Thomas M Lange

Thomas M Lange (born 16 February 1967 in Munich) is a hotelier and heir to the Lange family hotel/brewing & real estate fortune.

Biography

Early life and education

Thomas M Lange was born on 16 February 1967 in Innsbruck/Austria to Dr. Henry Lange & Lady Ghiselaine Gordon-Lennox, he is the oldest of 9 children. He was educated at Salem/Germany & Gordonstoun and after a classical apprenticeship in his families hotels in Germany he studied at the Hotel Institute of Bad Kissingen/Germany.

The Lange Family Fortune was estimated to be around £ 5 Billion in 2007 1 most of which is held in Family Trusts and were established by the maternal great grand parents of Thomas Lange, who amassed their fortunes through mining, shipping, railways and on his fathers side through brewing2 and hotel and real estate mainly in Germany,Switzerland & Austria. In the early 90's the Lange's were the first of the large Hotel owners to mainly hand over their properties to Major Operators like IHG, Marriott and Hyatt and thus did not have to worry as much about the recession looming, through the reunification of Germany, when many hotel beds could not be filled by independent hotels. Because of the Trust set up of the Lange Family Trusts, which stipulates that no properties can be sold and 25% of any surplus must be re-invested the Lange Family stands on very firm foundations.

Career

Initially he joined the Bass Hotels & Brewing Division (now InterContinental Hotels Group) before gaining experience in the United States and Australia with Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. In the United Kingdom he worked for the famous Goring Hotel in London's Belgravia and later at the InterContinental Park Lane from where he was then once more sent to the US to join their Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC. Lange was a member of the original 'Investors in People' committee as well as a director of the International Hoteliers Association. His charitable causes range from fundraising for the Princes Trust, the Terrence Higgins Trust, The Royal Opera House and many Humanitarian Efforts Amnesty International & Stonewall as well as Animal Welfare & Protection. Apart from his professional career, Lange is also a highly keen and competent equestrian champion, having won several dressage and eventing competitions. Lange is known to be very Anglophile and has always shunned his German roots and upbringing and when questioned about this for an interview why he preferred all things 'British' he replied Britain has been most kind to me and I show my gratitude in this wayThe Observer 39/2004

Marriage and children

Although Lange has always lived as an openly gay man, even when this was still frowned upon (he was one of the very first of the 'Conservative set' to do so), Lange had been named as one of the most eligible bachelors in several society magazines in the UK, Australia and the US. Thomas Lange lives a very reclusive life and remains single, devoting his time entirely to his job and his charities.