Jesse Itzler’s Path to a $250M Net Worth

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Good morning! It's Tuesday, July 18th - Today we are tracing Jesse Itzler’s path across the music, travel, and beverage industry that resulted in his $250M net worth!

THE FEATURE

Jesse Itzler’s Path to a $250M Net Worth

Jesse Itzler is one of the most eccentric millionaires– he hired a Navy Seal veteran to live in his home, ran 100-mile marathons, and even moved to a monastery to live with monks.

Whether it’s his daily life or his business ventures, Itzler loves diving head-first into the unknown. So, let’s break down Itzler’s $250M success and see how he used his entrepreneurial skills to disrupt every industry he touched.

Business #1: Alphabet Records

At 21 years old, Itzler wasn’t interested in running billion-dollar companies. Instead, his passion was hip-hop and rap music.

Itzler produced his one and only hit song “Shake It Like a White Girl”. Although his rap career plateaued, he got an idea for a new version of musical success. As a New York Knicks fan, he produced and funded a demo for a new Knicks anthem, “Go, New York, Go.” Despite barely breaking even, this business venture opened doors for the 21-year-old Itzler.

He founded Alphabet City Sports Records and produced theme songs for over 50 sports franchises. Alphabet City Sports Records was eventually sold to SFX Entertainment for $4.3M, but Itzler was just getting started.

Business #2: Marquis Jet

When Itzler took his first private jet flight, he was impressed with the experience, but his entrepreneurial mind identified a problem in the luxury flight industry: accessibility.

Back then, private jet travel came in three forms: outright ownership, fractional ownership, or charter. However, there were issues with all of them. The first two came with 7-figure price tags and charters were difficult to schedule and filled with uncertainties about planes and pilots.

Itzler’s market solution was simple: customers pay ~$100,000 for 25 hours of private jet flight time. When Itzler pitched his idea to the president of NetJets, he was accompanied by prominent football players, rap artists, and even Wall Street finance gurus he’d met during his time in the music industry. Each one told NetJets how they’d never buy a NetJets fraction but would likely purchase a 25-hour jet card every year.

After a 10-year run, Itzler’s company Marquis Jet was purchased by NetJets and Berkshire Hathaway for an undisclosed amount. However, we do know that Marquis Jet was insanely profitable and generated $5B under Itzler’s leadership.

Business #3: Zico Coconut Water

Rather than lazily basking in the success of his multi-million-dollar acquisition deal, Itzler picked up a new passion for running 100-mile marathons. Itzler found that his best fuel for these crazy marathons was pure coconut water and his entrepreneurial mind got to work on another idea.

Itzler partnered with a small beverage company to produce Zico Coconut Water. Zico advertised its beverages as an “all-natural sports drink” that was perfect for high-performance athletes and health-conscious consumers alike. This marketing was accompanied by celebrity endorsers like Jessica Alba whom Itzler met from both the music and private jet industry.

Coca-Cola purchased a minority stake in Zico Coconut Water in 2009 for $15M, and six years later the company was generating $45M in annual sales. Coke went on to purchase the rest of the company in 2013 but the details of the deal are unknown.

How Itzler Wins: Charisma and Connections

When Alphabet Records was just getting started with $30,000 in its business bank account, Itzler made a wild business decision. He borrowed money to purchase front-row seats at the NY Yankee stadium for $320,000.

To Itzler, anyone could take a client to a nice restaurant, but not to the best seats in Yankee Stadium. In the end, the investment paid off– Jay Z accompanied Itzler to games and later used Marquis Jets for all his world tours.

After examining how Itzler leveraged his connections across every industry he entered, it’s clear that his success came from embracing every opportunity to build relationships.

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