The celebrity leaderboard for private jet usage by miles in 2024 has been released, and the results might come as a surprise.
Given the intense scrutiny Taylor Swift comes under for her private air miles, many may assume the US pop sensation takes the top spot.
However, in reality, the 34-year-old came in 45th place in the rankings, posted by CelebrityPrivateJetTracker.com, with her plane using 72,750 gallons of fuel to complete a total of 95,030 miles over nine days, 11 hours, and 59 minutes over the year.
The website collects flight data from Airplanes.live, ADSB.fi, and ADSB Exchange and fuel consumption estimates are based on manufacturer data.
Coming in top place with a staggering 612,868 air miles, 712,100 gallons of fuel, across 58 days, 20 hours and 24 minutes and 495 flights, is former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, 69.
It’s not Eric’s only form of luxury transformation, with the 69-year-old last year winning a lucrative auction in Antigua to buy a $67.6 million superyacht previously owned by a Russian oligarch.
Coming in second place is Elon Musk’s private jet, which ate up 511,250 gallons of fuel across 320 flights, tallying up 461,191 private air miles.
In 2016, the Tesla CEO purchased his luxury Gulfstream G650, a favorite aircraft among the one percent – including soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Business Insider reported.
The celebrity leadership board for private jet usage in 2024 has been revealed, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt took the top spot
Musk’s flying habits have been well documented over the years, and in 2018 alone he flew on over 250 flights across the U.S, Europe and Asia and spent $700,000 on his plane, the Washington Post reported.
Musk’s 99-foot-long luxury jet is a fair trade off for an actual home, and is equipped with multiple big-screen televisions, fresh air circulation and 195 square feet for luggage storage, Gulfstream said.
The jet also features a spacious laboratory and four large living room spaces, featuring cream-colored leather seats and wood furniture.
One of the living spaces includes a VIP cabin with a sliding door perfect for holding private meetings. It has a sofa as well as a flat screen television.
The total of 19 seats in the living spaces all recline and have footrests, and can be converted into beds. Fold up tables stowed at the side of the plane can be combined to form a large dining room table where guest on board can dine.
Kim Kardashian, who also owns a Gulfstream G650, took third place. The reality TV star and Skims mogul travelled 419,532 miles across 39 days, 16 hours, and two minutes, using 464,320 gallons of fuel. She took a total of 236 flights in the jet.
The mother-of-four purchased her private jet in 2022 for a reported $95 million. She fitted the aircraft with custom modifications, raising its reported worth to $150 million.
Dubbed ‘Kim Air’, it was first made known to the public during an episode of her family’s Hulu reality show, The Kardashians.
Despite common perception, Taylor Swift (seen on stage during her Eras Tour in Lisbon in May) did not top the new rankings
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian travelled 419,532 miles across 39 days, 16 hours, and three minutes in her private jet this year
Pictured: Elon Musk touching down in Los Angeles in his private jet, which ate up 511,250 gallons of fuel in 2024
Taking the fourth spot is disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who reportedly completed 415,139 miles over 308 flights in his Gulfstream V, which used 383,360 gallons of fuel.
Combs, 55, whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes to be $400 million, has past used his social media to document lavish holiday celebrations and other celebrities on yachts in far-flung locales.
Following his September 16 arrest in Manhattan in connection with federal sex trafficking charges, the hip-hop mogul and his legal team have not been able to persuade a judge to let him post bail out of the facility.
Last week, Combs was denied bail by a judge, who cited evidence showing him to be a ‘serious risk’ of witness tampering and proof he has tried to hide prohibited communications with third parties while incarcerated.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employees. An indictment alleges that he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Travis Scott took fifth place in the rankings, tallying up a total of 404,644 miles in his Embraer E-190. The rapper completed 294 journeys, using 765,200 gallons of fuel. The amount he spent travelling equated to 43 days, five hours, and 16 minutes.
He was last seen using his private jet in October, when he arrived in Sydney for his Circus Maximus world tour to .
The American rapper, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, arrived in Sydney just hours before his gig at the Allianz Stadium via private jet.
Disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (pictured in Los Angeles in 2018) came fourth in the rankings
Billionaire climate activist Bill Gates (seen in September) featured in the top ten
Coming in sixth place is Jay Z’s Gulfstream V, which totalled 386, 642 miles over 291 trips, taking up 341, 990 gallons of fuel. The billionaire travelled for the equivalent of 38 days and five hours.
The husband of Beyoncé appears to be an avid private jet fan, and in 2015, he invested in ‘Uber for private jets’, Jetsmarter, an app built by 27-year-old entrepreneur Sergey Petrossev, which claimed to let anyone book a flight on a private jet in a matter of seconds.
Four years later, the app was accused of scamming customers out of thousands and losing millions on hiring celebrities to promote them.
Coming in seventh place is billionaire Bill Gates, who travelled 384,261 miles in his Gulfstream G650. He took a total of 228 trips in the private jet, using 408,490 gallons of fuel over the equivalent of 33 days, 19 hours, and 17 minutes.
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In 2023, Bill claimed he was not a part of the problem regarding private jets polluting the world because of the effort he puts in to offsetting his carbon emissions.
While sitting down for an interview with the BBC, Gates was pressed on whether or not he was a hypocrite for espousing climate change warnings, while jetting around the world on his massively polluting private plane.
Gates responded that by saying he was ‘not part of the problem’ because of the amount of money he pays Climeworks – a company which, for a monthly fee, offsets carbon emissions.
While Bill’s jet took the seventh place, Luke Bryan took the eighth spot. The American Idol judge tallied up 373,154 miles across 646 trips in his Learjet 60. The 48-year-old used 225,000 gallons of fuel over the equivalent of 45 days, 23 hours, and 38 minutes.
In ninth spot was n-born media mogul Michael Bloomberg, 82, who last year revealed that he will leave his multi-billion-dollar company to his philanthropic foundation when he dies, travelled 359,284 miles over 305 trips in his Dassault Falcon 900.
The founder of Bloomberg L.P and former New York City Mayor’s jet used a total of 256,340 gallons of fuel across the equivalent of 35 days, five hours, and 20 minutes.