On Thursday, a technology billionaire achieved a groundbreaking milestone by conducting the first private spacewalk hundreds of miles above Earth, a feat that has traditionally been limited to professional astronauts.
Jared Isaacman, a 41-year-old entrepreneur from New Jersey, collaborated with SpaceX to test the company’s latest spacesuits on his chartered mission. During this ambitious spacewalk, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis also ventured outside after Isaacman returned safely inside the spacecraft.
Isaacman, the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing company, has opted not to reveal the amount he invested in this flight, which is part of a trilogy of missions he has named Polaris. The current mission is titled Polaris Dawn. Previously, Isaacman led SpaceX’s inaugural private flight in 2021, which included contest winners and a cancer survivor.
Before this mission, only 263 individuals from 12 different countries had completed a spacewalk. The first spacewalk was performed in 1965 by Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov, followed shortly by NASA’s Ed White.
Isaacman’s journey into aviation began in 2004, and in 2009 he set a world record for flying around the globe. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011 and is a married father of two daughters.
According to Forbes, Isaacman founded Shift4 in his parents’ basement in New Jersey in 1999 when he was just 16 years old. The company now processes payments for one-third of hotels and restaurants in America and went public in June 2020, with Isaacman owning 38% of its stocks.
In addition to Shift4, Isaacman established Draken International in 2011, a defense company that operates the largest private military aircraft fleet in the world and provides training for Air Force pilots. He later sold a majority stake in the company for a substantial sum, as reported by Forbes.
Isaacman’s net worth is currently estimated at $1.9 billion.