| Christel DeHaan | |
| Birth Name: | Christel Stark |
| Birth Date: | 20 October 1942 |
| Birth Place: | Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany |
| Death Place: | Indianapolis, Indiana, US |
| Occupation: | Founder, Christel House International |
| Known For: | Co-founder and former owner, Resort Condominiums International |
| Children: | 3 |
Christel DeHaan (Stark, October 20, 1942 – June 6, 2020) was a German-American businesswoman and philanthropist who was the owner of Resort Condominiums International and the founder of Christel House International.
DeHaan was born in 1942 in Nördlingen, Germany,[1] the daughter of Adolf Stark, a German soldier who died shortly before the end of World War II, and his wife Anna Stark.[2] Her stepfather, Wilhelm Riedel, died when she was 16. At the age of 16, she moved to the United Kingdom to become a nanny. At the ago of 20, she emigrated to the United States, settling in Indiana.
In 1974, DeHaan co-founded the pioneering timeshare company Resort Condominiums International, with her then-husband Jon DeHaan. In 1979, he had a heart attack, and she took over the running of the company. In 1987, they divorced; she was awarded half the company and bought the rest for $67.5 million.[3]
In 1995, she sold RCI for $825 million.
DeHaan founded and donated $220 million to Christel House International. The nonprofit organization has opened schools in eight cities: Bangalore and Naya Raipur, India; Mexico City, Mexico; Cape Town, South Africa; and Indianapolis. The schools are designed to provide an education to poor children around the world. Christel House announced in July 2017 that a ninth school would open in Jamaica on August 2019.[4] [5]
In 1972, she married Jon DeHaan (b. 1940). She had three children and lived in Indianapolis. She died on June 6, 2020, at her home.[6]