The act of buying a private jet is a momentous activity typically reserved for aircraft operators, corporations, or ultra-high-net-worth individuals. However, for the latter, they may have more options at their disposal than the others do when it comes to making the purchase.
Ultra-high Net Worth
Starting with investable assets of at least $30 million, the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individual, company, or family represents the top 1% (or higher) level of wealth globally. They likely have a significant capacity to buy a private jet, and are a much larger group of purchasers than billionaires.
UHNW individuals often have friends who are captains of industry, philanthropic leaders, and celebrities who, like them, have access to—or own—private aircraft. While not universal, those with UHNW may have access to investment opportunities that are not available to the general public. As investors, UHNW individuals tend to diversify their holdings in cross-border stock and bond markets, luxury real estate (ranches, island escapes, and ski homes), private equity, commodities, private credit, art, and other collectibles, as well as cryptocurrencies and alternative investments.
Notably, on June 17, 2025, BlackRock released its 2025 Global Family Office Survey, which revealed that current geopolitical uncertainty is the most important issue for 84% of family offices and is a critical factor in their capital allocation decisions. Although I see aspirational purchasers who do not ultimately buy jets, these events do not often dissuade UHNW from buying or financing jets.
It is essential to emphasize that the UHNW, who buy jets, vary in their appearance, behavior, social circles, lifestyles, and sophistication across the wealth spectrum in ways that defy generalizations and challenge biases. The age-old idea that you should not “judge a book by its cover” is apt. From my perspective, these variations in clients enrich my experience as counsel in their aircraft transactions and other matters. It is hard to understate the importance of establishing trust to work with, and enter the world of, UHNW or their family offices, or attend their events.
For the UHNW individual, a jet is a bespoke personal asset they can utilize effectively for business or pleasure on demand, in privacy (with challenges), luxury, and exclusivity, a world away from the long lines at commercial airports. Like all private jet travelers, the aircraft for the UHNW person becomes a personal time machine, offering a way to capture the one precious commodity they cannot buy—time.
As Generations X, Y, and Z come of age, they will benefit from the “Great Wealth Transfer”—wealth transferred from their elders (estimated at $84 trillion to $124 trillion by 2048). Using transferred wealth and their own, they increasingly buy aircraft and seem to appreciate traveling on them. For UHNW individuals, wealth transfer and estate planning—coupled with savvy wealth management—have become of paramount importance. Transferring aircraft to these generations presents a unique conundrum.
A Level Playing Field
Buying a private jet (new or used) or a fractional share of one is not just about transacting; it can be a personal and emotional experience, perhaps tinged with competition among other aircraft owners as to who has the newer or larger aircraft. For each purchaser, it is a personal journey.
Despite the advantages of those with UHNW, the process of buying an aircraft has a strong leveling effect for most jet purchasers (look at the aviation attorney’s “closing checklists” to see the similarities in most purchase deals). Each purchaser, particularly those who hire aviation professionals, quickly realizes that structuring an aircraft purchase involves complex analysis and planning that encompasses taxes, regulatory compliance, risk management, financing, aircraft management, and more.
How the Ultra-wealthy Buy Aircraft
The true purchaser is the person who may carry the moniker of the “UBO,” the ultimate beneficial owner, the “principal,” the “owner,” or simply the “boss.” Frequently, UHNW individuals form a single family office (SFO) or join a multi-family office (MFO) that manages their day-to-day business, including most aviation matters (except where the owner is passionate about aviation and deal-making).
Other prospective aircraft owners either do not establish or do not use family offices; instead, they prefer to participate directly in aircraft deals. Regardless of these office models, their approach is emblematic of how many of the UHNW outsource to save money and surround themselves with professionals who provide insight, guidance, and subject matter expertise, aviation included.
Having represented family offices and UBOs in various aspects or stages of purchase and financing transactions, the SFO/MFO front office culture, expertise, and operations depend on the needs, character, and style of their UBOs. Broadly speaking, a UBO may form a small SFO staff with a trusted businessperson and assistant. In larger business and personal owner operations, the UBO may establish one or more family offices that may separate personal from business matters. This line may blur where the UBO uses the aircraft, as often occurs, for business and personal reasons.
In either the SFO or MFO, the owner may hire, among others, a president or chief of staff, a financial officer, a chief investment officer, a general counsel, and support staff. In aircraft matters, a chief pilot or leader of a flight department often develops a trusted relationship with their owners. He or she is usually integrated into the transaction team (aviation professionals and SFO/MFO) involved in the aircraft selection, purchase negotiation/technical support, inspections, and aircraft management.
The Aviation Team Support of the Purchaser and the Family Offices
Buying an aircraft is a team effort, where purchasers (especially first-time purchasers) can make costly mistakes if they “go it” alone, assuming they can buy an aircraft just like buying real estate or a car. Created primarily by the SFO/MFO, the aviation team comprises, among others, an aircraft broker, an aviation lawyer, aircraft technical consultants, aviation insurance brokers, aviation tax advisors, title companies, FAA counsel, an aircraft manager, and an aircraft financier. Each should have in-depth experience and honed expertise in aviation to execute a UBO’s aircraft purchase smoothly.
The Most Important Contract Terms for Purchasers
Along with accomplishing the top priority of selecting the right aircraft, owners almost always focus on personal liability, tax savings, including 100% bonus depreciation (reinstated under the One Big Beautiful Bill), regulatory structuring/compliance, and aircraft management.
Despite its complexity, the basics of purchasing a jet for a UHNW individual, like for other purchasers, mainly involve taking delivery of what I call a “clean machine” with a clear title and an optimal finance, tax, and legal structure. A clean machine generally means an airworthy aircraft that includes the owner’s specifications, complies with all legal and manufacturer’s standards, and has an acceptable appearance, age, utility, useful life, condition, and resale profile. The owner should approve these terms in the letter of intent and aircraft purchase agreement, which the transaction team negotiates.
Financing (leasing/borrowing) is a subject unto itself. The UHNW purchaser often pays cash for the aircraft at every price point, even if it is sky-high, in the many tens of millions of dollars. In this context, purchasers typically pay the jet’s price by “writing a check” from available cash, by selling securities, or borrowing funds from their brokerage credit line, all with tax, opportunity, and other costs.
Similarly, multiple incentives to finance exist before and after buying an aircraft, including tax depreciation, managed cash flow, and alternative uses of funds for investments or business purposes. All stakeholders in buying an aircraft have probably tracked the potential for lowering the Fed Funds Rate, which should create opportunities to reduce financing costs. Perhaps the economy and incentives affect my perception of an uptick in purchasers using “other people’s money” for strategic reasons to buy or lease an aircraft. Although owners may resist the “brain damage” they associate with financing, the transaction team can help minimize and ease the UBO’s involvement.
Last Thoughts
Buying and financing a private jet entails complexities and challenges, but the deal process is substantially the same for all purchasers. Each purchaser, whether an individual or company, with or without a single-family or multifamily office, should engage an experienced and knowledgeable team of aviation professionals to create a smooth landing in the aviation space and experience with a private jet that befits the privilege to which they have or may easily become accustomed.
None of the discussions in this blog creates an attorney-client relationship or provides legal advice of any kind. Readers should consult their trusted aviation advisors for transaction and other assistance in matters contemplated in this blog. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.