The Wall Street Journal

How Flying on a Private Jet Became the No. 1 Marker of Real Wealth

Demand is up for private aviation, the luxury that separates the 1% from the 0.1%

Illustration of two people toasting with cocktails on an airplane, with a chihuahua and shrimp cocktail between them.
Illustration: Alexandra Citrin-Safadi/WSJ; iStock

When Maxx Chewning sold his sour-candy business to Hershey for $75.5 million, the first thing he did—before buying a Rolex or dream home—was jet his wife and six friends to Vail on a Dassault Falcon 900.

They skipped security lines, zipped straight to the runway and seated themselves in leather recliners with gold accents in the wood-paneled cabin. The price tag for this adventure: $100,000.

WSJ Logo

Gold Futures Rise, Defending Gains Made on Weak U.S. Jobs Data