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Steven Ferencz Udvar-Házy ([ˈudvɒrhaːzi]; born 1946), also known as István or Steve Hazy, is an American billionaire businessman, and the CEO of Air Lease Corporation. He is the former chairman and CEO of International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), one of the two largest aircraft lessors in the world (the other being GE Capital Aviation Services). In 2011, Forbes ranked him as the world's 409th richest person, with a net worth of US$3.2 billion.

Early life

The Udvar-Házy family came to the US in 1958, fleeing the Soviet occupation of Hungary. Hazy attended University High School in Los Angeles, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

Udvar-Házy was in his 20s during the later part of transition from propeller aircraft to jets during the mid to late 1960s, and realized that the higher capital investment required to purchase jet aircraft created an opportunity for a leasing business. He founded ILFC with fellow Hungarian Leslie Gonda and his son Louis Gonda in 1973, leasing a single used Douglas DC-8 to Aeroméxico. He left ILFC in February 2010 to found Air Lease Corporation.

In 2016, Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán presented Udvar-Házy the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary for his achievements in airline industry.

Philanthropy

Udvar-Házy gave a US$66 million grant to the Smithsonian Institution that allowed the U.S. National Air and Space Museum to build the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex at Washington Dulles International Airport. The annex houses more than 120 aircraft and 140 space-exploration exhibits as of 2006, and also includes the Space Shuttle Discovery. Plans call for eventually installing over 300 aircraft.

The Udvar-Házy family contributed funds to build the Christine and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Library and Learning Center at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott Campus. This donation is the largest to date made to the university. The business building at Dixie State University is named after his parents.

Personal life

He is married with four children, and lives in Beverly Hills, California.

See also

• The World's Billionaires

References

1. ^ "Steven Udvar-Hazy". Forbes. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
2. ^ "Arnaud Lagardère: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek".
3. "From the Chairman & CEO". Wayback. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2006-09-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. "Steven Udvar-Hazy". Forbes-World's Billionaires. forbes.com. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
5. Uni Hi Warriors & Wildcats Report for June 1, 2015
6. ^ Leslie Wayne (10 May 2007). "The Real Owner of All Those Planes". The New York Times. NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
7. "Prime Minister Viktor Orbán presents Steven F. Udvar-Hazy with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary". Government. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
8. Lawrence M. Small. "A century's roar and buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opens to the public". Smithsonian. Vol. 34. smithsonianmag.com. p. 20. Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. "New Smithsonian Museum Facility to be Named After Donor" (Press release). Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 28 March 2000. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-04. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. "Aviation Entrepreneur Steven Udvar-Hazy Speaks at Embry-Riddle Commencement and Dedicates New Library" (Press release). Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. 3 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-05-14. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• 1946 births
• Living people
• American airline chief executives
• American billionaires
• Hungarian billionaires
• American philanthropists
• Hungarian emigrants to the United States
• People from Budapest
• Businesspeople from Los Angeles
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni