Dennis Tito, American engineer and businessman, founded Wilshire Associates
Dennis Anthony Tito (born August 8, 1940) is an American engineer, entrepreneur and astronaut. In mid-2001, he became the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space, when he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station. This mission was launched by the spacecraft Soyuz TM-32, and was landed by Soyuz TM-31.