Thomas Flohr
Thomas Flohr | |
---|---|
Born | Switzerland | 17 March 1960
Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Founder and owner of VistaJet |
Spouse | Katharina Konečný (divorced) |
Children | Princess Nina of Greece and Denmark |
Signature | |
Thomas Flohr (born 17 March 1960) is a Swiss businessman, amateur racing driver, and billionaire.[1] He is the founder and chairman of VistaJet, a private jet charter company.[2]
As of March 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth to be US$2.3 billion.[3][4]
Early life
[edit]Flohr was born in Switzerland on 17 March 1960,[5][6] the son of a teacher.[7] He was raised in Erlenbach, Germany.[8] After school he applied unsuccessfully for flight training at Lufthansa.[8] He studied business and political science at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.[9]
Career
[edit]From 1985[10][11] until the early 2000s, Flohr worked for the Chicago-based technology firm Comdisco.[8][12] He was President of their European division from 1990 to 1994. He was President of Comdisco's worldwide asset finance division from 1995 to 2000. He would later buy out most of Comdisco's European operations through his Swiss-based group Comprendium Investment, which he still controls.[13]
In 2003 he bought his first Bombardier Learjet 60.[14]
In 2016 Flohr, who spends over 800 hours in the air each year, was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Living Legends of Aviation awards.[15]
He lives in St. Moritz, Switzerland.[16] As a hobby he competes in motorsport, including the East African Safari Rally, Le Mans 24 Hour and the FIA World Endurance Championship; he is also a sponsor to the Scuderia Ferrari team.[17][18] He collects art, including Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and Sterling Ruby.[7]
Personal life
[edit]Flohr was married to Katharina Flohr (née Konečný), formerly creative director of Fabergé and editor of Russian Vogue.[19][20] They had one daughter together, Nina, who was the former brand director of VistaJet.[21][19] On 1 September 2020, the former Greek royal family announced the formal engagement of Miss Flohr with Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, fifth child and third son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. The couple married in a civil ceremony in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland on 12 December 2020, with Thomas one of only two guests in attendance.[22]
Legal issues
[edit]In 2020, the United States Government announced intentions to seize property belonging to Flohr. The $22 million dollar mansion was the subject of scrutiny after its previous owner, an associate of Flohr's, was implicated in a major corruption scandal.[23]
In 2024, Vista’s founder Thomas Flohr alleged in legal filings that a rival company and Timothy Horlick, a British financier, had launched a smear campaign against Vista. Flohr claims that AirX founder John Matthews used a burner email address with a fabricated identity to send emails to business contacts of VistaJet, bypassing court-ordered confidentiality. He also alleges Matthews created a WhatsApp group in March 2023, titled VistaComms, which was used to discuss with colleagues the use of burner emails to share confidential information about VistaJet with lenders, business partners, and journalists.[24]
Racing record
[edit]Career summary
[edit]† - As Flohr is a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
[edit]Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Spirit of Race | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SIL Ret |
SPA 4 |
LMS 7 |
NÜR 2 |
MEX 4 |
COA 3 |
FUJ 1 |
SHA Ret |
BHR 3 |
4th | 109 |
2018–19 | Spirit of Race | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SPA 8 |
LMS 2 |
SIL 9 |
FUJ 6 |
SHA 4 |
SEB 2 |
SPA 4 |
LMS 7 |
4th | 99 | |
2019–20 | AF Corse | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SIL 9 |
FUJ 6 |
SHA 8 |
BHR 5 |
COA 7 |
SPA 7 |
LMS 4 |
12th | 71 | ||
2021 | AF Corse | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SPA 4 |
ALG 3 |
MNZ 7 |
LMS 7 |
BHR 7 |
BHR 6 |
6th | 71 | |||
2022 | AF Corse | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SEB 9 |
SPA 4 |
LMS 5 |
MNZ 9 |
FUJ 4 |
BHR 7 |
8th | 58 | |||
2023 | AF Corse | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SEB 5 |
PRT 4 |
SPA NC |
LMS 5 |
MNZ 10 |
FUJ 1 |
BHR 4 |
3rd | 91 | ||
2024 | Vista AF Corse | LMGT3 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 | QAT 5 |
