Jesse Itzler is an American entrepreneur, author, and former rapper best known for co-founding Marquis Jet, one of the world’s largest private jet card companies.
He built a string of successful ventures across aviation, beverages, and sports, and later became a New York Times bestselling author and part-owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Who is Jesse Itzler?
Jesse Eric Itzler is a serial entrepreneur who turned a career in rap music into a multimillion-dollar business empire.
Born and raised in Roslyn, New York, he went on to co-found companies later acquired by both Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company.
Beyond business, he ran a 100-mile ultra marathon in Texas in under 24 hours and spent 31 days training with a Navy SEAL, an experience he turned into a New York Times bestselling book.
His life brand, built around extreme personal challenges, earned him a following of well over one million people on Instagram.
Jesse is also married to Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, and together the two form one of the most prominent entrepreneurial couples in the United States.
The family lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where Jesse holds a minority ownership stake in the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
He has written more than 50 theme songs for professional sports teams including the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
That creative background in music, combined with an instinct for spotting market opportunities, has driven nearly every business move he has made since graduating college in 1990.
Early Life of Jesse Itzler
Jesse Itzler grew up in Roslyn, New York, on Long Island, in a Jewish family. His father, Daniel Itzler, was an inventor, and his mother, Elese Itzler, served as president of the Roslyn Board of Education.
He was the youngest of several children. Three generations of his father’s family had roots in Brooklyn, giving Jesse a strong connection to New York’s culture and hustle.
From an early age, Jesse showed an appetite for risk and creativity. As a student at American University in Washington, D.C., he negotiated a “customized curriculum” with a professor so he could record a demo in Queens on the days his class was scheduled.
That gamble paid off: he signed a record deal two months after graduation.
Jesse Itzler Age / Birthday
Jesse Itzler is 58 years old as of 2026, born on August 22, 1968. His zodiac sign is Leo, a fire sign linked with ambition, boldness, and natural leadership.
He has remained publicly active as a speaker, entrepreneur, and endurance athlete well into his late fifties.
Jesse Itzler Ethnicity / Religion / Nationality
Jesse Itzler is American by nationality, born and raised in New York. He grew up in a Jewish family, a background he has referenced in interviews and public appearances and hs full beluef in Judaism.
His family’s multi-generational ties to Brooklyn reflect a distinctly New York upbringing that shaped his drive and personality.
Jesse Itzler Height and Weight
Jesse Itzler stands 6 feet 0 inches tall, equivalent to 183 centimeters or 1.83 meters. His weight is reported at around 76 kilograms, which is approximately 167 pounds.
His build reflects years of endurance training, ultra marathon running, and an active lifestyle that he documents regularly on social media. Despite his business profile, Jesse has maintained a physically demanding routine as a core part of his personal brand.
Jesse Itzler Education
Jesse Itzler earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from American University in Washington, D.C., where he studied Justice, Law, and Society.
His time there was unconventional: he spent senior-year class periods in a recording studio in Queens, working toward a record deal.
That willingness to bet on himself, even during school, became a pattern that defined everything he did afterward.
His degree gave him a grounding in law and society, though his real education came from the businesses he built and sold over the next three decades.
Jesse Itzler Career
Jesse Itzler’s career has moved through three distinct phases: music, entrepreneurship, and authorship.
Each phase produced real results, from a Billboard Hot 100 single to companies sold to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
His instinct for identifying underserved markets early has been the constant thread across all of it.
Music Career and Early Songwriting (1991–1996)
After graduating from American University in 1990, Jesse signed with Delicious Vinyl as a songwriter and artist under the name Jesse Jaymes.
He released his debut album, Thirty Footer in Your Face, in 1991. His single “Shake It Like a White Girl” reached number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year.
He co-wrote songs for other artists, including Tone-Lōc, and built a reputation in what he called “frat rap.” The single “Shake It Like a White Girl” later gained fresh exposure when it appeared on the soundtrack of the 2004 film White Chicks.
In 1992, Jesse wrote and performed the New York Knicks theme song “Go NY Go.” That contract opened the door to similar deals with more than 50 other professional sports franchises.
He also wrote and sang the Emmy Award-winning “I Love This Game” for the NBA and produced the theme for Inside the NBA.
Entrepreneurship: Alphabet City, Marquis Jet, and Zico (1996–2013)
In 1996, Jesse co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records with Kenny Dichter. The company mixed classic arena music with historical play-by-play calls for teams including the Lakers, the Mavericks, and the Wizards. Alphabet City sold to SFX in 1998.
