Fractional Jet Ownership is generally acknowledged to have gotten its big push in 1964 with the involvement of well known and respected individuals prominent in aviation circles including General Curtis LeMay, General O.F. Lassiter, Arthur Godfrey and Jimmy Stewart. General Lassiter was the person who created a company which used U.S. Air Force principles in aircraft utilization and management.

In 1965 William P. Lear Jr. and General Paul Tibbets Jr. joined the company then known as Executive Jet Aviation. In 1986, a subsidiary known as NetJets was created.

Richard Santulli is considered the visionary who created the concept of selling fractional ownerships in business jets to companies and individuals who need some business jet transportation, but for whom neither charters nor ownership of a complete airplane fulfilled their needs. This program was begun in earnest in 1987 and the NetJets concept of fractional ownership was born.

In 1998, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway, Inc. bought the company for $725 million and is now a major backer of the company now known as Executive Jet. There are now other companies involved in various aspects of Fractional Jet Ownership using the concepts created by Mr. Santulli.

It is predicted that Fractional Jet Ownership and leasing will be the dominant form of ownership of business jets by companies or individuals.