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FACT BRIEF

Do the children of Wisconsin US Sen. Ron Johnson own a share of a private jet company that received a PPP loan?

By Erin Gretzinger
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YES

The children of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson own a minority interest in Maxair, Inc. which received a Paycheck Protection Program loan — but the loan was secured before they invested in the company, according to a statement from Johnson's office to Wisconsin Watch.

According to ProPublica, the charter company received $125,000 from the PPP program, created to encourage retention of employees during the pandemic. Johnson's children obtained a minority interest in Maxair in September 2020 — after it received PPP money, Johnson spokeswoman Corrine Day said.

Johnson's children's investment company has a non-controlling interest in Maxair, Day said. That means they own less than 50% of the company's shares and do not have unilateral decision-making power. 

"Senator Johnson had no knowledge of the PPP loan and has no financial interest in either Maxair or his children’s investment company," Day said. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
DocumentCloud Sen. Johnson's Office statement
Investopedia Non-Controlling Interest
ProPublica Tracking PPP
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.