Robert W. Miller
Encyclopedia
Robert Warren Miller is a millionaire
, entrepreneur
, co-founder of DFS (Duty Free Shops)
, and sailing
champion
.
s to traveler
s, free of import taxes - was in its infancy when, along with Chuck Feeney
, Miller founded DFS on November 7, 1960.
(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 has been recognized as the world’s leading luxury goods travel retailer.
Robert Miller is a significant minority shareholder (38%) in DFS alongside LVMH, which bought out Mr. Feeney’s share. DFS was the first international retailer to game the emergence of Japanese economic elites travelling abroad in the 1960s. More recently, Miller targeted the emergence of mainland China’s economic elite following the Japanese experience as a category of shoppers in the Asia Pacific. Miller’s company changed with its market. DFS’s beginnings lay primarily in duty-free liquor, but is now the leading travel retailer of luxury goods in a variety of categories. To present its new merchandise, DFS moved beyond the airport liquor store venue and into store environments executed with an eye to style in order to market the broadest portfolio of brand names in the travelling marketplace.
DFS eventually expanded to off-airport
duty free stores and large downtown
Galleria stores
, and became the world's largest travel retailer. In 1996, Miller's and Feeney's interests were acquired by Louis Vuitton
Moët Hennessy
(LVMH
), the French
luxury good
s group, for $1.63 billion. Miller still retains a 31% share of the company
to this day.
The half century gala on July 10, 2010 was attended by 2000 guests, who arrived at the Sun Plaza to a surprise. They were transported to a secret location, Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport, the site of the original DFS. A domed clubbing space was erected on the Kai Tak site, hosting performances by disk jockey Emmanuel Santarromana
and Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean
. Designers supported the event. Burberry, Celine, Chloe, Fendi and Marc By Marc Jacobs offered limited-edition merchandise specifically for the gala, including Celine’s python luggage bag and Fendi’s sequined baguette bag. Said Robert Miller, “I couldn’t be more proud and confident of our company and our people’s future than I am today.” The afterhours event culminated in Haitian singer Wyclef Jean’s performance, whose appearance reflected DFS's commitment to Hand in Hand for Haiti, the design industry initiative to rebuilding a Haitian school after 2010’s earthquake.
Founder Robert Miller greeted the celebrants at Kai Tak. “A lot has happened in Hong Kong in the past 50 years, and the changes are unbelievable," said Mr. Miller. "DFS has been through tumultuous times, but it has persevered and done well. That’s due to our wonderful team of people, and to their dedication and loyalty.”
company of which he is CEO and chairman. The Search investment Group Ltd is a large shareholder in Ortelius Capital Partners, which is an investment firm founded by Miller's son-in-law HRH Prince Pavlos of Greece. He is also principal of SAIL advisors (Search Alternative Investments Ltd),global investors in hedge funds. Along with other assets, Miller is currently ranked the 68th richest person in the U.K., down from 22nd in 2003.
exists to promote better understanding and appreciation in the United States of the peoples of Asia. The Society has been a leading interest of Mr. Miller. The Society conducts public affairs programming for members and the business community, in addition to historical and cultural activities. It was thought that a rapidly changing Asia required better understanding by Americans. The Asia Society, through its programs, still stimulates responsible analysis of the major issues confronting Asian-American relations in an attempt to gain more understanding and cooperation by the peoples on both sides of the Pacific.
This Society of which Mr. Miller is a Trustee has approximately ten thousand members. The Asia Society Hong Kong Center was established in the early 1990s ago by Hong Kong community leaders. It was the Asia Society's first overseas office, and remains the largest overseas office. Mr. Miller was important in that effort. The Hong Kong Asia Society hosts approximately one hundred events per year in Hong Kong and mainland China. Programmes include lectures, exhibitions, tours, seminars, films and conferences.
