Tony Wheeler (born 20 December 1946) is an English-born Australian publishing entrepreneur, businessman and

travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...

, co-founder of the

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embark ...

guidebook company with his wife

Maureen Wheeler Maureen Wheeler is a Northern Irish-Australian businesswoman, who co-founded the travel publisher Lonely Planet with her husband Tony Wheeler. Personal life Maureen Wheeler was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and moved to London at the age ...

. Born in England, his father worked for the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

as 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. Wheeler holds an engineering degree from

Warwick University , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

and an MBA from

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...

. He was a former engineer at the

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

corporation. After travelling across Europe with Maureen Wheeler, they arrived in Melbourne in 1972 and put out their first book, ''Across Asia on the Cheap'' in 1973. This would grow into the Lonely Planet empire, a name derived from a misheard

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

song (the lyric was, in fact, "Lovely Planet"). They married and had two children, Tashi and Kieran. In 1980, the publication of a guidebook to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

effectively doubled the size of the company.

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...

bought 75 percent of their share of the company in 2007 and their remaining 25 percent in February 2011, bringing the couple's net worth to $190 million. His books since Lonely Planet include ''Bad Lands'' and ''Unlikely Destinations''. In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Wheeler and Maureen were both appointed as Officers of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(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". When interviewed on ABC TV "One Plus One" on 20 June 2019 Wheeler said he has a home in England and Melbourne.One Plus One: Tony Wheeler
abc.net.au. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Tony 1946 births Living people 20th-century travel writers Australian publishers (people) English businesspeople Alumni of the University of Warwick Alumni of London Business School English expatriates in the Bahamas English expatriates in Canada English expatriates in Pakistan English expatriates in the United States Officers of the Order of Australia

See also

References

External links