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Thomas Flohr
Thomas Flohr is a Swiss entrepreneur and billionaire. He founded global business aviation company VistaJet in 2004.

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.

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.

When Comdisco filed for bankruptcy in 2001, Flohr purchased its 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 2nd 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 'plane-for-rent' 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 ultra-wealthy 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, and recruited his daughter Nina to redesign the cabins. He acquired charter broker SkyJet International in 2008, giving him offices in the UK, Middle East and Asia.

Between 2004 and 2017, the fleet grew from 5 to 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. He personally retains orders on the Bombardier Global 7000 aircraft.

In his early venture, Flohr focused primarily on emerging market s in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He repeatedly denied his intention to move VistaJet into the US business aviation market tcompete owith frac actional firm NetJets. In 2013, VistaJet announced partnerships with Wheels Up and Jet Aviation, and opened its US headquarters in New York City in 2015.

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

In 2016 Flohr was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Living Legends of Aviation awards.

In 2018 Forbes reported Flohr's net worth to be approximately $2.3bn.

Personal life
Flohr was to married Katharina Flohr (née Konecny), who founded Greek and Russian Vogue, and was formerly managing and creative director of Fabergé. They have a daughter, Nina, who is a former creative director of VistaJet. He has one brother who is a doctor. He is friends with Nobu Matsuhisa, co-founder of the Nobu restaurant chain, and the art collector and auctioneer Simon De Pury.

Flohr owns a classic car collection including a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 and an 1967 Austin-Healey Mark 3. He lives in St Moritz, Switzerland, in a home designed by the luxury yacht designer Ivana Porfiri. Flohr also owns a 42m Baglietta yacht called the Nina J. He collects contemporary art, including works by Richter, Kiefer, Polke, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and Sterling Ruby. He is fluent in five languages.

Flohr flies between 700-800 hours per year.

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 competing in the event 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 with various co-drivers, including ex-Formula One Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella. 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. His favourite track is the Red Bull Ring.

Career summary
[Result showns are taken from Giancarlo Fisichella's page as a temporary exercise in layout and style. For avoidance of doubt, these results are not intended to represent Thomas Flohr's racing record]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) † There was no drivers' championship that year, the result indicates rank in the LMGTE Pro Trophy.