An example of the presentations supported by Mr. Miller is "Vietnam Behind the Lines: Images from the War 1965 - 1975", an exhibition which at the Hong Kong Museum of Art during the first half of 2004. It was organized and presented by the Asia Society, the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Museum of Art
, and the British Museum
. The exhibition presented an unfamiliar aspect of the Vietnam conflict: works created by North Vietnamese artists engaged in the creation of propaganda, between 1965 and 1975 in the collection of the British Museum. Combining traditional and contemporary techniques, the works revealed an extremely diverse range of media including hand-painted posters, pen and ink sketches, watercolour and ink paintings, drawings in crayon and chalk, acrylics on cardboard, and printed compositions. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Asia Society organized a series of lectures, films and other events about Vietnamese history, culture, politics and contemporary affairs.
yacht
, the Mari-Cha IV, set a new world record
, becoming the first monohull
ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean
in under seven days. http://www.mike-sanderson.com/default.asp?m=da&id=9977 During the same crossing, the yacht also broke the 24-hour distance record, by sailing 525.5 nautical miles (973.2 km) in just 24 hours. Both he and his son-in-law Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
, son of King
Constantine II of Greece
were crew members. In 2005, the Mari-Cha IV competed in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge and broke the 100-year-old record for a West to East transatlantic crossing by 2 days, 5 minutes and 56 seconds.T he Mari-Cha IV was moored at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, which is also home to Frank Pong’s Pyewacket. Pong won the St. Barth Around-the-Island Race a few years ago with his R/P 77 Jelik. Pong bought the R/P 94 Pyewacket from the late Roy Disney. Pyewacket shared the moorings with the 140-ft Mari-Cha IV, which Mr. Miller raced in the Pacific Cup. Eventually, Miller down sized his fleet and decided to keep the older Mari-Cha III at the Royal Hong Kong YC. In 2010, the Mari-Cha III was listed for sale.
As Mike Hanlon reported, “’It is a great feat,’ commented Mari-Cha IV’s owner Robert Miller. ‘For a record to stand 100 years, and we’ve had the honour to make an attempt and be successful at it--I am over the moon, overjoyed. It is fantastic. This was a very tough trip. We had six days of weather on the nose. We crossed the Gulf Stream, saw some very rough seas there and again had headwinds and steep short seas on the nose, and the boat and the crew took a beating.’”
During the record breaking crossing, Miller pushed the Mari-Cha III beyond its limits. The mainsail headboard and the headboard cars on both mainsail and mizzen broke. The chance of breaking the century-old record was endangered. As Miller recounted, ’[i]f the ship or the crew were in danger then we would have had to retire, but we did a very good damage control assessment and the question of retirement was never an option. We have a very versatile crew, and we can be really self-contained here, so any type of problem we have been able to overcome this time. We were very fortunate and it all worked out well for us, I’m very happy to say.”
The Mari-Cha IV’s 2005 voyage followed in the wake of an October 2003 passage between New York and Lizard in which Miller set a monohull record of 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. In the 2003 effort, Mari-Cha IV had the advantage of being able to choosing a sailing time during optimum weather conditions. In 2005, their voyage coincided with a race start with a fixed time. Said Miller’s helmsman, “[p]retty much for the first 1,500 miles we were battling away against everything…the elements, Maximus…and we’ve still got a big battle on our hands now.” After clocking at the Lizard gate, the Challengeyachts continue to the finish line at the Needles, off the Isle of Wight, as in 1905 the record-setting yacht Atlantic did. “From a record standpoint it is very exciting, especially it being such an old record. It is not every day you break a 100-year-old record. It is incredible that a record like that stood for so long, and it was the outright record for so long, too. So obviously it was an incredible achievement back then, and they’ve made us fight for it this time as well,” continued Miller’s helmsman.
