Robert W. Miller
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- This article is about a businessman and entrepreneur. For Bob Miller, see Robert W. Miller (disambiguation).
Robert W. Miller (23 May 1933, Quincy, Massachusetts) is a billionaire, entrepreneur, cofounder of Duty-Free Shops (DFS), and sailing champion.
[edit] Duty-Free Enterprise
A veteran of the Korean War, Miller attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Management.
The concept of "duty free shopping"--offering high-end concessions to travelers, free of import taxes--was in its infancy when, along with Charles Feeney, Miller founded DFS on November 7, 1960. DFS began operations in Hong Kong (where it retains its corporate headquarters), later expanding to Europe and other continents. DFS' first major breakthrough came in the early 1960s, when it secured the exclusive concession for duty free sales in Hawaii, allowing it to market its products to Japanese travelers.
DFS eventually expanded to off-airport duty free stores and large downtown Galleria stores, and became the world’s largest travel retailer. [1] In 1996, Miller's and Feeney's interests were acquired by Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy (LVMH), the French luxury goods group, for $1.63 billion.[2]
Miller is also the founder of Search Group, an international investment company. Along with other assets, Miller is currently ranked the 68th richest person in the U.K. [3], down from 22nd in 2003. [4]
[edit] Sailing Records
In October 2003, Miller's monohull yacht, the Mari-Cha 111, set a new world record for crossing the Atlantic. [5] In that same trip, the Mari-Cha also broke the 24-hour distance record, by sailing 525.5 nautical miles in a 24-hour period. It was also the first monohull ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean in under seven days. The yacht’s crew included King Constantine II of Greece, the father of Crown Prince Pavlos, Miller's son-in-law.
[edit] Family and Home Life
He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, a son of Ellis Warren Appleton Miller (1898-1986), a bookkeeper and salesman, and his wife, the former Sophia June Squarebriggs (1899-1998), a Canadian-born former governess.[6]
He is married to the former Maria Clara "Chantal" Pesantes, a native of Ecuador. Their three daughters, often referred to as "The Miller Sisters," are Alexandra von Fürstenberg; Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece; and Pia Getty.
Miller, who is now a British citizen, remains based in Hong Kong but has homes in London, New York, Paris, and Gstaad. He also owns the 32,000-acre Gunnerside Estate in Yorkshire, one of the largest country estates in Britain.
