How missing UK billionaire Hamish Harding made his fortune

Publish date: 2024-05-29

Hamish Harding is one of the five people on board the Titan submersible which has gone missing while on a dive to see the wreck of the Titanic. News that the former Antarctic-based explorer and space tourist was one of the missing people was confirmed by the United Arab Emirates' based businessman's stepson Brian Szasz on Facebook.

Writing in a post on the social media sharing site, Brian said: "Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his Submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. Search and rescue mission is underway." As the search and rescue operation continues to find the missing Titan submersible and its occupants, HELLO! looks at all there is to know about the missing British billionaire below.

Who is Hamish Harding?

Captain Hamish Harding is a Cambridge-educated pilot, world record holder and businessman. Originally from the UK, the 58-year-old has been based in the United Arab Emirates for several years as his company, Action Aviation, has its headquarters in Dubai.

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According to the aircraft broker's profile on the website for his 2019 project, One More Orbit: "When he’s not flying jets, [Harding] lives with his family and two golden retrievers in the United Arab Emirates, a central location for his global aircraft business." The website also details that Harding has a wife named Linda and a step-daughter named Lauren. Harding also has two teenage sons named Rory and Giles, who sometimes feature on his social media.

What does Hamish Harding do?

Prior to his involvement with the OceanGate Titanic expedition, Harding has been a part of several other significant explorations which have taken him from the deepest areas of the Earth's oceans to the highest reaches of space. In 2017, the Action Aviation founder worked as a pilot with the Antarctic VIP tourism company White Desert, successfully implementing a business jet service to the area's ice runway in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.

WATCH: Find out more about the OceanGate Titanic mission here

The businessman has also visited the South Pole on several occasions, including when he accompanied former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin to the Pole in 2016. Harding's own space exploration came thanks to Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin NS-21 mission, which took flight on 4 June 2022.

In 2019, Harding led the One More Orbit mission alongside former NASA astronaut Terry Virts. The mission's goal was to achieve the Guinness World Record for the fastest time taken to circumnavigate the earth via the North and South Poles while flying in a Gulfstream G650ER business jet. This record was recorded by Harding and his team in 46 hours and 40 minutes.

In 2021, the explorer and pilot dove to the deepest point of the Mariana Trench in a two-man submarine, which he shared with fellow explorer, businessman and undersea explorer Victor Vescovo. He and Victor set the record then for the greatest length covered and the greatest time spent at such a depth.

What is Hamish Harding's net worth?

The exact net worth of Hamish Harding is unknown. Due to his successful work and impressive Aviation company, many news outlets including Sky News and the BBC have reported that Harding is a billionaire private jet dealer. However, Forbes have said he does not appear on their list of billionaires.

What is Hamish Harding's business Action Aviation?

According to their website, Harding's company Action Aviation offers customers "world class expertise in aircraft sales and acquisitions." The Dubai based company was set up by Harding in 2004, and provides clients with the service of finding the correct jets for their projects.

For example, in September 2022, the company organized the customization of a Boeing 747-400 in order to transport several wild cheetahs from Namibia to India in order to launch the reintroduction of the big cats to India. Action Aviation is a part of the Action Group, for which Harding is the founder. Harding is the chairman of Action Aviation.