The boat-to-boat competition during the Challenge was tight, down to the finish On the Lizard approach, Mari-Cha IV cut between Land’s End and the Scilly Isles, while 40 miles astern, the New Zealand entry Maximus passed outside of the Scillies. Off the Lizard, Mari-Cha IV was engulfed in thick fog reducing visibility to just 330 feet. “We can see the bow of the boat, so it’s not true English fog, and we are VMG running down the Channel in 14 knots of wind doing 15.5 knots,” said Miller’s helmsman. Despite Mari-Cha’s lead, there was a possibility of Maximus hunting them down. “We are very concerned about the breeze shutting down, and if that happens they’ll bring it up from behind, so we have realised we have a race on our hands still,” said the helmsman. The tides were relatively weak, removing a potential tactical advantage for Maximus, which passed the Lizard at 13:18:55 UTC, 3 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds in Mari-Cha IV’s wake. As Mari-Cha IV and Maximus reached the Lizard, A. Robert Towbin’s Sumurun, the on-the-water and handicap leader in the Classic division, was 1,653 miles off the Lizard. “We are the back of the pack, and it is pretty discouraging when you hear that the first boat has finished and you still have halfway to go,” conceded Armin Fischer, the Sumurun’s skipper. “We are about 170 miles ahead of the other two boats, but that can change very rapidly if you hit a weather system in the wrong way.”
to conjure a Greek temple on a London estate which hosted the event. Robert Isabell, was the floral designer and events planner whose aesthetic helped frame the Studio 54 experience in the 1970s and who was the planner of choice for Kennedy weddings. Likewise, Mr. Miller contracted with Tom Finn
, celebrity DJ, to spin the music at the royal wedding; Finn, founder of the band got his start after a chance meeting with Steve Rubell
in 1982 and a guest job spinning records at Studio 54. Finn has been the D.J. for New York City Ballet, the Frick Collection, and Metropolitan Museum of Art events.
but has houses in London
, New York
, Paris
, Hong Kong
,and Gstaad
. He also owns the 32000 acres (129 km²) Gunnerside Estate in Yorkshire
, one of the largest country estates in Britain
.
Mr. Miller was born at Quincy City Hospital, Quincy
, Norfolk County
, Massachusetts
and is a son of Ellis Warren Appleton Miller (Concord
, Middlesex County
, Massachusetts
, February 7, 1898 - bef. May, 1986), a bookkeeper, salesman, and descendant of several Mayflower
passengers; and the former Sophia "Sophie" June Squarebriggs (Prince Edward Island
, June 10, 1899 - Quincy
, Norfolk County
, Massachusetts
, March 20, 1998), a Canadian-born former governess
. They were married at 32 Bates St., Cambridge
, Middlesex County
, Massachusetts
, on September 15, 1923 by George E. Heath, Minister of the Gospel
. Miller is married to the former María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra, a native of Guayaquil
, Ecuador
, born on June 25, 1940, daughter of Servando Pesantes Chanduy, construction worker
, who died at Mapasingue
, near Guayaquil
, Ecuador
, in 1949, and wife Beatriz Becerra N. Their three daughters, often referred to as "The Miller Sisters," are Alexandra von Fürstenberg
former Princess of Fürstenberg; Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
, Princess of Denmark; and Pia Getty
.
Though Mr. Miller descends immediately from the American middle class and is a self-made businessman committed to globalization of markets, the Miller-Squarebriggs family is rooted in the British North American colonial elite, and descends over time from Henry I Angevin
, Louis IV the Carolingian
, and William, King of the Scots.
School of Hotel Management
. He graduated in 1955, having obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration. While attending Cornell University, Mr. Miller joined the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and through that organization, the Irving Literary Society
. Other positions held by Miller include Trustee of the Asia Society, Independent Non-Executive Director and Member of the Remuneration Committee of Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd. and Presidential Councilor and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University.
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, co-founder of DFS (Duty Free Shops)
DFS (retailer)
DFS Galleria is a chain of upscale department stores and shopping malls comprising high-end boutiques, located primarily within Oceania and around the Pacific Rim. Its website proclaims it to be "the world's leading luxury retailer catering to the travelling public"...
, and sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
champion
Champion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...
.
