James Stephen Fossett (born April 22, 1944; missing September 3, 2007; declared legally dead February 15, 2008) was an American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer and the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon. He made his fortune in the financial services industry, and was best known for many world records, including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.

A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, Fossett set 116 records in five different sports, 60 of which still stand, as of June 2007.

On September 3, 2007, Fossett was reported missing after the plane he was flying over the Nevada desert failed to return. Despite a month of searches by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and others, Fossett could not be found, and the search by CAP was called off on October 2, 2007. Privately funded and privately directed search efforts continued.

After a request from Fossett's wife, he was declared legally dead on February 15, 2008.

On September 29, 2008, a hiker found personal items, cash, and identification documents confirmed as Fossett's near Mammoth Lakes, California. Over the following week, an aerial search spotted the location of Fossett's airplane wreckage where ground searchers found partial remains that are currently undergoing DNA analysis.