The path to success isn’t always a straightforward, uphill climb—even the most accomplished leaders, like Mike Bloomberg and Mark Cuban , were knocked down before making it big time. The same is true for Kenn Ricci, a serial American aviation businessman and chairman of private jet company Flexjet. After being put on leave from his first pilot job out of the Air Force, he turned a sticky situation into a billion-dollar fortune.

“I worked for [airline] Northwest Orient for a brief period of time. I get furloughed. Unemployed, back living with my parents,” Ricci told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview when reminiscing on how he made his first $1 million.

But, instead of throwing in the towel, he saw a golden opportunity. Ricci took a contract pilot job at Professional

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