Jared Taylor Isaacman (born February 11, 1983) is an American entrepreneur, pilot, philanthropist, and commercial astronaut. 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 September 2024, his estimated net worth is US$1.9 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 commanded the Polaris Dawn mission, the first private spaceflight in a series of missions named the Polaris Program. During this mission, on September 12, 2024, Isaacman became the first private citizen to perform a spacewalk.

Early life

Isaacman was born on February 11, 1983, at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, to Donald and Sandra Marie Isaacman. He is the youngest of four children. His siblings include brothers Marc, Michael, and sister Tiffany. Isaacman and his family lived in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, before moving to Westfield, New Jersey, sometime around April 1987. He attended Wilson Elementary School in Westfield, from kindergarten through sixth grade. The family moved to the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township, New Jersey, when Isaacman was 12, where he attended William Annin Middle School. As a ninth grader and a freshman at Ridge High School, Isaacman discovered that he and his best friend, Brendan Lauber, had a knack for fixing computers. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide Campus, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics.

Career

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

He is flight-qualified in multiple military jet aircraft. Isaacman has performed in airshows with his Black Diamond Jet Team that he co-founded in 2010. 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.

Spaceflight

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 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 the first-known sports bet from space, placing two bets on NFL football with the BetMGM Sportsbook, while over Las Vegas.

Polaris Dawn

In September 2024, Isaacman commanded the Polaris Dawn mission, which is part of a crewed spaceflight program called the Polaris program. The crew consisted of Isaacman, Kidd (Scott) Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. who rose to a record-breaking apogee of 1400 km and later lower to a 700 km apogee. The crew completed a multi-hour EVA on September 12, 2024, with all crew exposed to the vacuum of space, although Isaacman and Sarah Gillis were the only two that exited the spacecraft. Over the five-day flight, the crew performed about 40 different science experiments and provided more insight into life in space. The crew also completed the first crewed demonstration of Starlink laser communication in space.

Personal life

He is Jewish, although he has stated that he is not religious. He is married and has two daughters. Isaacman has been a resident of Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey.