United States-based billionaire Roger Penske has made a fleeting visit to Tauranga in his private jet to inspect his new acquisition - Mount Maunganui based Penske Commercial Vehicles.
United States-based billionaire Roger Penske's private jet parked at Tauranga Airport.
The 79-year-old man, also known in IndyCar circles as The Captain, arrived in Tauranga on a chartered Gulfstream G450 transcontinental business jet about lunchtime on Monday.
The flight is believed to have originated in Houston, but customs were cleared in Auckland. Roger departed later in the day bound for the Marshall Islands.
The Gulfstream G450 is a high speed business jet, with a range of more than 8000km and a cruising speed of 0.8 mach.
Aircraft of the same model and similar age are selling for between $US21 million and $US23 million.
Roger, who celebrates his 80th birthday next Thursday, is the billionaire owner of the racing team Team Penske, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive-related businesses.
He is the new owner of MAN and Western Star trucking franchises in New Zealand after Penske Automotive Group bought the commercial vehicles group from Transpacific Industries last year for $219 million, with the sale going through last September.
Wikipedia says Roger also owns the most victories as an owner in the Indianapolis 500; 15 owner victories.
He built his business fixing, racing and selling the cars. After retiring from driving in the mid-60s he went on to create one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing.
2 comments
Awesome
Posted on 11-02-2014 17:58 | By crazygal
Love storys like that, when people do something and get greatly rewarded, wish i had the know how to do something to make my life easier, well done
@crazygal
Posted on 12-02-2014 11:17 | By morepork
Yes, it is inspiring. But don't undersell your own capabilities. All of us have great potential and sometimes it is just a random event or thought that triggers it. Skill can be acquired; creativity seems to be something else though. Most of us just accept the role of making money for other people (going to work each day) and never move out of that comfort zone. People like Penske are passionate about what they do and will go out on a limb to pursue that passion. They deserve the rewards because they took the risk. (I wouldn't mind betting there were several failures before he succeeded...) Sometimes the "know how" is just an insight or recognition of something that isn't there right now (Zuckerberg and Facebook is a perfect example), and then working to put it in place. Others see your passion and come on board too. Good luck!
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