Jared Isaacman was born on February 11, 1983, to Donald and Sandra Marie Isaacman. He is Jewish, although he has said he is not a religious person despite donating to synagogues.[9][10] He is a youngest child, and has three siblings: two brothers, Marc and Michael, and a sister, Tiffany.[11]
In 1999, Isaacman founded a retail payment processing company named United Bank Card, which was later renamed Harbortouch, a point-of-sale payment company based in Pennsylvania. He was the founding CEO, and retained that role in 2015 with the company having "been profitable for over a decade [while processing] US$11 billion a year from 60,000 merchants, generating US$300 million in revenues."[12] By 2020, the company had been renamed Shift4 Payments, Isaacman remained CEO, and the company was processing US$200 billion in payments annually.[5]
While in his 20s, Isaacman performed in airshows with the Black Diamond Jet Team.[13][14]
In 2008, he made a first attempt to set a new world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet, falling short by traveling around the world in 83 hours, just beyond the existing record of 82 hours. The record attempt was a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation.[15]
In April 2009, on his second attempt, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet, making the flight in 61:51:15, about 20 hours faster than the previous record of 82 hours. The world record attempt was made as a fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey.[12][16] He flew a Cessna Citation CJ2 with two other crew members, skipping stops in India and Japan, where he encountered hours-long ground delays in his previous attempt in 2008.[15]
Isaacman received the call sign "Rook" during flight training.[19] He is featured on the cover of a Time magazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4 in August 2021.[20] Inspiration4 launched on September 15, 2021 (UTC), achieved orbit and splashed down 3 days later.
During the Inspiration4 mission, Isaacman made history by making the first-known sports bet from space, placing two bets on NFL football with the BetMGM Sportsbook, while over Las Vegas.[21]
In 2004, Isaacman began taking flying lessons. In 2009, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe.[12][16] He received a bachelor's degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2011. He is flight qualified in multiple military jet aircraft.[5] In his 20s, he flew in many airshows, but by his 30s, he had stopped flying as such.[13] He continues to fly one of the few privately owned MiG-29s in the U.S.[23]
