At seven years old, Steve Varsano was already working—sweeping floors in a beauty salon to help his single mother support four children. While other kids played, Steve learned that survival required action.
The defining moment came at 14. A friend's brother invited him for a flying lesson over New York. Steve had never been in a plane before.
“It was like, holy shit — this is amazing. I fell in love with aviation in that second.”
Working as a dishwasher and busboy, he saved for flying lessons—every two to three weeks of work bought one hour of instruction. He soloed at 16, got his license at 17, and earned his aeronautical degree from Embry-Riddle.
Steve's first major jet sale at 23 nearly became his last. The deal was worth $3.125 million (about $70 million today)—a West Wind 1 aircraft sold to a Venezuelan billionaire.
"I'm 23. In my suit. I'm having a scotch. I feel like f**king James Bond."
Halfway to Miami, the Venezuelan representatives demanded $75,000—all of his company's profit. When Steve refused, one pulled out a pistol, pointing it at his face.
"You come into Venezuela. When we get our money, you go home. If we don't get our money, you will never be going home."
When they landed, Steve escaped while the gunman paid for fuel. “I jumped into a taxi and said, ‘Quick, quick, quick—go, go, go!’”
He spent weeks looking over his shoulder, but never stopped selling jets.
That incident became his baptism by fire moment—a lesson that exponential success demands exponential risk tolerance.
Steve's aviation success caught the attention of a Wall Street takeover king who hired him for corporate acquisitions. “I worked with him for about 15 years, all around the world, working 18 hours a day.”
This led to restaurant empire building with his father-in-law. At their peak, they owned 2,800 restaurants across Long John Silver's, A&W, Captain D's, and Del Taco, eventually selling to what became Yum! Brands.
The sale required moving to London for a year to expand into Eastern Europe and Russia. What was meant to be temporary became the foundation for his greatest transformation.
Steve discovered the aviation market had shifted—real growth was in Russia, India, Nigeria, and China. But reaching these clients was "too costly and logistically impossible."
His solution was counterintuitive and exponential: instead of chasing clients globally, build something so compelling they'd come to him. Industry colleagues told him to "check into a psychiatric hospital."
He spent years designing a London showroom that wouldn't "look like a toy store." Today, it's where the world's wealthiest buy jets ranging from $20-70 million—a destination so exclusive that tech billionaires and oligarchs travel internationally just to visit.
Steve's social media journey began 2.5 years ago as "kind of a fluke." His authentic stories about work ethic and business building have generated 1.3 billion views and 5 million followers.
"I get such a thrill knowing that I'm connecting with this younger generation. I get more enjoyment out of helping young kids than even selling more airplanes."
The contrast creates powerful teaching moments—a guy who started sweeping floors now sells jets to tech billionaires, sharing unfiltered truth about both experiences.
Steve's mission crystallized through social media success: to inspire young entrepreneurs through authentic storytelling from five decades of wealth building.
His street-smart background combined with current access to global elites creates unique value for aspiring entrepreneurs who need real mentorship, not theoretical frameworks.
“I really consider myself a mosquito compared to what some of these people have accomplished,” he says—demonstrating the humility that makes his success accessible to others.
Steve's Moonshot extends beyond aviation into space exploration: to create a global platform that gives working-class entrepreneurs direct access to aerospace innovation.
"Since aviation and space and flying cars is a sexy business, use the sexiness to get people engaged."
His vision includes raising a fund to give away private pilot licenses and airplane mechanic licenses, exposing young people to aerospace opportunities. The timing aligns with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and hundreds of aerospace startups creating opportunities that didn't exist when Steve started.
His unique position—selling jets to tech billionaires while inspiring millions—creates unprecedented connection possibilities between established wealth and emerging talent.
At 69, Steve works 12-hour days and embraces longevity research. "I'm doing everything I can to extend my life as long as I can and enjoy all the stuff I'm trying to learn."
While others his age retreat from new technologies, he's mastered social media and plans expansion into New York, Miami, and the Middle East.
"Every single person I deal with is richer or smarter or more powerful than I am. That keeps me humble and inspired."
Steve still answers 95% of his emails and picks up his phone personally. Increasingly, though, the most meaningful calls come from young entrepreneurs thanking him for showing that success comes from work ethic and relationship-building.
"Young kids thank me for inspiring them about work ethic, about how you talk to people, negotiate with people."
From sweeping floors at seven to building London's most exclusive jet showroom to inspiring 1.3 billion social media views and counting, Steve's journey demonstrates how accumulated capabilities can be deployed toward significance: transforming individual success into global inspiration that uplifts the next generation of builders.
Steve Varsano exemplifies how Abundance Members evolve from personal achievement to global impact, one authentic story at a time.
More from Steve:
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You've proven you can create value. Your track record speaks for itself—the deals closed, the teams inspired, the shareholders rewarded.
Today, you're motivated to transform that success into global significance. To deploy your accumulated capabilities—your capital, your network, your hard-won expertise— toward solving challenges that matter at civilizational scale.
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