Jared Isaacman | |
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File:Jared Isaacman - Inspiration4 (cropped).jpg | |
Born | [1] | February 11, 1983
Occupation | CEO of Shift4 Payments |
Spouse | Monica Chacana Isaacman[2] |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
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Space career | |
Commercial Astronaut | |
Missions | Inspiration4 |
Jared Isaacman (born [3] businessman, pilot and commercial astronaut. He is the founder of Draken International, a private air force provider and Shift4 Payments, a payment processor.[4] Isaacman served as commander of the SpaceX flight Inspiration4, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on September 15, 2021 and returned to Earth, from orbiting 585 kilometers above the earth; he commanded a splashdown return, off the Florida coast, in the Atlantic Ocean on September 18, 2021 at 7:06 pm (EST). The mission was part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, to which Isaacman pledged to donate $100 million.[5]
February 11, 1983) is an American billionaireJared Isaacman was born on February 11, 1983 to Douglas and Sandra Marie Isaacman. While living in Westfield, New Jersey, Jared attended Wilson Elementary School in Westfield, New Jersey. Around 1993, the Isaacman family moved from Westfield to the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township. Jared attended William Annin Middle School (6–8th grade) from ages 11 to 13, where he met his future wife Monica Chacana.
As a ninth grader and a freshman at Ridge High School in Bernards Township, New Jersey, Isaacman discovered that he and his best friend, Brendan Lauber, had a knack for fixing computers and started a computer repair business in his parents basement called Deco Systems, offering services to hapless computer users. He also worked at CompUSA off the Somerville circle in nearby Somerville, NJ. [6] He had begun working, doing computer technical service and repair, when he was 14.[7] Two years later, that work resulted in an offer of a full-time job from one of his clients, and he chose to drop out of high school to take the job, obtaining a GED along the way.[4]
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."[7] By 2020, the company had been renamed Shift4 Payments, Isaacman remained CEO, and the company was processing US$200 billion in payments annually.[4]
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.[7][8]
In 2004, Isaacman began taking flying lessons. In 2009, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe.[7][9] 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.[4] In his 20s, he flew in many airshows, but by his 30s, he had stopped flying as such.[8]
He is married and has two daughters.[10] Isaacman has been a resident of Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey.[11]
While in his 20s, Isaacman performed in airshows with the Black Diamond Jet Team.[8][12]
In 2008, he tried to set the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet, falling just short, by travelling 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.[11]
In April 2009, 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.[7][9] He flew a Cessna Citation CJ2 with two other crewmembers, skipping stops in India and Japan, where he encountered hours-long ground delays in his previous attempt in 2008.[11]
In February 2021, Isaacman announced that he would serve as commander of Inspiration4, the first private human spaceflight where none of the people aboard are from a government agency.[13] The mission, operated by SpaceX, on board an autonomous Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[13][14] Inspiration4 launched September 15, 2021.
Isaacman received the call sign "Rook" during flight training.[15] He is featured on the cover of a Time magazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4 in August 2021.[16] Inspiration4 launched on September 15, 2021, achieved orbit and splashed down 3 days later.
SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission commander Jared Isaacman made even more history Thursday night when he placed the first-ever official sports wagers from space. He placed two bets on NFL football with the BetMGM Sportsbook.