predictions—and recent events have been interpreted by followers as validation [7] [8]. Skeptical reporting and critical investigators (cited in encyclopedias and journalistic overviews) emphasize that mainstream ufology and scholars have often rejected Meier’s contact claims and questioned methods used to “validate” predictions [5] [1].
4. Organizations, media and a market that sustains him
Meier founded FIGU (Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien) to promote his teachings and to steward his materials; FIGU and allied websites and presenters like Michael Horn actively curate alleged corroborations and host events promoting Meier’s work [3] [9] [10]. Documentary filmmakers and journalists—both sympathetic and investigative—have kept the story in public view, from the book and films to recent documentaries and a 2025 feature announced in Variety [11] [12].
5. Cultural imprint: from X‑Files posters to auction catalogs
Meier’s images crossed into mainstream culture: BBC and Sotheby’s note his 1970s photos were influential and that at least one appeared in the background of The X‑Files poster; museums and auction houses have treated certain prints as collectible historical material [1] [4]. That visibility fuels both fascination among believers and intensified scrutiny by skeptics and researchers [1] [2].
6. Competing narratives: conviction vs. criticism
Followers present Meier as a prophet and the single authentic contactee whose data require reappraisal (they publish extensive lists of “corroborations”) while major skeptical accounts and academic-minded summaries treat the case as one of the most controversial in modern UFO lore and cite investigations alleging hoaxing [8] [5]. Both camps use the same public artifacts—photos, books, samples—but interpret provenance, context and methodological rigor in opposite ways [9] [5].
7. What reporting does not establish (limits of available sources)
Available sources do not mention independent peer‑reviewed laboratory replication that universally verifies Meier’s physical evidence beyond dispute, nor do they show a scientific consensus endorsing his extraterrestrial contacts; reporting instead shows polarized appraisals from proponents, documentary makers, auction houses and skeptical investigators [5] [4] [12]. The record contains primary artifacts and many claims of prophetic hits, but independent mainstream scientific adjudication is not evident in the provided material [9] [5].
8. Bottom line for readers
Meier remains a consequential and divisive figure: he left a large archive of images, films and prophecies that sustain a devoted following and generate media projects, while serious doubts persist among critics and investigators about authenticity and the methods used to substantiate his claims [2] [5] [12]. Readers should treat claims of definitive proof as unresolved in current reporting and weigh promotional sources (FIGU, TheyFly, Michael Horn) against skeptical, historical and investigative accounts [9] [5] [1].