Tony Wheeler
Tony WheelerAO(born 20 December 1946)[1]is an English-born Australian publishing entrepreneur, businessman andtravel writer,co-founder of theLonely Planetguidebook company with his wife,Maureen Wheeler.
Wheeler was born in England. His father worked for theBritish Overseas Airways Corporationas an airport manager, so he grew up in Pakistan, the Bahamas, Canada, the United States and England, never spending as much as two years in the same school.[2]
Wheeler holds an engineering degree fromWarwick Universityand an MBA fromLondon Business School.[3]He was an engineer at theChryslercorporation.
After travelling across Europe with Maureen Wheeler, they arrived in Melbourne in 1972 and put out their first book,Across Asia on the Cheapin 1973.[4]This would grow into the Lonely Planet empire, a name derived from a misheardJoe Cockersong (the lyric was, in fact, "lovely planet" ).[2]They married and had two children, Tashi and Kieran.[2]
In 1980, the publication of a guidebook toIndiaeffectively doubled the size of the company.[5]
BBC Worldwidebought 75 percent of their share of the company in 2007 and their remaining 25 percent in February 2011,[6]bringing the couple's net worth to $190 million.[citation needed]
His books since Lonely Planet includeBad LandsandUnlikely Destinations.[4]
In the2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List,Tony and Maureen Wheeler were both appointed as Officers of theOrder of Australia(AO), each for "distinguished service to business and commerce as a publisher of travel guides, and as a benefactor to a range of Australian arts and aid organisations".[7]When interviewed on ABC TVOne Plus Oneon 20 June 2019 Wheeler said he has a home in England and Melbourne.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Happy Birthday Tony Wheeler, 65".The Times.20 December 2011.Retrieved15 January2024.
- ^abcFriend, Tad (18 April 2005)."The Parachute Artist".The New Yorker.
- ^"Story".Lonelyplanet.Retrieved25 August2017.
- ^abPotts, Mary Anne."Lonely at the Top: Maureen and Tony Wheeler".National Geographic.Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2014.Retrieved21 August2014.
- ^Khoo, Valerie (6 April 2011)."Turn Your Business into a Global Empire – Advice from Lonely Planet's Tony Wheeler".The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^Sweney, Mark (18 February 2011)."BBC to buy out Lonely Planet".The Guardian.
- ^"The Queen's Birthday 2014 Honours List"(PDF).Gg.gov.au.8 June 2014.Retrieved8 June2014.
- ^One Plus One: Tony Wheeler,abc.net.au. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
Further reading[edit]
- Hindmarsh, Gerard (27 January 2023)."A chance encounter with the original travel man".Stuff.Retrieved13 April2023.
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1946 births
- English expatriates in the United States
- Living people
- 20th-century travel writers
- Alumni of London Business School
- Alumni of the University of Warwick
- Australian publishers (people)
- English businesspeople
- English expatriates in Canada
- English expatriates in Pakistan
- English expatriates in the Bahamas
- Lonely Planet
- Officers of the Order of Australia
- English travel writers
- Australian travel writers