Page 66 - Forbes - Asia (April 2019)

FORBES LIFE

Burch

Branches Out

With Nihi resorts, Chris Burch hopes to
build a world-class luxury hotel brand.

BY CHRISTIAN BARKER

merican entrepreneur Chris Burch, 66, says his
original motivation for entering the high-end re-
sort business was more personal than monetary—
Ahe fell in love with Nihiwatu, a remote luxury re-
sort on the island of Sumba in Indonesia, where he went to
spend quality time with his three sons. After his visit there,
he decided to buy the place in 2012 from the original found-
ers Claude and Petra Graves. Now christened Nihi Sumba, he
is turning the property into the flagship of what he hopes will
become a global luxury hospitality brand, Nihi Resorts.
“It started as a small project, really for my children—that’s
100% why I bought it, to spend quality time with my sons,”
says Burch. He also has three daughters with his first wife,
Susan Cole, but Burch says they’re “not really beach people”