- - Why Private Jets Are the New Networking Hotspot for the Ultra-Rich

Andrew ZuckerJanuary 19, 2026 at 1:00 AM

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Not too long ago, Fred Wilson, the veteran venture capitalist behind bets like Twitter and Coinbase, needed to get to Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley conference. He had zero desire to arrive by commercial airliner, and he emailed a friend to say, “we flew to Sun Valley commercial last year and then realized we were the only people at the entire conference who did that.”

As luck would have it, the investor Aviv “Vivi” Nevo had extra seats on his plane, so Wilson and his wife hopped aboard. Also on the plane was the Creative Artists Agency chief executive Bryan Lourd. “It was entertaining,” Wilson wrote his friend, which is a lot more than you can say for most flights.

There are few experiences comparable to flying private, with cream-colored seats, Tiffany flatware, short security lines, and infrequent delays (except when Caribbean air space is closed). Going back to JetBlue after flying in a Gulfstream is as whiplash-inducing as Space Mountain.

Recently, even private planes had trouble leaving St. Barts. The travel restrictions responsible have been lifted, but for many the memories of flying commercial are still vivid. Danandnatty - Getty Images

Recently, however, even private flights were grounded in the Caribbean due to the travel restrictions stemming from the U.S.’s dustup in Venezuela. New Yorker Janet Elias spent Christmas break on St. Barts, but couldn't take her original flight back due to the travel restrictions. She eventually resorted to TikTok—the ultimate word-of-mouth network—making a video asking if anyone would share a private jet back to New York. “When the airspace was shut, nobody could fly at all,” she laments. She booked a JetBlue flight, but even if she had found a private jet splitter, they’d have had to get in a long line behind other Gulfstreams. “We even had a friend who had a private plane, but they weren’t allowed to take off, I believe, because of the traffic and the congestion,” she says.

Even one of the world’s wealthiest people understands the Teterboro-to-Terminal-1 plight. “Warren Buffett has a great quote,’” says Caroline Leventhal, an Upper East Sider and co-host of the Mic’d and Medicated podcast. After flying in a private jet, the Oracle of Omaha’s saying goes, “returning to commercial flights is like going back to holding hands.” And sometimes people who might otherwise be unpopular stay in good social standing simply because they’re strategic with extra seats.

Leventhal still mostly flies commercial, but when she does fly private, she prefers traveling with co-passengers she enjoys. “Unless they have a 747, it’s not that big,” she says. “So I had better like them.” Yet, more and more, private jet owners aren’t concerned with whether they like the names filling the manifest. Instead, many three-comma-club members approach populating their flights as if they were casting directors for a film. There’s a scientist to impress the brainiacs, a political consultant to spill DC’s latest gossip, a TV newsman to add gravitas, a movie star for a bit of sparkle.

Who wouldn’t want to give a lift to Mick Jagger, seen here in 1975 on the Rolling Stones’ private plan. Christopher Simon Sykes - Getty Images

Ever since the pandemic, flying private has exploded in popularity. In October 2025 more private jets took off than in any other month in the last 20 years, making it easier than ever to catch rides with the moneyed class. Increasingly, if you find yourself wondering how two plutocrats became friends, more often than not the answer has two wings.

Take, for example, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Polo-crazed businessman Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge, has reportedly flown the Montecito-based royals to Aspen at least once in the last few years. Ganzi is a major figure in the polo world, having opened up the tony Aspen Valley Polo Club in 2014. Notably, Archewell Productions (Harry and Meghan’s entertainment studio) recently produced a Netflix show about the sport. No word on whether the idea was hatched while cruising at 600 miles per hour.

Ricky Martin might not even need a ride from a friendly billionaire. The actor and pop star was photographed here leaving his own aircraft. Guy Prives - Getty Images

Owning a jet is also a pathway to cozying up to a U.S. president. After Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, he caught a ride with shredding magnate Adam Weitsman. While it’s not uncommon for a donor to offer up a Gulfstream to a politician, Weitsman’s daughter received an unusual perk: She interviewed Trump for a school project onboard the jet. Even Jeffrey Epstein met Bill Clinton because of his plane, according to Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview with the Department of Justice this summer.

This clash of the uber-rich and celebrities in the sky isn’t confined to American airspace. Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, recently flew commentator Piers Morgan and British reality TV star Peter Jones to a golf tournament in Scotland on his jet. Morgan, who has a longstanding relationship with Bhatia, wrote on Instagram that he enjoyed flying “Amit Airways,” which he deemed “the world’s best airline.”

An audience at 41,000 feet is also catnip for celebrities. While some stars, like Taylor Swift and Kylie Jenner, shell out for their own planes, plenty of TMZ mainstays have to sing for their supper. Charter companies often trade hours in the sky for free concerts for their members. Meghan Grimm, who runs a high-end staffing agency in Los Angeles, says an offer to fly in a 12-person cabin is hard for even the most famous among us to turn down. In Hollywood, TSA aversion is just as popular as gluten allergy. Grimm says, “I don’t think anyone in this day and age is going to pass up a seat on a plane.” This was especially true in early January, when the U.S.’s dustup in Venezuela shut down airspace over St. Bart’s; Leonardo DiCaprio, who frequents the island, had to accept an honor remotely at the Palm Springs International Film Awards because he couldn’t make it to California. Luckily, he did make it back to Los Angeles in time for the Critics’ Choice Awards.

Sometimes it’s not so much about hosting people one would like to know better as commanding a captive audience. Mike Silvestro, who runs private jet company Flexjet, doesn’t pitch that benefit to clients, but he believes fliers recognize the possible perk when they sign up for the service. “I think everybody understands that it’s an incredibly powerful medium to be able to engage with people, get to know them,” he says. “They know it intuitively.”

Silvestro says Flexjet customers regularly deepen relationships while in the clouds—whether with celebrities or mere mortals. But one person who won’t invite movie stars onboard is Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank’s resident meanie. O’Leary, who recently played a pen tycoon in Marty Supreme, says he wouldn’t even invite a close friend on flights. “I’ve stopped inviting people to get on the plane with me, because sometimes they’re late,” O’Leary says. “If they’re a friend and they hold me back, I’m really pissed off.”

Another person not interested in indiscriminate plane invites is Mark Cuban, the billionaire basketball owner. “It’s for work or family, not for Carnegie classes,” he says, referencing the 1936 book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Oprah Winfrey, seen here walking to her jet, once said, "It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.” Newspix - Getty Images

For others, leisure and moneymaking collide. One unsung reason for inviting stars onboard is tapping into their deal flow. With so many stars interested in business (Lourd and Silicon Valley investors practically share call logs these days), the six degrees of separation between the Davos and Craig’s crowds has shrunk. That newly shared language means plane rides are no longer awkward affairs. Celebrities can pick a mogul’s brain about their new beauty brands, while plane owners can get invited to invest in an A-lister’s company.

But blindly accepting a private jet trip isn’t always prudent. When the DOJ released photographs from Epstein’s estate in December, it was revealed that notable faces like Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Woody Allen, and former Treasury secretary Larry Summers had joined him on his plane. It’s unclear where they were going.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”