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Thomas Flohr is a Swiss finance, technology and business aviation entrepreneur. He is the founder, Chairman and majority owner of global business aviation company VistaJet.

In 2016 Flohr was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Living Legends of Aviation awards. In 2018, Forbes listed his net worth to be approximately $2.3bn.

Early life and career
Flohr was born in Erlenbach, Switzerland. His father was a teacher and his mother a housewife. He studied business and political science at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, where he applied to Lufthansa to be a pilot. He is fluent in five languages.

Flohr worked at Chicago-based technology leasing firm Comdisco for 14 years, later leading its expansion into Europe. When he resigned in 2000, he sold his 1.5% stake in the business for an estimated market value of $2bn.

In 2001, Flohr purchased Comdisco's Swiss and Austrian operations to establish Comprendium Finance SA, leasing technology products to German-speaking countries. He remains President of the Swiss-based company.

VistaJet
At Comdisco, Flohr regularly travelled by private jet charter for business purposes. He expressed dissatisfaction with the onboard service levels relative to the high cost per flight. He would later tell the Financial Times: “I was very unhappy with how much you had to spend but how every time you got to the airport you never knew what aircraft you were getting, how old it was, who were the crew, or what would be the level of service. I wanted expensive wine, catering with sushi and sashimi, great table linen, espresso in a small porcelain cup.”

In 2003, Flohr bought and refurbished a pre-owned Learjet for his own use, while also chartering the plane to others through an operator. He noted that his aircraft was often unavailable due to charter demand. This led him to buy another aircraft within 6 months, designed to the same specifications. After his second plane was chartered just as frequently, Flohr commissioned a financial analysis of the business aviation industry. He then purchased three more planes in 2005 to create a branded on-demand business model that would become VistaJet's market differentiator. He also acquired his plane's charter operator to exclusively manage his own fleet. He would later describe this period as the biggest risk of his career.

Flohr believed that the private jet customer base would be "brand-affiliated". He ordered the exteriors of each plane to be painted metallic silver with a horizontal red stripe either side. He acquired charter broker SkyJet International in 2008, establishing company offices in the UK, Middle East and Asia.

Between 2004 and 2017, the fleet grew from two to more than 70 jets, with Flohr bulk-buying all VistaJet's planes from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. His largest order was for 56 jets worth $7.8bn, in November 2012.

In his early venture, Flohr focused primarily on emerging market s in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In 2013, he announced a partnership with Jet Aviation to bring VistaJet to North America, and opened its US headquarters in New York City in 2015.

To support global explansion, in 2015 JP Morgan and Jefferies Group issued a $300m bond to finance additional aircraft. Flohr owned 100% of VistaJet until 2017, when he leveraged an additional $200m in investment from private equity firm Rhône Capital.

Personal life
Flohr was to married Katharina Flohr (née Konecny). She is the founding editor of the Russian and Greek editions of Vogue and a former managing and creative director of Fabergé. They have a daughter, Nina. He has one brother who is a doctor.

He lives in St Moritz, Switzerland, in a home designed by the architect Ivana Porfiri, and decorated with contemporary art by Richter, Kiefer, Polke, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and Sterling Ruby and hosting his classic car collection, including a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 and a 1967 Austin-Healey Mark 3. Flohr has other residences in London, New York and Los Angeles.

Flohr flies between 700-800 hours per year on his Bombardier Global 6000 jet. He owns a 42-metre Baglietto yacht, the Nina J.

Motorsport
Flohr has raced across various motorsport categories, including two starts in the East African Safari Rally in a 1975 Porsche 911 RS, and a further start in a Peugeot 504 Ti. He was inspired to take part after reading about the event as a child. He gave up rallying after judging it too risky compared to other forms of motorsport.

In 2012 the Swiss Automobile Federation awarded Flohr an international competition license, enabling him to compete in sports car racing. In 2013 Flohr founded his own team to compete in the GT3 Le Mans Cup.

In 2017 Flohr completed a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. His Spirit of Race team entered a Ferrari 488 GTE at the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours Race, finishing 41st out of 60 starters. Overall, Flohr has achieved three wins, nine podium finishes and two pole positions, including a class win in the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina.

In 2018, he announced that ex Formula 1 driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, had joined the team lineup to compete in the 2018/19 season.