Education & Business Interests
The concept of "duty free shopping" - offering high-end concessionConcession
Concession may refer to:* Concession : failure to challenge or cessation of challenging, as in "conceding an election" or "conceding a game".* Concession : a contracted-out service, as in concession stand....
s to traveler
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
s, free of import taxes - was in its infancy when, along with Chuck Feeney
Chuck Feeney
Charles F. Feeney , is an Irish American businessman and philanthropist and founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the largest private foundations in the world. He made his fortune as a co-founder with Robert Warren Miller of the Duty Free Shoppers Group...
, Miller founded DFS on November 7, 1960.
Duty Free Shops (DFS)
DFS began operations in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
(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
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, allowing it to market its products to Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
travelers. DFS has been recognized as the world’s leading luxury goods travel retailer.
Robert Miller is a significant minority shareholder (38%) in DFS alongside LVMH, which bought out Mr. Feeney’s share. DFS was the first international retailer to game the emergence of Japanese economic elites travelling abroad in the 1960s. More recently, Miller targeted the emergence of mainland China’s economic elite following the Japanese experience as a category of shoppers in the Asia Pacific. Miller’s company changed with its market. DFS’s beginnings lay primarily in duty-free liquor, but is now the leading travel retailer of luxury goods in a variety of categories. To present its new merchandise, DFS moved beyond the airport liquor store venue and into store environments executed with an eye to style in order to market the broadest portfolio of brand names in the travelling marketplace.
DFS eventually expanded to off-airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
duty free stores and large downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Galleria stores
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, and became the world's largest travel retailer. In 1996, Miller's and Feeney's interests were acquired by Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
Moët Hennessy
Hennessy
Jas Hennessy & Co., or more simply Hennessy, is a world-leading cognac house with headquarters in Cognac, France. Today, the company of Jas Hennessy & Co...
(LVMH
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger...
), the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
luxury good
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
s group, for $1.63 billion. Miller still retains a 31% share of the company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
to this day.
DFS Turns Fifty
In June 2010, Robert W. Miller was named November’s Personality of the Month by The Moodie Report in conjunction with the Dalmore Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. The Personality of the Month program recognizes those individuals — who by their deeds, attitudes and behavior — advance the luxury goods industry’s cause. Mr. Miller’s primary entrepreneurial activity, Duty Free Shops (DFS) celebrated its 50th anniversary at the DFS Galleria Sun Plaza store during a star-studded 50th anniversary gala. with a star studded gala at the DFS Galleria Sun Plaza store. DFS was founded by Cornell alumni Robert W. Miller and Charles F. Feeney in 1960. The first store was at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport. As of 2010, the duty free luxury retailer DFS has stores in fifteen countries.The half century gala on July 10, 2010 was attended by 2000 guests, who arrived at the Sun Plaza to a surprise. They were transported to a secret location, Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport, the site of the original DFS. A domed clubbing space was erected on the Kai Tak site, hosting performances by disk jockey Emmanuel Santarromana
Pschent Music
Pschent Music is a French electronic music record label founded by Eric Hauville in 1994.- The Label :Some brands have entrusted Pschent with the production of their compilations: « Hotel Costes », the Terence Conran group , Elite model agency, Barbara Bui , the magazines Technikart...
and Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
. Designers supported the event. Burberry, Celine, Chloe, Fendi and Marc By Marc Jacobs offered limited-edition merchandise specifically for the gala, including Celine’s python luggage bag and Fendi’s sequined baguette bag. Said Robert Miller, “I couldn’t be more proud and confident of our company and our people’s future than I am today.” The afterhours event culminated in Haitian singer Wyclef Jean’s performance, whose appearance reflected DFS's commitment to Hand in Hand for Haiti, the design industry initiative to rebuilding a Haitian school after 2010’s earthquake.
Founder Robert Miller greeted the celebrants at Kai Tak. “A lot has happened in Hong Kong in the past 50 years, and the changes are unbelievable," said Mr. Miller. "DFS has been through tumultuous times, but it has persevered and done well. That’s due to our wonderful team of people, and to their dedication and loyalty.”
