| Net Worth: | $3.7 Billion |
Steven Udvar-Hazy Net Worth: Steven Udvar-Hazy is a Hungarian-born American entrepreneur who has a net worth of $3.7 billion. Born Steven (Hungarian: István) Ferencz Udvar-Hazy in 1946, in Budapest, Hungary, he is considered to be the godfather of the airplane leasing industry. In order to flee from the Soviet occupation of Hungary, the Udvar-Hazy family came to the USA in 1958. After graduating from University of California, Udvar-Hazy launched his own commuter airline. But struggling to keep on the track, he soon realized that money didn’t lay in operating airlines, but in leasing airplanes to airlines. In 1973, together with two partners, he set up International Lease Finance Corporation. In a short period of time, he became a Chairman of the board, and the company was sold to AIG for $1.2 billion in 1990. In 2010, he founded his second company, Air Lease Corporation, which is a direct competitor to AIG; and the two companies are currently involved in an ongoing civil suit over trade secrets. Moreover, Udvar-Hazy donated $66 million to the Smithsonian Institution that allowed the U.S. National Air and Space Museum to create the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex at Washington Dulles International Airport. He also gave his contribution to the opening of the Christine and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Library and Learning Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.