Robert Earl Holding is a self made American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman. He is the owner of Sinclair Oil

Sinclair Oil

Sinclair Oil Corporation is an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916 as the Sinclair Oil & Refining Corporation by combining the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sinclair Oil reincorporated in Wyoming in 1976...

, the Grand America Hotel, the Westgate Hotel (San Diego) directed by Georg Hochfilzer

Georg Hochfilzer

Georg Hochfilzer is an Austrian businessman. He is the former General Manager of the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, one of 257 Leading Hotels of the World, from which he retired in 2008....

, Little America Hotels

Little America Hotels

The Little America chain of hotels consists of 4 hotels in the western United States. The very first Little America, called Little America Wyoming, is west of Green River, Wyoming, and west of Rock Springs, Wyoming on Interstate 80. Built in 1934, the property began with 12 guest rooms, 2 gas...

, and two ski resorts, Sun Valley

Sun Valley, Idaho

Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...

 in central Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, and Snowbasin

Snowbasin

Snowbasin Resort is located northeast of Salt Lake City, in Weber County, Utah. Opened in 1939, as part of an effort by the city of Ogden, Utah to restore the Wheeler Creek watershed, it is one of the oldest ski resorts in the United States. Over the next 50 years Snowbasin grew slowly...

 near Ogden, Utah

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

.

R. Earl Holding was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

 and earned a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in civil engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

. His parents were apartment caretakers.

Holding also owns 400,000 acres (1,600 km²) of working cattle ranch land in northern Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 and southern Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

.

With an estimated net worth of around $3.1 billion, he is ranked on Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

's Forbes 400

Forbes 400

The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...

list as the 101st-richest person in America.

After suffering a severe stroke in 2002, Mr. Holding is partially paralyzed but has made a partial recovery and continues to lead his organization.

External links

• Forbes 400 list - 2010 - #101 - Robert Earl Holding
• Sun Valley Mayor thanks Earl Holding for his 60 year plan/vision for the Sun Valley Resort
• Idaho Mtn Express - 25-Jan-2006 - Valley pays tribute to Holding
• Becoming Earl excerpt from book about Earl Holding: Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America, Stephen Trimble (University of California Press, 2008)