Thomas Flohr
Flohr in 2019
Born (1960-03-17) 17 March 1960 (age 63)
Switzerland
Alma materLudwig Maximilian University of Munich
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and owner of VistaJet
SpouseKatharina Konečný (divorced)
ChildrenPrincess Nina of Greece and Denmark
Signature

Thomas Flohr (born 17 March 1960) is a Swiss businessman, founder and chairman of VistaJet, a private jet charter company,[1] amateur racing driver and former billionaire.

As of March 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$2.3 billion.[2] In March 2019, Flohr had dropped off the billionaires list.[3]

Early life

Flohr was born in Switzerland on 17 March 1960,[4] the son of a teacher.[5] After school he applied unsuccessfully for flight training at Lufthansa.[6] He studied business and political science at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.[7]

Career

From 1985[8][9] until the early 2000s, Flohr worked for the Chicago-based technology firm Comdisco.[6][10] He was President of their European division from 1990 to 1994. He was President of Comdisco's worldwide asset finance division from 1995 to 2000. He would later buy out most of Comdisco's European operations through his Swiss-based group Comprendium Investment, which he still controls.[11]

In 2003 he bought his first Bombardier Learjet 60.[12]

In 2016 Flohr, who spends over 800 hours in the air each year, was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Living Legends of Aviation awards.[13]

He lives in St. Moritz, Switzerland.[14] As a hobby he competes in motorsport, including the East African Safari Rally, Le Mans 24 Hour and the FIA World Endurance Championship; he is also a sponsor to the Scuderia Ferrari team.[15][16] He collects art, including Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and Sterling Ruby.[5]

Personal life

Flohr was married to Katharina Flohr (née Konečný), formerly creative director of Fabergé and editor of Russian Vogue.[17][18] They had one daughter together, Nina, who was the former brand director of VistaJet.[19][17] On 1 September 2020, the former Greek royal family announced the formal engagement of Miss Flohr with Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, fifth child and third son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. The couple married in a civil ceremony in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland on 12 December 2020, with Thomas one of only two guests in attendance.[20]

Legal issues

In 2020, the United States Government announced intentions to seize property belonging to Flohr. The $22 million dollar mansion was the subject of scrutiny after its previous owner, an associate of Flohr's, was implicated in a major corruption scandal.[21]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2013 Winter Series by GT Sport - GTS Kessel Racing 4 0 0 0 1 ? ?
Spanish GT Championship - GTS 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
International GT Open - GTS 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2014 European Le Mans Series - GTC AF Corse 2 0 0 0 0 14 16th
International GT Open - GTS 5 0 0 0 0 3 32nd
Gulf 12 Hours - GT3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
2015 European Le Mans Series - GTC AF Corse 4 1 0 0 2 56 4th
International GT Open - Pro-Am 1 0 1 0 1 3 11th
2016 GT3 Le Mans Cup AF Corse 6 0 0 0 0 34 7th
International GT Open - Pro-Am 2 0 0 0 0 6 23rd
Gulf 12 Hours - Pro-Am 1 1 1 0 1 N/A 1st
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Spirit of Race 9 1 0 0 4 109 4th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 12th
2018 European Le Mans Series - GTE Spirit of Race 1 0 0 0 0 8 14th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd
2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Spirit of Race 8 0 0 0 2 99 4th
2019 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am Spirit of Race 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 12th
2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am AF Corse 7 0 0 0 0 71 12th
2020 European Le Mans Series - GTE AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 13th
2021 Asian Le Mans Series - GT AF Corse 4 0 0 0 0 1.5 16th
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am 6 0 0 0 1 71 6th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 11th
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am AF Corse 6 0 0 0 0 58 8th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th
2023 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am AF Corse 7 1 0 0 1 91 3rd
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2024 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3 Vista AF Corse

