| Robert Gerling | |
| Birth Name: | Robert Wilhelm Gerling |
| Birth Date: | 13 August 1878 |
| Birth Place: | Elberfeld, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Death Place: | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
| Nationality: | German |
| Occupation: | Businessman, insurance executive |
| Known For: | Founding and leading Gerling-Konzern |
| Children: | 3, including Hans |
| Relatives: | Rolf Gerling (grandson) |
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.[1] [2]
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).[3] After school he completed a 3-year apprenticeship as insurance agent with C. Mihr & Co., which owners were friends of his fathers.
See also: Gerling-Konzern. 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.
On 11 July 1907, Gerling married Auguste Hoffmeister (1879–1964), who was the daughter of a penitentiary director in Cologne. They had three sons;
He died on 25 January 1935 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. His last residence was Villa Marienburg in Cologne.