How Does the $400 Million Worth Jack Nicklaus Travel? A Look at the Jets Owned by the 18X Major Champion Over the Years

Golf often rewards hard work. And not many have been hardworking like Jack Nicklaus. The golf legend has a lot of accolades to his name, and has found a lot of success on the PGA Tour. But that is only a small part of who he is. The 83-year-old is a successful businessman, a golf course designer, and a pilot. Yes! The former golf pro can fly a plane! And he owns multiple jets!

The Golden Bear’s jet collection

The 18-time major winner first began flying privately with his close friend and fierce rival, the late Arnold Palmer, back in the early 1960s. Niklaus was not only fascinated, but the experience had left him craving the same thing for himself. And so the $400 million-worth golf legend went out and bought himself a private jet.

Throughout his career and even after retirement, the golf pro purchased multiple planes. Although the models were not specified, in his 2019 sit-down with Business Jet Traveler, the pro revealed all the different aircrafts he owned. From a Canadian-owned plane, such as Learjet, to the well-known business jet, the Cessna Citation, which ranges in price from $5.85 million to $29.9 million depending on the model, He had owned many until now.

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Additionally, the 63-time PGA Tour winner also owned North American Sabreliners and JetStars; he owned them all. But that still didn’t seem enough for Nicklaus. He soon began traveling internationally and wanted a bigger jet. So, he first bought a used GIIB Gulfstream. And then he began upgrading slowly by slowly. He went on to buy a GIII and then moved on to a GIV. Eventually, the golfer got himself a GV.

What plane does Jack Nicklaus now own, and does he still fly his jets?

In the interview, the ex-pro golfer revealed that he currently owned the GIV-SP Gulfstream. The jet was special, because had the tail number, N1JN and was referred to as the ‘Air Bear,’ which stemmed from his own nickname, the ‘Golden Bear.’

Unfortunately, Nicklaus’ time spent as a pilot was short-lived. Although he knew how to fly a plane and even a helicopter, quite early on the PGA Tour star stopped sitting in the driver’s seat of these vehicles. The reason? Well, it turned out that good old Nicklas was colorblind.

In 1969, the golf legend decided to get his own license. He had already clocked over 800 hours under a teacher’s guidance and wanted nothing more than to be able to take off alone. Following his written exam, the Golden bear headed in for his physical. And that’s when the shocking news of his colorblindness hit him. And surprisingly, until then, he was completely unaware of it!

But once the doctor told him that he was the “most colorblind person” he had ever tested, Nicklaus took the hint and retracted from his aircraft steering days. He exercised caution after that always having someone around when he flew a helicopter, and even leaving the flying to the real pros.

Nicklaus’ reasons for buying the jet

Unlike many, the Golden bear hadn’t bought himself a plane just because he could. Although it may have seemed like an impulsive buy, it was a well-thought-out decision. His thinking was that he could travel to countries like Japan, China, Malaysia, and Korea privately in about 7–10 days, whereas the same trip would have taken him close to 25 days commercially. And with his business taking off and his golf game in full swing, travel was a necessary requirement.

Rather than spend so much time away from his family, the $400 million man decided to shed a few million and go private instead. “It would save me two weeks at least two or three times a year,” stated the PGA Tour veteran. “That’s why I got into airplanes.”

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Do you think the golf legend may soon add another plane to his list that he will have someone pilot? And if so, which will it be? Let us know in the comments below.