5 business deals closed or heavily shaped aboard private jets

1. Warren Buffett Acquires GEICO's Remaining Stake (1995) Buffett has long used his private jet travel to conduct due diligence at altitude. The final terms of Berkshire Hathaway's $2.3 billion full acquisition of GEICO were refined during airborne conversations between Buffett and his inner circle, where his "no distraction" private travel environment was credited with accelerating the decision.

2. Carl Icahn's Hostile Takeover Negotiations The legendary corporate raider was notorious for using his private jet as a mobile boardroom throughout the 1980s and 90s. During his pursuit of TWA and multiple other hostile takeovers, Icahn conducted pivotal negotiating sessions aboard his aircraft, thus keeping counterparties literally captive and off-balance while flying between meetings.

3. Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal Deal (2007) News Corp's $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones & Company involved intense behind-the-scenes talks between Murdoch and Bancroft family representatives. Key persuasion sessions took place in the air on Murdoch's private jet, where Murdoch's personal style of one-on-one deal pressure was most effective.

4. Sumner Redstone and Viacom's Paramount Acquisition (1993–94) Redstone, a famously aggressive dealmaker, used private jet travel extensively during his $10 billion battle to acquire Paramount Communications, conducting strategy sessions with advisors mid-flight and receiving real-time bid updates while airborne, helping him outmaneuver rival bidder Barry Diller.

5. Steve Jobs and the Disney-Pixar Merger (2005–06) The $7.4 billion deal that made Jobs Disney's largest individual shareholder took shape through a series of extraordinarily private conversations between Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger. Several of the key framework discussions occurred during private flights, with Jobs characteristically insisting on secrecy and face-to-face terms, his jet being the only venue he trusted for sensitive talks.