Robert Gerling

Robert Wilhelm Gerling (13 August 1878 - 25 January 1935) was a German insurance executive and businessman who founded the Gerling-Konzern, of the largest insurance providers in Germany in 1904. He was the patriarch of the Gerling family of Cologne, Germany.

Early life and education
Gerling was born 13 August 1878 in Elberfeld (today part of Wuppertal), the fourth of six children, to Robert Gerling Sr. (1847–1934), a commercial representative for his fathers button factory, and Anna Gerling (née Fromm; 1850–1938). After school he completed a 3-year apprenticeship as insurance agent with C. Mihr & Co., which owners were friends of his fathers.

Career
After briefly working for C. Mihr & Co., he joined Mannheimer Versicherungsgesellschaft (Mannheim Insurance Company) in 1896. He founded the Gerling-Konzern on 7 May 1904.

Personal life
On 11 July 1907, Gerling married Auguste Hoffmeister (1879–1964), who was the daughter of a penitentiary director in Cologne. They had three sons;


 * Robert Gerling Jr. (born 1914)
 * Hans Gerling (1915–1991), married, one son Rolf Gerling (born 1954), who was the majority owner of Gerling-Konzern until 2005 (sold to Talanx)
 * Walter Gerling (24 October 1918 - 9 March 2019), insurance executive and philanthropist.

He died on 25 January 1935 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. His last residence was Villa Marienburg in Cologne.

Literature

 * Peter Koch: Gerling, Robert Wilhelm. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7, S. 308 f. (Digitalisat) (in German)
 * Ders.: Robert Gerling (1878–1935), in: Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien, Band 9, Münster 1967, S. 133–150 (in German)