# Robert Rowling

> Robert B. Rowling is a Dallas investor and the founder, owner and chairman of TRT Holdings, the private holding company behind Omni Hotels & Resorts. After the family’s oil assets were sold to Texaco in 1989, he diversified into hospitality, acquired Omni in 1996 and backed major resort investments including Omni PGA Frisco. He is a UT Austin and SMU law graduate whose family has supported university education.

- **Role:** Owner and Chairman at TRT Holdings, Inc.
- **Organizations:** TRT Holdings, Inc., Omni Hotels & Resorts, Tana Oil & Gas (historical), The University of Texas System Board of Regents (former regent), The University of Texas Investment Management Company (former chairman)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Business Administration, with honors, The University of Texas at Austin, Juris Doctor, with honors, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
- **Known for:** Acquired and developed Omni under private family ownership., Helped back the Omni PGA Frisco resort and golf-course development., Texas Business Hall of Fame inductee, 2003.

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Graduated from UT Austin with honors in business administration.
- **1979** — Earned his JD with honors from SMU and subsequently practiced tax law.
- **Early 1980s** — Returned to Corpus Christi to work at the family’s Tana Oil & Gas business.
- **1989** — Texaco acquired the family’s oil assets; TRT Holdings was founded that year.
- **1996** — TRT acquired Omni Hotels for approximately $500 million.
- **2003** — Inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame and recognized as an SMU law Distinguished Alumnus.
- **2004-2009** — Served on the UT System Board of Regents; resigned in February 2009.
- **2010** — Acquired the Amelia Island resort out of bankruptcy.
- **2013** — Expanded Omni’s resort portfolio and joined his family’s $25 million UT business-building pledge.
- **2018** — SMU announced the Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law and Leadership.
- **2023** — Omni PGA Frisco opened on May 2; the Homestead completed its major renovation in October.
- **2026** — A TRT affiliate’s Greenbrier debt investment became the subject of litigation, which was settled and dismissed in August.

## Achievements

- Acquired and developed Omni under private family ownership.
- Helped back the Omni PGA Frisco resort and golf-course development.
- Texas Business Hall of Fame inductee, 2003.
- SMU Dedman School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award, 2003.
- Joined a $25 million family pledge toward UT Austin’s graduate business building in 2013.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Related Greenbrier state and federal lawsuits were dismissed after a financing and joint-venture settlement. Kennedy Lewis, rather than TRT, became the resort’s majority equity owner.
- **2026-04** — TRT affiliate White Sulphur Springs Holdings acquired Greenbrier first-lien debt; TRT and the Justice family disputed the transaction in litigation.
- **2024-12** — SMU published an account of Rowling’s Trailblazer speaker-series appearance covering his career and hotel ownership.
- **2024-05** — Discussed his oil-to-hospitality career and the role of faith at the North Texas Real Estate Summit.

## Links

- Website: https://trtholdings.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-rowling-2a2845ab

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/robert-rowling
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09