Search Investment Group Ltd
In 1973, Miller founded Search Investment Group Ltd, an international investmentInvestment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
company of which he is CEO and chairman. The Search investment Group Ltd is a large shareholder in Ortelius Capital Partners, which is an investment firm founded by Miller's son-in-law HRH Prince Pavlos of Greece. He is also principal of SAIL advisors (Search Alternative Investments Ltd),global investors in hedge funds. Along with other assets, Miller is currently ranked the 68th richest person in the U.K., down from 22nd in 2003.
Service through The Asia Society
Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, the Asia SocietyAsia Society
The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...
exists to promote better understanding and appreciation in the United States of the peoples of Asia. The Society has been a leading interest of Mr. Miller. The Society conducts public affairs programming for members and the business community, in addition to historical and cultural activities. It was thought that a rapidly changing Asia required better understanding by Americans. The Asia Society, through its programs, still stimulates responsible analysis of the major issues confronting Asian-American relations in an attempt to gain more understanding and cooperation by the peoples on both sides of the Pacific.
This Society of which Mr. Miller is a Trustee has approximately ten thousand members. The Asia Society Hong Kong Center was established in the early 1990s ago by Hong Kong community leaders. It was the Asia Society's first overseas office, and remains the largest overseas office. Mr. Miller was important in that effort. The Hong Kong Asia Society hosts approximately one hundred events per year in Hong Kong and mainland China. Programmes include lectures, exhibitions, tours, seminars, films and conferences.
An example of the presentations supported by Mr. Miller is "Vietnam Behind the Lines: Images from the War 1965 - 1975", an exhibition which at the Hong Kong Museum of Art during the first half of 2004. It was organized and presented by the Asia Society, the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong Museum of Art
The Hong Kong Museum of Art is the main art museum of Hong Kong. The museum was established as the City Hall Museum and Art Gallery in the City Hall in Central by the Urban Council in 1962. In 1991, it was moved to the present premises at 10 Salisbury Road, near the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and...
, and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. The exhibition presented an unfamiliar aspect of the Vietnam conflict: works created by North Vietnamese artists engaged in the creation of propaganda, between 1965 and 1975 in the collection of the British Museum. Combining traditional and contemporary techniques, the works revealed an extremely diverse range of media including hand-painted posters, pen and ink sketches, watercolour and ink paintings, drawings in crayon and chalk, acrylics on cardboard, and printed compositions. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Asia Society organized a series of lectures, films and other events about Vietnamese history, culture, politics and contemporary affairs.
Sailing Records
In October, 2003, Miller's monohullMonohull
rightA monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another.-Fundamental concept:...
yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
, the Mari-Cha IV, set a new world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
, becoming the first monohull
Monohull
rightA monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another.-Fundamental concept:...
ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in under seven days. http://www.mike-sanderson.com/default.asp?m=da&id=9977 During the same crossing, the yacht also broke the 24-hour distance record, by sailing 525.5 nautical miles (973.2 km) in just 24 hours. Both he and his son-in-law Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece, is the eldest son and heir apparent of Constantine II, who was King of Greece from 1964 to 1973....
, son of King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
Constantine II of Greece
Constantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
were crew members. In 2005, the Mari-Cha IV competed in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge and broke the 100-year-old record for a West to East transatlantic crossing by 2 days, 5 minutes and 56 seconds.T he Mari-Cha IV was moored at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, which is also home to Frank Pong’s Pyewacket. Pong won the St. Barth Around-the-Island Race a few years ago with his R/P 77 Jelik. Pong bought the R/P 94 Pyewacket from the late Roy Disney. Pyewacket shared the moorings with the 140-ft Mari-Cha IV, which Mr. Miller raced in the Pacific Cup. Eventually, Miller down sized his fleet and decided to keep the older Mari-Cha III at the Royal Hong Kong YC. In 2010, the Mari-Cha III was listed for sale.
