Jared Isaacman

Jared Isaacman (born February 11, 1983) is an American entrepreneur, pilot, philanthropist, and space tourist. He is the founder of Draken International, a private air force provider and the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a payment processor. As of February 2023, his estimated net worth is US$2 billion.

Isaacman was the commander of Inspiration4, a private spaceflight using SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 16, 2021. The crew returned to Earth on September 18, 2021, after orbiting at 585 km in altitude. The mission was part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, to which Isaacman pledged to donate $100 million.

Isaacman will command the Polaris Dawn mission, the first private spaceflight in a series of missions named the Polaris Program. Isaacman is currently undergoing commercial astronaut training at SpaceX.

Early life
Jared Isaacman was born on February 11, 1983, to Donald and Sandra Marie Isaacman. He is Jewish, although he has said he is not a religious person, despite donating to synagogues. He is a youngest child, and has three siblings: two brothers, Marc and Michael; and a sister, Tiffany.

Business
In 1999, Isaacman founded a retail payment processing company named United Bank Card, which was later renamed Harbortouch, a point-of-sale payment company based in Pennsylvania. He was the founding CEO, and retained that role in 2015 with the company having "been profitable for over a decade [while processing] US$11 billion a year from 60,000 merchants, generating US$300 million in revenues." By 2020, the company had been renamed Shift4 Payments, Isaacman remained CEO, and the company was processing US$200 billion in payments annually.

In 2012, he co-founded Draken International, a Florida-based company that trains pilots for the United States Armed Forces. The company operates one of the world's largest fleets of privately owned fighter jets.

Pilot
While in his 20s, Isaacman performed in airshows with the Black Diamond Jet Team.

In 2008, he made a first attempt to set a new world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet, falling short by traveling around the world in 83 hours, just beyond the existing record of 82 hours. The record attempt was a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In April 2009, on his second attempt, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet, making the flight in 61:51:15, about 20 hours faster than the previous record of 82 hours. The world record attempt was made as a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. He flew a Cessna Citation CJ2 with two other crew members, skipping stops in India and Japan, where he encountered hours-long ground delays in his previous attempt in 2008.

Inspiration4
In February 2021, Isaacman announced that he would serve as commander of Inspiration4, the first private human spaceflight in which none of the people aboard were from a government agency. The mission was to be operated by SpaceX, on board an autonomous Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Isaacman received the call sign "Rook" during flight training.

In August 2021, the crew of Inspiration4, including Isaacman, was featured on the cover of a Time magazine double issue.

On September 15, 2021 (UTC), Inspiration4 launched and achieved orbit. The mission splashed down 3 days later.

During the Inspiration4 mission, Isaacman made history by making the first-known sports bet from space, placing two bets on NFL football with the BetMGM Sportsbook, while over Las Vegas.

Polaris Dawn
Isaacman is to command the upcoming planned Polaris Dawn mission. and perform an EVA with Sarah Gillis.

Personal life
In 2004, Isaacman began taking flying lessons. In 2009, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe. He received a bachelor's degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011. He is flight qualified in multiple military jet aircraft. In his 20s, he flew in many airshows, but by his 30s, he had stopped flying as such. He continues to fly one of the few privately owned MiG-29s in the U.S.

He is married and has two daughters. Isaacman has been a resident of Washington Township, New Jersey.