Leaving [D.C.] on a Jet Plane?: Trump Has Company
President Trump Is Not the Only Florida-Based Politician to Own Airplanes
President Donald Trump’s aircraft obsession is legion.
As president, he flies in a Boeing 747 designated as Air Force One, and has accepted a newer Boeing 747 from the government of Qatar — amid the howling of ethics wags — that he hopes to use later in his term.
As a private citizen, Trump flew in a 34-year-old Boeing 757-200 he dubbed “Trump Force One.” For three years between 1989 and 1992, Trump even owned an airline, Trump Shuttle, that flew Boeing 727s between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.
All told, Trump controls millions, if not tens of millions of dollars worth of private aviation assets while serving as commander-in-chief, according to a Hunter Index analysis of federal financial disclosures and business records. Trump is joined by a small, but wealthy contingent of federal lawmakers who also own their own airplanes, and in one case, an aircraft hanger.
Trump’s latest personal financial disclosure, from 2024, indicates he owns six corporate aviation entities together valued at between $5.5 million and $26 million.
The most valuable — DJT Operations I LLC — is valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to Trump’s disclosure.
DJT Operations I LLC owns Trump’s “Trump Force One” Boeing 757, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft registry database.
Trump’s DJT Connect II LLC holding is valued at between $500k and $1 million, with four other aviation-related entities valued at smaller amounts.
Trump has not yet filed a personal financial disclosure for 2025 but is legally required to do so later this year.
Trump’s grandest airplane play may also lie in the future. While the U.S. government, not Trump personally, took ownership of the Boeing 747-8 from Qatar, Trump has indicated he wants to fly the jumbo jet to his yet-to-be-built presidential library after he leaves office.
In May, three initial Trump library foundation trustees — first son Eric Trump, Trump’s son-in-law Michael Boulos (husband of Tiffany Trump) and attorney James D. Kiley, who has represented the Trump Organization — filed articles of incorporation with Florida regulators. Such an entity will ostensibly negotiate any future agreement with the government involving the Qatari — now American — jet.
As for members of Congress, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), one of the wealthiest members of Congress, disclosed owning airplanes collectively valued at between $25.1 million and $50.3 million, according to federal records.
They include a “light-sport airplane” — valued at between $100k and $250k — and a much pricier, unidentified “airplanes” valued at up to $50 million, according to Scott’s personal financial disclosures.
Scott disclosed owning a limited liability company, Columbia Collier Properties LLC, as his “company set up for purpose of ownership of airplanes.” FAA aircraft registry records list two planes owned by Columbia Collier Properties LLC: An Embraer SA EMB-500 and a 2018 Bombardier BD-100-1A10.
As Florida’s governor last decade, Scott eschewed the use of state government airplanes and traveled in his own private Cessna Citation Excel jet instead — allowing him to avoid public scrutiny, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He previously owned a smaller Hawker 400XP, which he put on the market in 2013, per the Miami Herald.
Now, as federal lawmaker, Scott personally involves himself in aviation matters. For example, he introduced the Frequent Logistics Information for Grounded and Held Travelers (FLIGHT) Act, which aims to require airlines to provide more information to passengers experiencing a flight delay.
Scott has also openly questioned the merit of Trump accepting the Boeing 747-8 from Qatar.
“I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” Scott told The Hill in May. “I don’t know how you make it safe … I don’t want the president of the United States flying on an unsafe plane.”
Rep. Vern Buchanan, a fellow Republican from Florida, reports owning Aircraft Holding & Leasing LLC — a limited liability company he values at between $25 million and $50 million.
FAA records indicate Buchanan’s LLC owns two Embraer-500 jets, an Embraer-505 jet and a Cirrus SR22 single-engine propeller plane.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), reported that his wife purchased a plane in 2022 valued at between $1 million and $5 million. The same year, she reportedly sold another plane — a Beechcraft Bonanza — for between $1 million and $5 million.
Hern’s wife also owns an airplane hangar in Tulsa, Okla., valued at between $500k and $1 million.
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) disclosed a seven-figure “ownership interest” — between $1 million and $5 million — in Element Aviation Services LLC, a Montana company that specializes in airplane leasing and sales.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), has an “ownership interest” in Alma Air LLC of Tennessee, which rents airplanes. Reported value: $250k to $500k.
Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), reports an “ownership interest” in a Piper Archer II single-engine propeller plane owned by Archer Partners LLC. Reported value: $100k to $250k.
Dave Levinthal is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative reporter.
Why Does It Matter?
Please be informed of your politicians’ personal finances.
That’s our mission at the Hunter Index. We believe it is important for constituents to understand how their government officials’ personal finances may affect their policy making decisions as well as understanding the potential wide disparity between their wealth and that of the people in their home state or district.
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