The waning years of WWII saw the introduction of the first jet fighter planes. Though the popular image is that Germany was the first to develop them, British pioneer Frank Whittle had drawing board designs of a jet plane as early as the mid-1930s.
After the end of the war, commercial airlines quickly realized the value of these faster planes. Everyone wants to get where they want to go sooner. Less time in the air means less jet lag, less stress from engine and wind noise, and more time on the ground to take care of business. For upscale business travelers, those goals were first approached in the mid-1960s.
Alongside the development of large, commercial airlines’ use of jets – the famous Boeing 727 and its later cousins – there grew up a cottage industry of smaller jets designed primarily for ultra-rich customers.
Learjet, Lockheed JetStar and the Gulfstream II were the ultimate expressions of those design goals at the time. Selling for around $1 million (a hefty price tag forty years ago), these hand-built air limousines were heavily used by oil-rich sheiks and the J. Paul Getty’s of the day.
For the younger crowd, J. Paul Getty was one of the richest men in the world from the 1940s until his death in 1976. The Bill Gates of his day – only his money came from oil not computers – he was the first individual to crack the $1 billion mark.
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