San Francisco, (Asian independent) Jack Sweeney, the college student who used to track Elon Musk’s private jets, has been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
Sweeney, 21, who studies at the US-based University of Central Florida, was listed on Forbes’ list of entrepreneurs in consumer technology, reports Insider.
“Jack Sweeney has created bots that track the private jets of the rich and famous, including Mark Cuban, Taylor Swift, and various Russian oligarchs, and has helped journalists, researchers, and hobbyists track planes across social media,” the Forbes’ profile reads.
According to Sweeney, the acknowledgement is one of the many reasons he’s glad he didn’t give in to Musk’s demands that he stop tracking his private jet.
“I’m thankful I got on the list. I think this event just adds to the reasons why I’m glad I didn’t take it down. It’s allowed me to meet great people and continue to expand on what I love, jet-tracking,” Sweeney was quoted as saying.
Sweeney has collected and published flight data for some of the world’s most influential people, including American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in recent years.
He originally came to public attention last year after Musk offered him $5,000 to stop sharing his flight information on social media, but he refused and demanded $50,000.
Musk said he would think about it, but has not paid up.
Sweeney’s X accounts, including @ElonJet and @ZuccJet, were later suspended in December after Musk took over the company.
Musk claimed that the account was a “personal safety risk”.
In July this year, Sweeney moved to Meta’s Twitter-rival Threads after being suspended from the microblogging platform last year.