IMO 12 |
SPA 6 |
LMS Ret |
SÃO 15 |
COA Ret |
FUJ 1 |
BHR 1 |
7th | 57 |
* Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Spirit of Race | Francesco Castellacci Olivier Beretta |
Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Am |
326 | 41st | 12th |
2018 | Spirit of Race | Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella |
Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Am |
335 | 26th | 2nd |
2019 | Spirit of Race | Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella |
Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Am |
327 | 43rd | 12th |
2020 | AF Corse | Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
330 | 39th | 13th |
2021 | AF Corse | Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
329 | 39th | 11th |
2022 | AF Corse | Nick Cassidy Francesco Castellacci |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
340 | 39th | 6th |
2023 | AF Corse | Francesco Castellacci Davide Rigon |
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am |
312 | 31st | 5th |
2024 | Visa AF Corse | Francesco Castellacci Davide Rigon |
Ferrari 296 GT3 | LMGT3 | 30 | DNF | DNF |
References
[edit]- ^ Speiser, Marcel. "Wild cockfight in private aviation". handelszeitung.
- ^ "Executive Committee | VistaJet". VistaJet. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
- ^ Peterson-Withorn, Chase. "Meet The World's 259 Newest Billionaires". forbes.com. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ^ "Billionaire Drop-Offs: Tough Year For Superrich As Hundreds Drop Out Of Ranks". forbes.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Meddings, Sabah (16 October 2022). "VistaJet boss Thomas Flohr: My luxury jets are boosting Britain". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Thomas FLOHR Prize list & statistics". lemans.org. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ a b Reguly, Eric (3 January 2014). "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr: A collector with a view from the clouds". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ a b c Meichtry, Stacy (2012-01-27). "The Jet Set". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr". Business Jet Traveler. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ "Thomas Flohr, Founder and Chairman at VistaJet". theorg.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Thomas Flohr, Senior Vice President, comdisco". vbprofiles.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "VistaJet's Thomas Flohr: A collector with a view from the clouds". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ Smale, Will (2013-09-16). "Thomas Flohr: The high-flying multi-millionaire". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ "From passenger to start-up pilot". Financial Times. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
- ^ "The Living Legends of Aviation". VerticalMag.com. MHM Publishing.
- ^ Bhargava, Anjuli (2016-04-29). "Tea with BS: Thomas Flohr". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- ^ "Private Jet Firm VistaJet Announces Ferrari Partnership". Airways Magazine. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- ^ Watkins, Gary (2018-02-07). "Fisichella returns to WEC with Ferrari GTE Am drive". motorsport.com. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
- ^ a b Garnett, Daisy (11 June 2015). "Nina Flohr Is Flying High". Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ David, Mark (10 January 2014). "A Wee Mea Culpa (and Correction)". Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Introducing Nina Flohr, New-Age Aviation Royalty - Harper's Bazaar Malaysia". harpersbazaar.my. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ "Παντρεύτηκε ο πρίγκιπας Φίλιππος την εκλεκτή της καρδιάς του, Δίδα Nina Flohr". Hello Magazine. 14 December 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Out to Seize Jet Entrepreneur's $22 Million Bel Air Mansion - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ Meddings, Sabah (13 March 2024). "WhatsApps, Fake Names and an Alleged Conspiracy Against VistaJet". Bloomberg. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- Living people
- Swiss racing drivers
- FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
- European Le Mans Series drivers
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Former billionaires
- 1960 births
- AF Corse drivers
- Le Mans Cup drivers
- 24 Hours of Spa drivers
- Asian Le Mans Series drivers
- International GT Open drivers