Executive Chair, Air Lease Corp.
Udvar-Hazy founded Air Lease Corp., which buys commercial aircraft from manufacturers and leases them to airlines. The company’s portfolio includes 463 owned aircraft. Udvar-Hazy transitioned to the role of executive chair at the company in July 2016 after serving as Air Lease’s chief executive and chair since its founding in 2010. The Century City-based company posted $2.7 billion in revenue last year, a 16% increase compared to 2022. Udvar-Hazy, a native of Hungary, sold his mansion, a 20-bedroom home in L.A.’s Beverly Park neighborhood, for $51 million in 2021. Carnegie Corp. of New York named him a 2008 Great Immigrants honoree. Udvar-Házy is a former director of SkyWest, Inc. and now serves as a senior strategic advisor to the SkyWest Board of Directors. He is a Federal Aviation Administration airline transport pilot rated to fly on multiple jet aircraft and has over 45 years of experience flying jet aircraft. Udvar-Házy received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the UCLA and has been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees. Udvar-Házy has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Wings Club Distinguished Achievement Award, the Howard Hughes Memorial Award from the Aero Club of Southern California, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy from the Aero Club of Washington, the Living Legends of Aviation Award, the ISTAT Award, the Air Force Vandenberg Award, Officier de la Légion d’Honneur awarded by the Republic of France, and, in 2016, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary. Udvar-Hazy was ranked No. 9 with $8 billion on last year’s list of Wealthiest Angelenos published by the Business Journal.
YEARS ON LA500: 9
