Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Kenn Ricci is a pilot whose obsession over four decades with aviation and luxe travel made him a billionaire. He has started businesses tied to almost every aspect of flying—his private-jet company Flexjet was recently valued at $4 billion after an investment by a private-equity firm backed by LVMH. So how does he think about money and wealth?
WSJ sat down with Kenn Ricci to learn how he made his first million, what spending in his tax bracket looks like and more.
Chapters:
0:00 Introducing Kenn Ricci
0:48 How Kenn made his first millions
3:34 Merging with Raytheon
4:31 Kenn’s next venture: Directional Aviation Capital
5:42 Buying Raytheon out and turning it around
6:27 Hitting a billion dollar net worth
7:39 How money changes things and passing on wealth
8:40 Family meeting agendas
10:17 How much money you donated last year
10:46 Vacation spending and tipping
12:03 Watch collection and spending on clothes
Subscribers get access to full-length episodes of The WSJ Money Interview, plus the chance to have their questions answered by our millionaire guest. Watch the full series here: on.wsj.com/3ZauOly
Follow our host Gunjan Banerji on Instagram at @gunjansb.
The WSJ Money Interview
What can some of the world’s most interesting tycoons teach us about money and success? WSJ’s Gunjan Banerji sits down with highfliers for a candid conversation about how they made it.
#Business #Wealth #WSJ
Kenn Ricci is a pilot whose obsession over four decades with aviation and luxe travel made him a billionaire. He has started businesses tied to almost every aspect of flying—his private-jet company Flexjet was recently valued at $4 billion after an investment by a private-equity firm backed by LVMH. So how does he think about money and wealth?
WSJ sat down with Kenn Ricci to learn how he made his first million, what spending in his tax bracket looks like and more.
Chapters:
0:00 Introducing Kenn Ricci
0:48 How Kenn made his first millions
3:34 Merging with Raytheon
4:31 Kenn’s next venture: Directional Aviation Capital
5:42 Buying Raytheon out and turning it around
6:27 Hitting a billion dollar net worth
7:39 How money changes things and passing on wealth
8:40 Family meeting agendas
10:17 How much money you donated last year
10:46 Vacation spending and tipping
12:03 Watch collection and spending on clothes
Subscribers get access to full-length episodes of The WSJ Money Interview, plus the chance to have their questions answered by our millionaire guest. Watch the full series here: on.wsj.com/3ZauOly
Follow our host Gunjan Banerji on Instagram at @gunjansb.
The WSJ Money Interview
What can some of the world’s most interesting tycoons teach us about money and success? WSJ’s Gunjan Banerji sits down with highfliers for a candid conversation about how they made it.
#Business #Wealth #WSJ
