The name Marie-Chantal Miller is well known in high society. The daughter of British billionaire Robert Warren Miller and Ecuadorian María Clara Pesantes, she has lived a life reminiscent of a modern fairy tale. Raised in an affluent family, she fell in love at first sight with Greece’s crown prince Pavlos. Inheriting her father’s business acumen, she now successfully combines a career as a clothing designer with raising five children.
Marie-Chantal, the middle of three sisters, was born in London in 1968. Together with Alexandra von Fürstenberg and Pia Getty, they formed the famous socialite trio known as The Miller Sisters. The future princess spent her childhood in Hong Kong before moving, at the age of nine, to a Swiss boarding school. In 1993, while studying art history at New York University, she met the Greek prince. Their blind date was arranged by a mutual friend, the New York banker Aleco Papamarkou, who was confident they were a perfect match. “There was an instant connection between us,” the princess recalled. “It was love at first sight. I knew right away that I would marry him.”
The couple got engaged in 1995 after a romantic proposal at a ski resort in Gstaad. Their wedding that July became the largest gathering of royals in London since the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Among the 1,250 guests were members of royal families from the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Romania, Jordan, and Bulgaria.
Marie-Chantal’s father, Robert Warren Miller, was born in Massachusetts in 1933. His father was an accountant and his mother was a Canadian governess. The Miller family tree traces its roots back to passengers of the famed Mayflower and even to King Henry I of England and Louis IV of France, so blue blood ran in his daughter’s veins long before she met the prince. Together with his college friend Chuck Feeney, Miller refined the concept of duty-free shopping for travelers. In 1960, they founded DFS (Duty Free Shoppers) Group. Starting in Hong Kong, where its headquarters remain to this day, the company quickly expanded into Europe and other continents. In the early 1970s, Miller multiplied his fortune by establishing the private investment firm Squadron Capital.
By 1996, DFS had become the world’s largest travel retailer. That year, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy acquired Feeney’s stake for 1.5 billion euros. Miller kept his shares, which account for 38% of the company. Today, his net worth is estimated at 1.7 billion euros, placing him at 1901st on the global Forbes list.
In addition to his business achievements and ownership of one of the largest hunting estates in the UK, Miller’s greatest passion has always been sailing. In 2003, his monohull yacht Mari-Cha IV set a world record by being the first in its class to cross the Atlantic in under seven days. During that voyage, the vessel also broke the 24-hour distance record. Notably, his son-in-law, Pavlos of Greece, was among the crew. In 2005, the yacht won the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge, beating a century-old west-to-east Atlantic crossing record. During the challenging nine-day passage, Miller sailed the yacht to its limits under harsh weather conditions.
A Hong Kong citizen since the 1960s, the billionaire donated significant sums to support the performing arts in the region through the Asia Society. However, his philanthropic efforts pale in comparison to those of his former partner. Chuck Feeney, who died in 2023, gave away his entire fortune during his lifetime to educational and human rights initiatives. “You have to give while you’re alive. Since you can’t take the money with you, why not give it all away, being able to control where it goes and see the results with your own eyes?” he used to say.
Incidentally, Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) is a global retail network specializing in luxury goods for travelers. Founded in Hong Kong, the company pioneered the concept of duty-free shopping in airports. Today, DFS stores can be found in major international airports, as well as in city centers of world capitals and at resorts. The range includes products from leading global brands in fashion, cosmetics, watches, jewelry, and alcoholic beverages. The company is part of the luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
