The Ledger / Steven Udvar-Hazy
Steven Udvar-Hazy
◼ Origin
Born 1946 in Budapest; fled Soviet occupation with his family in 1958 and resettled in Los Angeles. While at UCLA, he began brokering aircraft deals and in 1973 co-founded International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) with one leased DC-8, building it into the world's largest aircraft lessor before selling to AIG in 1990 for $1.3 billion and later founding Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) in 2010.
◼ Self-Made Verdict — YES
Udvar-Hazy arrived in the U.S. as a refugee with no capital; he built ILFC from a single leased aircraft with co-founders and their own capital. Self-made.
◼ Documented marks
01
Founder of both International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC, co-founded 1973, sold to AIG 1990 for $1.3 billion) and Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL, founded 2010), making him the most influential figure in the commercial aircraft leasing industry since its inception
02
Air Lease Corporation manages a fleet of hundreds of aircraft leased to commercial airlines worldwide; Udvar-Hazy serves as Executive Chairman
03
In April 2012, AIG (as ILFC's owner) filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging Udvar-Hazy and ten former ILFC executives downloaded thousands of proprietary files — including customer payment histories and pricing data — before departing, and diverted business opportunities from ILFC to Air Lease while still employed at ILFC; Air Lease Corporation paid $72 million to settle the suit in April 2015
04
Donated $66 million to the Smithsonian Institution for the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, the largest donation in Smithsonian history at the time
05
Born in Hungary in 1946; his family fled Soviet occupation in 1958 and resettled in Los Angeles, where he began brokering aircraft deals while attending UCLA
No inheritance, or primary accounts documented for this billionaire yet.
◼ List of charges
Total sentence
0–0 years
That is
0.0–0.0 life sentences
(using 78 years as one life)
At $1 million per day
Steven Udvar-Hazy's fortune would last 12 years
0.2 lifetimes of luxury — before running out.
These are moral charges, not legal ones. The actual legal system has not — and will not — bring them.
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