How Robert built the fortune
Robert Rowling's fortune began in the oil fields of South Texas. His father, Reese Rowling, was an independent oilman in Corpus Christi, and the family business, Tana Oil and Gas, grew into a sizable producer. Robert joined the company after university and law school, rose to lead it, and in 1996 the family sold Tana to Belco Oil and Gas in a transaction that left them with a large pool of capital to reinvest.
Rather than stay in energy, Rowling used that money to build a private holding company, TRT Holdings, based in Dallas. Its first and most important acquisition came the same year, when TRT bought Omni Hotels, then a modest chain with an uncertain future. Over the next decades Rowling invested heavily in the brand, upgrading existing properties and building or buying large convention and resort hotels in major American cities. Omni grew into a recognized luxury and upper upscale chain with dozens of hotels and resorts across North America, many of them among the largest in their markets.
TRT also made a well known bet on fitness. In 2004 it acquired Gold's Gym, the gym brand founded in Venice Beach, California, and expanded it internationally through franchising. The pandemic hit the business hard, and in 2020 Gold's Gym filed for bankruptcy and was sold to the German fitness group RSG Group. The episode was a reminder that the holding company's fortunes depended heavily on consumer-facing businesses.
Because TRT is privately owned and controlled by the Rowling family, it publishes little financial information, and the value of its holdings rests mainly on the hotel portfolio and associated real estate.
Omni's growth strategy under Rowling has leaned toward large, complex properties that many hotel companies avoid owning outright. Instead of following the asset-light model in which brands earn fees from hotels owned by others, TRT has owned or developed many Omni properties itself, often in partnership with cities seeking new convention centre hotels. That approach ties up more capital but lets the family capture both the operating profits and the long-term appreciation of the real estate.
Companies and holdings
Rowling is owner and chairman of TRT Holdings. Its principal businesses and past holdings include:
- Omni Hotels and Resorts, acquired in 1996 and now the core of the group
- Gold's Gym, owned from 2004 until its 2020 sale in bankruptcy
- oil and gas interests carried over from the family's earlier business
- private investments and real estate in Texas and elsewhere
Omni has acquired resort and golf properties in recent years, including well known destination resorts, and has opened large convention hotels in cities such as Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta.
Early life and career
Rowling was born in 1953 and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned an undergraduate degree, and later completed a law degree from the same university. He worked briefly in law before joining his father's oil business.
At Tana Oil and Gas he took on increasing responsibility and eventually became its chief executive. The company focused on exploration and production in Texas and the Gulf Coast. His experience running a mid-sized independent producer gave him the financial background he later used to evaluate acquisitions outside the energy sector.
His legal training proved useful as the family business grew. Negotiating leases, joint ventures and the eventual sale of Tana gave him experience in structuring transactions, and he has applied a similar approach at TRT, where acquisitions are typically held for long periods rather than resold.
Philanthropy and public life
Rowling has been a prominent supporter of the University of Texas. He served on the University of Texas System Board of Regents, and the McCombs School of Business building known as Rowling Hall was named after a major gift from the Rowling family. He has also supported educational and civic causes in Dallas and Corpus Christi.
In politics, he has been a significant donor to Republican candidates in Texas and nationally. He generally keeps a low public profile and rarely gives interviews, letting Omni's executives speak for the hotel business.