In 1978 he seized the opportunity to buy the Grumman American plants and offices from Grumman for $52 million, forming the Gulfstream American Corporation. In 1982, he bought Rockwell International's aviation division in Oklahoma and combined it with Gulfstream American to form Gulfstream Aerospace. Paulson transformed the company into the world's largest manufacturer of private jets. Sales increased to $1 billion yearly. In June 1985, he sold the company to Chrysler for $637 million. He was awarded the Clarence E. Page Memorial Trophy from the Oklahoma Air and Space Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1990, with the assistance of Forstmann Little & Company, Paulson purchased all 25 million shares of Gulfstream's common stock from Chrysler, an investment of some $825 million. Paulson announced his retirement in January 1992 and his shares in the company were purchased by Forstmann Little.