The Rolex Transatlantic Challenge, 2005
On Apr. 30, 2005, Robert Miller’s 140-foot (43m) Mari-Cha IV transited the four-mile-long gate off the Lizard, winning the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge and breaking the century-old record established by Charlie Barr on board Wilson Marshall’s 185-foot (56.4m) Atlantic. Miller’s state-of-the-art Mari-Cha completed the 2,925-nautical mile passage, across the North Atlantic between New York and the Lizard, England in a time of 9 days, 15 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds—a full 2 days, 12 hours, 6 minutes and 56 seconds faster than Atlantic’s record-breaking voyage 100 years ago.As Mike Hanlon reported, “’It is a great feat,’ commented Mari-Cha IV’s owner Robert Miller. ‘For a record to stand 100 years, and we’ve had the honour to make an attempt and be successful at it--I am over the moon, overjoyed. It is fantastic. This was a very tough trip. We had six days of weather on the nose. We crossed the Gulf Stream, saw some very rough seas there and again had headwinds and steep short seas on the nose, and the boat and the crew took a beating.’”
During the record breaking crossing, Miller pushed the Mari-Cha III beyond its limits. The mainsail headboard and the headboard cars on both mainsail and mizzen broke. The chance of breaking the century-old record was endangered. As Miller recounted, ’[i]f the ship or the crew were in danger then we would have had to retire, but we did a very good damage control assessment and the question of retirement was never an option. We have a very versatile crew, and we can be really self-contained here, so any type of problem we have been able to overcome this time. We were very fortunate and it all worked out well for us, I’m very happy to say.”
The Mari-Cha IV’s 2005 voyage followed in the wake of an October 2003 passage between New York and Lizard in which Miller set a monohull record of 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. In the 2003 effort, Mari-Cha IV had the advantage of being able to choosing a sailing time during optimum weather conditions. In 2005, their voyage coincided with a race start with a fixed time. Said Miller’s helmsman, “[p]retty much for the first 1,500 miles we were battling away against everything…the elements, Maximus…and we’ve still got a big battle on our hands now.” After clocking at the Lizard gate, the Challengeyachts continue to the finish line at the Needles, off the Isle of Wight, as in 1905 the record-setting yacht Atlantic did. “From a record standpoint it is very exciting, especially it being such an old record. It is not every day you break a 100-year-old record. It is incredible that a record like that stood for so long, and it was the outright record for so long, too. So obviously it was an incredible achievement back then, and they’ve made us fight for it this time as well,” continued Miller’s helmsman.
The boat-to-boat competition during the Challenge was tight, down to the finish On the Lizard approach, Mari-Cha IV cut between Land’s End and the Scilly Isles, while 40 miles astern, the New Zealand entry Maximus passed outside of the Scillies. Off the Lizard, Mari-Cha IV was engulfed in thick fog reducing visibility to just 330 feet. “We can see the bow of the boat, so it’s not true English fog, and we are VMG running down the Channel in 14 knots of wind doing 15.5 knots,” said Miller’s helmsman. Despite Mari-Cha’s lead, there was a possibility of Maximus hunting them down. “We are very concerned about the breeze shutting down, and if that happens they’ll bring it up from behind, so we have realised we have a race on our hands still,” said the helmsman. The tides were relatively weak, removing a potential tactical advantage for Maximus, which passed the Lizard at 13:18:55 UTC, 3 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds in Mari-Cha IV’s wake. As Mari-Cha IV and Maximus reached the Lizard, A. Robert Towbin’s Sumurun, the on-the-water and handicap leader in the Classic division, was 1,653 miles off the Lizard. “We are the back of the pack, and it is pretty discouraging when you hear that the first boat has finished and you still have halfway to go,” conceded Armin Fischer, the Sumurun’s skipper. “We are about 170 miles ahead of the other two boats, but that can change very rapidly if you hit a weather system in the wrong way.”
