Science | Jared Isaacman Billionaire Space-Walker Dropped Out of High School Jared Isaacman went on to become a tech entrepreneur with a passion for space By John Johnson Posted Sep 12, 2024 12:07 PM CDT Copied Commander Jared Isaacman speaks at a news conference after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/John Raoux) The world's first commercial spacewalk took place on Tuesday morning, a private operation bankrolled by the first person who emerged from the SpaceX craft. That would be Jared Isaacman, a 41-year-old tech billionaire who is now the subject of plenty of coverage: Dropout: Steve Jobs famously dropped out of college. Isaacman actually dropped out of high school before making his fortune, notes the BBC. He did so at the age of 16 because a New Jersey company for whom he'd been working part-time offered him a full-time IT job, according to a Forbes profile. Isaacman eventually got his GED as he worked out of his parents' basement. No regrets: "I was a horrible student," Isaacman says in the Netflix docuseries Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, per the New York Post. "And I wasn't, like, happy in school, either." His fortune: Isaacman founded the payment processing company Shift4Payments as a teen, and it now handles payments for restaurants and hotels including KFC, Arby's, Hilton, and Four Seasons. Forbes pegs his worth at $1.9 billion. He also founded Draken International in 2011, a defense firm that trains Air Force pilots, and he sold a majority stake to the firm Blackstone in 2019. Thrill seeker: Isaacman completed the fastest round-the-world trip in a light jet in 2009, per the Post. The Forbes profile notes that he owns a MiG jet, which he flies "faster than the speed of sound" and "climbs mountains to unwind from non-stop, intense 80-plus-hour weeks." Read These Next A big shake-up at the top of Ben and Jerry's hierarchy. Man initially detained in Charlie Kirk case has been charged. The woman whose review of her local Olive Garden went viral has died. Trump to reporter: 'Maybe they'll have to go after you.' Report an error