What is David Neeleman's Net Worth?
David Neeleman is a Brazilian-American businessman and aviation entrepreneur who has a net worth of $400 millon. David Neeleman founded the commercial airlines Morris Air, JetBlue, WestJet, Azul, and Breeze. He is also a co-owner of TAP Air Portugal, the flag carrier of that country. Neeleman holds citizenship in Brazil, the United States, and Cyprus.
Early Life and Education
David Neeleman was born on October 16, 1959 in São Paulo, Brazil. He has two brothers named Stephen and Mark. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Sandy, Utah in the United States. There, he was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young adult, Neeleman served a two-year mission in Brazil.
Airlines
In 1984, Neeleman co-founded his first commercial airline, Morris Air, with June Morris. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, it was a low-fare airline that began its operations in 1992. Notably, Morris Air was the world's first airline to use e-ticket travel. In late 1993, it was sold to Southwest Airlines for over $120 million in stock. Neeleman earned $25 million from the sale.
He continued working for Southwest for a while before he left in 1994 to co-found WestJet Airlines with Clive Beddoe. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the airline began operations in 1996 as a low-cost alternative to Canada's major airlines. Originally, all of its routes were in Western Canada, but WestJet expanded over the years to include destinations across North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia. Later, in 2019, it was acquired by Kestrel Bidco, which made WestJet a private company.
In 1998, Neeleman founded NewAir in Queens, New York. It was eventually renamed JetBlue Airlines. Like Neeleman's other airlines, it began by following the low-cost approach of Southwest. Commencing operations in early 2000, JetBlue went on to introduce several amenities, including in-flight entertainment and Sirius XM satellite radio. The airline operates over 1,000 daily flights in destinations in the United States and Europe. Neeleman served as CEO of JetBlue until 2007, when he was succeeded by David Barger, and as chairman of the board until 2008, when he was replaced by Joel Peterson.
Neeleman founded his fourth airline, Azul Brazilian Airlines, in 2008. Headquartered in the São Paulo suburb Barueri, the company provides frequent and low-fare air service to the country's underserved markets. Neeleman serves as Azul's chairman. Later, in 2018, he founded the low-cost Moxy Airways, headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Renamed Breeze Airways in early 2020, it commenced operations in 2021 with a flight from Tampa Bay International Airport to Charleston International Airport. Breeze has a network of domestic routes throughout the United States, and Neeleman serves as CEO of the company.
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Other Ventures
Among his other ventures, Neeleman served as the CEO of Open Skies, a touchscreen reservation and check-in systems company. In 1999, the company was acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Later, in 2013, Neeleman and his younger brother Mark co-founded Vigzul, a home security and monitoring company.
In 2014, the government of Portugal sold a 66% stake in its flag carrier, TAP Air Portugal. Among the bidders was Neeleman, who with Humberto Pedrosa formed the Atlantic Gateway consortium that took control of 61% of the TAP Air Portugal Group. The pair promised to maintain Brazil as the main hub for the airline for a minimum of 30 years.
Personal Life
In 1980, Neeleman married Vicki Vranes. They had ten children together, and eventually divorced in 2013. Neeleman holds citizenship in Brazil, the United States, and Cyprus. David's son Daniel is married to Hannah Neeleman who has become famous for promoting the "trad wife" lifestyle through her social media account Ballerina Farm.