High Society
Mr. Miller’s sense of style has set him apart on occasion. For his daughter Marie-Chantal Miller’s rehearsal dinner prior to her wedding to Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Mr. Miller engaged renown event planner Robert IsabellRobert Isabell
Bruce Robert Isabell was an American event planner who was behind lavish and innovative events including weddings and funerals of the richest and most famous...
to conjure a Greek temple on a London estate which hosted the event. Robert Isabell, was the floral designer and events planner whose aesthetic helped frame the Studio 54 experience in the 1970s and who was the planner of choice for Kennedy weddings. Likewise, Mr. Miller contracted with Tom Finn
Tom Finn
Tom Finn is a founding member of the 1960s baroque rock chart hit vocal group the Left Banke.After the Left Banke disbanded, Finn went on to become an engineer at Bell Sound Studios as well as working with jazz drummer Buddy Rich at his night club "Buddy's Place" as stage manager and MC.In 1982...
, celebrity DJ, to spin the music at the royal wedding; Finn, founder of the band got his start after a chance meeting with Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York disco Studio 54.-Early life:Rubell and his brother Don spent their childhoods with their parents in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked for the U.S. Postal Service and later became a tennis pro...
in 1982 and a guest job spinning records at Studio 54. Finn has been the D.J. for New York City Ballet, the Frick Collection, and Metropolitan Museum of Art events.
Family & Home Life
Miller, who is now a British citizen, remains based in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
but has houses in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
,and Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
. He also owns the 32000 acres (129 km²) Gunnerside Estate in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, one of the largest country estates in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Mr. Miller was born at Quincy City Hospital, Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and is a son of Ellis Warren Appleton Miller (Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, Middlesex County
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, February 7, 1898 - bef. May, 1986), a bookkeeper, salesman, and descendant of several Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
passengers; and the former Sophia "Sophie" June Squarebriggs (Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, June 10, 1899 - Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, March 20, 1998), a Canadian-born former governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
. They were married at 32 Bates St., Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Middlesex County
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, on September 15, 1923 by George E. Heath, Minister of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. Miller is married to the former María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra, a native of Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, born on June 25, 1940, daughter of Servando Pesantes Chanduy, construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
, who died at Mapasingue
Mapasingue
Mapasingue is a barrio of the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Mapasingue was an hacienda in the 19th century; in November 1859, a Peruvian army contingent occupied its lands as a result of an agreement between Peruvian President Ramon Castilla and Supreme Chief of Guayas Guillermo Franco, in the...
, near Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, in 1949, and wife Beatriz Becerra N. Their three daughters, often referred to as "The Miller Sisters," are Alexandra von Fürstenberg
Alexandra von Fürstenberg
Alexandra von Fürstenberg is the image director for DvF, the clothing label which was founded by her former mother in law, Diane von Furstenberg, and helped revive the company’s famous 1970s wrap dress.She is the youngest daughter of the American-born Duty Free shops businessman Robert...
former Princess of Fürstenberg; Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
Marie-Chantal Claire, Crown Princess of Greece, Princess of Denmark , is a member of the Greek Royal Family through her marriage to Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece...
, Princess of Denmark; and Pia Getty
Pia Getty
Pia Christina Miller Getty , is the oldest daughter of businessman Robert Warren Miller and wife María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra Miller and sister of Marie-Chantal of Greece and Alexandra von Fürstenberg, a trio famously dubbed "The Miller Sisters"...
.
Though Mr. Miller descends immediately from the American middle class and is a self-made businessman committed to globalization of markets, the Miller-Squarebriggs family is rooted in the British North American colonial elite, and descends over time from Henry I Angevin
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, Louis IV the Carolingian
Louis IV of France
Louis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as King of Western Francia from 936 to 954...
, and William, King of the Scots.
Associations
Miller attended Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
School of Hotel Management
Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University is a specialized business school for hospitality management founded in 1922 as the first four-year intercollegiate school devoted to the field...
. He graduated in 1955, having obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration. While attending Cornell University, Mr. Miller joined the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and through that organization, the Irving Literary Society
Irving Literary Society (Cornell University)
The Irving Literary Society was a literary society at Cornell University active from 1868 to 1887. The U.S...
. Other positions held by Miller include Trustee of the Asia Society, Independent Non-Executive Director and Member of the Remuneration Committee of Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd. and Presidential Councilor and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University.