Steve Jobs was once so impressed by his friend Larry Ellison’s private jet that he decided to get one almost identical to the Oracle co-founder’s aircraft. However, he famously could not resist making one small but telling change to its design. It reflected his well-known obsession with detail, and even a single button in the cabin got his personal attention. The plane is a Gulfstream V that Apple awarded Jobs during its dramatic recovery in the late 1990s. Decades later, the aircraft has changed registered ownership again, adding another chapter to a jet that links some of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures.
The story of this Gulfstream V began in December 1999. Apple announced the gift publicly in January 2000, alongside stock options.
He said, “I look at his airplane and mine, and everything he changed was better. Ellison eventually admitted that Jobs’s changes were improvements. The aircraft began as a reward for rescuing Apple, and its journey from Jobs to Ive and now Trousdale Aviation is a fitting reminder. Apple’s board awarded Jobs the aircraft as a bonus for helping turn around the struggling technology company.
After Jobs died in 2011, the aircraft became part of the estate inherited by his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs. By February 2020, historical registration records listed LoveFrom Inc. , the design company he set up after leaving Apple, as the aircraft’s registrant. Jony Ive had worked closely with Jobs on Apple’s most influential products and had helped shape the aircraft’s interior. He later bought the Gulfstream from her at a substantial discount. Ive reportedly joked that he would not need to redesign the aircraft, since he already knew its original design well.
May 13, 2026, is the issue date of the FAA certificate listing Trousdale Aviation as the registered owner, according to records. The jet has since gone through several registration identities before its latest recorded ownership change. The company is linked to investor Phillip Sarofim through Trousdale Ventures. The date does not independently establish when the sale was completed.
The Gulfstream has now entered a new chapter, with its registration changing earlier this year to Trousdale Aviation LLC.