Tiny Rowland
British businessman (1917–1998)
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Key Takeaways
- Roland Walter " Tiny " Rowland ( né Fuhrhop ; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993.
- He was known for his complex business interests in Africa and his closeness to a number of African leaders.
- His mother was Anglo-Dutch and his father, Wilhelm Fuhrhop, was a German export-import trader in Calcutta.
- However, his parents remained "enemy aliens" for the duration of the First World War, and after the war, the Fuhrhops were refused entry into the United Kingdom.
- He was said to have been nicknamed "Tiny" by his nanny because he was a large child.
Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland (né Fuhrhop; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in particular his attempt to take control of Harrods. He was known for his complex business interests in Africa and his closeness to a number of African leaders.
Early life
He was born Roland Walter Fuhrhop on 27 November 1917 during World War I in a British internment camp for aliens outside Calcutta, India. His mother was Anglo-Dutch and his father, Wilhelm Fuhrhop, was a German export-import trader in Calcutta. Having been born in British India, he was automatically a British subject, by the principle of jus soli. However, his parents remained "enemy aliens" for the duration of the First World War, and after the war, the Fuhrhops were refused entry into the United Kingdom. They settled in Hamburg, Germany.
He was said to have been nicknamed "Tiny" by his nanny because he was a large child. In the 1930s, he was briefly involved with the Hitler Youth, but his father was firmly opposed to Hitler and moved his family to Britain in 1937 to escape Nazi Germany.
He was sent to England, where he attended Churcher's College in Hampshire and acquired an upper-class British accent and mannerisms. His family settled in England in 1937.
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