"But, instead of throwing in the towel, he saw a golden opportunity. Ricci took a contract pilot job at Professional Flight Crews, and one of the companies he flew for was private aviation company Corporate Wings. The budding businessman was intrigued when its owners put the business up for sale at $27,500 in 1981-and jumped on the opportunity to buy it."
"Ricci scraped together a $27,000 loan, but still came up $500 short. So he picked up the phone and called his father for the rest-and that call would launch his career in entrepreneurship. By the early 1990s, his company was pulling in $3 million a year. Ricci took Corporate Wings to new heights, literally, flying artists like Barbara Streisand and Elton John on tour jets."
""I said, 'The governor of Arkansas is not going to need a plane for 13 months. This guy has no chance of becoming president.' And then I flew him to the inauguration," Ricci recalled."
Kenn Ricci was furloughed from Northwest Orient after the Air Force and returned home before taking a contract pilot job. He flew for Corporate Wings and purchased the company in 1981 for $27,500 after securing a $27,000 loan and $500 from his father. By the early 1990s Corporate Wings generated about $3 million annually and flew celebrities and political clients. A temporary contract to provide a plane for then‑Arkansas governor Bill Clinton led to high‑profile exposure. Ricci expanded his aviation ventures over decades and amassed substantial personal wealth and luxury spending.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]