Blacks who own jets - Willie Gary

WHETHER it's in the courtroom or the world of big business, Willie Gary lives by one creed: Seeing is believing. "People believe," he says, "85 percent of what they see and only 15 percent of what they heal."

That's why when media see his $10 million, 50-room Florida mansion, they attach the word "super" to his attorney title. That's why when CEOs of Fortune 100 companies see his new 737 "Wings of Justice" airplane roll into town, "they know their worst nightmare has come true," Gary says. "When we land in the big bird, they know they got to pay. Stop arguing 'cause you got to pay. That's all there is to it."

Gary believes that a picture is worth one thousand words, and nothing exemplifies that more than his 737. Other African-Americans own jets. Bill Cosby has a Gulfstream. So does La-Van Hawkins, chairman and CEO of the Hawkins Food Group, the nation's 12th-ranked Black business. Then there are countless Blacks with fraction ownership of aircraft, which means they buy flying time to use as they please.

Hawkins, who operates a string of 189 fast food outlets, including 117 Pizza Huts, flies all over the world in his Gulfstream, which he has owned for more than a year. He employs two pilots and two flight attendants, "in case one gets sick." Hawkins and his wife, Wendy, who is president of the Hawkins Foundation, have homes in Detroit and Atlanta and commute by jet.

For Hawkins, and other high-flying Blacks, jets are more than a luxury. "There is no other way," he says, "that I can run a company of this magnitude and stay on top of business operations in different cities, and maintain business connections in Canada and other countries without having the luxury of flying in and out of airports."

Gary, who says that he needs two jets, is the only African-American and one of few Americans to own a 737. The 737 is the third airplane for Gary, who says he has achieved his lifelong goal of becoming a billionaire. His first plane was a small Hawker jet. The second, which he still owns, is a 17-seat G-H Gulfstream. Now with his new 737, Gary is in rare air, a class of business success that few Americans ever achieve.

"It's impressive," he says of his 737. "It makes a statement. And it puts me on a whole different level. When I'm trying a lawsuit against one of the Fortune 100 companies, their attorneys take no prisoners. They try to eat you alive. So they need to know that when I walk into that courtroom that I am there to stay. Can I do it? You bet I can. Am I capable? You bet I am. The airplane is just one thing that makes that kind of statement from day one."

But don't think the idea of having a flight department that costs a whopping half-million dollars a month to operate is more a vision of excess than success. The man who in 1998 won $500 million in the third largest jury verdict in U.S. history says, that while it may be hard for some people to understand, he actually needs two jets. "Put me on a commercial flight, and you're losing big bucks," says the billionaire who last flew commercial in 1994. "I can deliver $30 million a month. So I figure that spending $500,000 a month on my airplanes is a bargain."

Gary says there have been times when he has flown to five states in one day, and made it home to sleep in his bed. "I'm finding that I spend about 75 percent of my time on the plane," says Gary, who says he recently settled a $187 million case while on the airplane. "I have working dinners, working lunches on the plane. I have the bedroom on the plane, and it gives me the ability to rest and work at the same time."

And then there are his other ventures. Take the time he flew out to California to meet with top executives from Direct TV about his new MBC cable television network. "They knew right away that if there was ever any question whether my network had staying power or whether my network was going to be around or whether this was a good deal for them to be in," he says, "when they walked on that plane and we served them with the Waterford crystal, silverware, sterling china plates, they knew that we were in the big leagues."

While Gary wouldn't disclose exactly how much the airplane cost, he did say, "When you buy a plane of that size, and you do it up, before you know it, you could have 65 to 70 million dollars in it," he says. "They are very expensive. A tune-up alone costs $250,000. It's a big-ticket item. You can't be in the minor [leagues]."

Known for his exquisite taste, Gary spared no expense to make his 737 the best place to be at 37,000 feet. Everything had to be chosen. Every item is custom-made. In all, Gary spent $12 million to decorate the interior.

Joann st. John, the interior designer of Gary's airplanes, says the feel of the 737 is consistent with the traditional and luxurious design of his Stuart, Fla., home and three offices. "There's heaven and then there's the `Wings of Justice,'" she says. "It is indeed the closest thing to heaven on earth."

The 737 has 14 television screens (including a 42-inch flat-screen in the main cabin), VCRs, a laser disc, a fax machine, a DVD player and six air-telephones that cost $100,000 apiece. It has teleconferencing capabilities, which means Gary can hold meetings with his cable office in Atlanta and his law office in Florida. The staff can see him, and he can see the staff. The aircraft has a full kitchen and a full dining room. Hot meals are served on the plane. "Soul food all the time. That's a must. Got to have it," Gary says. "I mix it up. I have lot offish and chicken. But we find a way to do it like mama used to do it. We have that plane smelling good."