† - As Flohr is a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2017 Spirit of Race LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SIL
Ret 		SPA
4 		LMS
7 		NÜR
2 		MEX
4 		COA
3 		FUJ
1 		SHA
Ret 		BHR
3 		4th 109
2018–19 Spirit of Race LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SPA
8 		LMS
2 		SIL
9 		FUJ
6 		SHA
4 		SEB
2 		SPA
4 		LMS
7 		4th 99
2019–20 AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SIL
9 		FUJ
6 		SHA
8 		BHR
5 		COA
7 		SPA
7 		LMS
4 		12th 71
2021 AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SPA
4 		ALG
3 		MNZ
7 		LMS
7 		BHR
7 		BHR
6 		6th 71
2022 AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SEB
9 		SPA
4 		LMS
5 		MNZ
9 		FUJ
4 		BHR
7 		8th 58
2023 AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 SEB
5 		PRT
4 		SPA
NC 		LMS
5 		MNZ
10 		FUJ
1 		BHR
4 		3rd 91
2024 Vista AF Corse LMGT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 QAT IMO SPA LMS SÃO COA FUJ BHR * *

* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2017 Switzerland Spirit of Race Italy Francesco Castellacci
Monaco Olivier Beretta 		Ferrari 488 GTE GTE
Am 		326 41st 12th
2018 Switzerland Spirit of Race Italy Francesco Castellacci
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 		Ferrari 488 GTE GTE
Am 		335 26th 2nd
2019 Switzerland Spirit of Race Italy Francesco Castellacci
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 		Ferrari 488 GTE GTE
Am 		327 43rd 12th
2020 Italy AF Corse Italy Francesco Castellacci
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 		Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am 		330 39th 13th
2021 Italy AF Corse Italy Francesco Castellacci
Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 		Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am 		329 39th 11th
2022 Italy AF Corse New Zealand Nick Cassidy
Italy Francesco Castellacci 		Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am 		340 39th 6th
2023 Italy AF Corse Italy Francesco Castellacci
Italy Davide Rigon 		Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am 		312 31st 5th

References

  1. ^ "Executive Committee | VistaJet". VistaJet. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  2. ^ Peterson-Withorn, Chase. "Meet The World's 259 Newest Billionaires". forbes.com. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Billionaire Drop-Offs: Tough Year For Superrich As Hundreds Drop Out Of Ranks". forbes.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Thomas FLOHR Prize list & statistics". lemans.org. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b Reguly, Eric (3 January 2014). "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr: A collector with a view from the clouds". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b Meichtry, Stacy (2012-01-27). "The Jet Set". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  7. ^ "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr". Business Jet Traveler. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  8. ^ "Thomas Flohr, Founder and Chairman at VistaJet". theorg.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Thomas Flohr, Senior Vice President, comdisco". vbprofiles.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. ^ "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr: A collector with a view from the clouds". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  11. ^ Smale, Will (2013-09-16). "Thomas Flohr: The high-flying multi-millionaire". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  12. ^ "From passenger to start-up pilot". Financial Times. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  13. ^ "The Living Legends of Aviation". VerticalMag.com. MHM Publishing.
  14. ^ Bhargava, Anjuli (2016-04-29). "Tea with BS: Thomas Flohr". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  15. ^ "Private Jet Firm VistaJet Announces Ferrari Partnership". Airways Magazine. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  16. ^ Watkins, Gary (2018-02-07). "Fisichella returns to WEC with Ferrari GTE Am drive". motorsport.com. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  17. ^ a b Garnett, Daisy (11 June 2015). "Nina Flohr Is Flying High". Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  18. ^ David, Mark (10 January 2014). "A Wee Mea Culpa (and Correction)". Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Introducing Nina Flohr, New-Age Aviation Royalty - Harper's Bazaar Malaysia". harpersbazaar.my. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  20. ^ "Παντρεύτηκε ο πρίγκιπας Φίλιππος την εκλεκτή της καρδιάς του, Δίδα Nina Flohr". Hello Magazine. 14 December 2020.
  21. ^ News, Bloomberg (2020-10-23). "U.S. Out to Seize Jet Entrepreneur's $22 Million Bel Air Mansion - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. Retrieved 2022-03-30. ((cite web)): |last= has generic name (help)


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