In 2001, Jesse and Dichter co-founded Marquis Jet, which became one of the world’s largest private jet card companies. The model let customers buy jet time through a prepaid card, making private aviation accessible without full aircraft ownership.
Jesse served as Vice Chairman until Berkshire Hathaway, the parent company of NetJets, acquired the business in 2009.
That same year, Jesse founded The 100 Mile Group, a brand incubator and accelerator based in Atlanta. Through that company, he formed a partnership with Zico Coconut Water and Coca-Cola.
In 2012, Coca-Cola acquired Zico outright, completing another major exit for Jesse’s portfolio.
Books, Atlanta Hawks Ownership, and Later Work (2015–Present)
In November 2015, Jesse published Living With a SEAL: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet.
The book, which chronicles his time training alongside Navy SEAL David Goggins, hit number one on the Los Angeles Times book list and became a New York Times bestseller.
In 2018, he released the follow-up, Living with the Monks, published by Center Street. That book followed his time at the New Skete religious community in upstate New York.
It built on his reputation as someone who tests extreme personal challenges and then shares what he learned.
Also in 2015, Jesse joined a group led by Tony Ressler that purchased the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million. The group also included Sara Blakely, Grant Hill, Steven Price, and Rick Schnall.
That purchase made Jesse a minority owner of an NBA franchise, adding a major asset to an already expansive portfolio.
He continues to build his 100 Mile Man brand, centered on physical and mental endurance challenges, speaking engagements, and his weekly “Free Swim” newsletter, which reaches more than 150,000 readers each Friday.
Jesse Itzler Wife
Jesse Itzler married Sara Blakely in 2008. Sara is the founder of Spanx, the shapewear company she built from $5,000 in savings into a global brand worth over $1 billion.
In 2012, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The two met at a charity poker tournament and have often appeared together at business events and on social media. Both share a love of endurance athletics, and Sara herself completed a USA National Ultra Marathon championship after Jesse did.
Together they live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their four children. Their combined profile as founders and entrepreneurs has made them a frequently cited example of a high-achieving couple with shared values around risk-taking and building companies from scratch.
Jesse Itzler Children
Jesse Itzler and Sara Blakely have four children together. Itzler has referenced his kids across his books, social media, and speaking engagements as a core motivation for his work and lifestyle philosophy.
His book Living with the Monks describes missing his family during his time at the New Skete monastery, offering a window into how much his children anchor his personal life alongside his professional ambitions.
Jesse Itzler Net Worth
Jesse Itzler’s estimated net worth is $200 million as of 2026. His wealth comes primarily from the sale of multiple businesses, his ownership stake in the Atlanta Hawks, and ongoing ventures through The 100 Mile Group.
Business Ventures
The bulk of Jesse’s wealth traces back to two landmark exits. He co-founded Marquis Jet in 2001 and sold it to Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets in 2009.
The following decade, his Zico Coconut Water partnership resulted in a Coca-Cola acquisition in 2012.
Those two transactions alone established him as a proven entrepreneur with an eye for emerging categories before they became mainstream.
Private aviation and coconut water were both niche markets when Jesse entered them.
Atlanta Hawks Ownership
Jesse became a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks in 2015, when a group led by Tony Ressler purchased the team for $850 million from Bruce Levenson.
NBA team valuations have grown substantially since that sale, adding meaningful passive appreciation to Jesse’s overall wealth picture.
Books, Speaking, and Media
Living With a SEAL became a New York Times bestseller after its 2015 release and continued to generate royalties as it built a dedicated readership.
His follow-up book, Living with the Monks, added to his income as an author. Jesse also commands fees for corporate keynote speaking and runs his Build Your Life Resume program.
His weekly “Free Swim” newsletter and Instagram presence have become platforms for his personal brand, connecting him with audiences interested in entrepreneurship, endurance sport, and life design.
Jesse’s total income across businesses, ownership stakes, book royalties, and speaking places him among the financially successful entrepreneurial figures of his generation.
Jesse Itzler Social Media
Jesse Itzler is active across multiple platforms and has built a substantial audience through consistent, personal content.
On Instagram, he uses the handle @jesseitzler, where he shares training content, business insights, life philosophy, and family moments with over 1.3 million followers.
He is also active on Twitter/X under the same handle. His personal website and newsletter hub can be found at jesseitzler.com.
Summary
Jesse Itzler moved from rapping on MTV and writing sports anthems to building and selling companies to Berkshire Hathaway and Coca-Cola, and later became a New York Times bestselling author and NBA team co-owner.
His career across music, private aviation, coconut water, endurance athletics, and publishing reflects a willingness to enter unfamiliar markets without a traditional background, and to make each one work.
