Founder and Chairman of House of Lobkowicz
William E. Lobkowicz was born in Boston to an American mother and Czech father. He graduated from Harvard University in 1984, where he studied European history and music. He worked for six years in banking and real estate.
The Lobkowicz family is a 700-year-old Bohemian noble family whose successive generations have played an influential role in European politics and society, especially as patrons of the arts. The family’s art collections and properties were confiscated twice: first in 1939 by the Nazis and again after 1948 by the Communists, forcing the Lobkowiczes to flee their homeland. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and the fall of the Communist regime, William felt a strong calling of his ancestral roots. He returned to then Czechoslovakia permanently in 1991 to be part of the country's democratic transformation and, together with his parents, began the restitution process to reclaim, reassemble, and restore his family’s lost cultural heritage, permanently opening it to the public for the first time in history.
William and his wife Alexandra founded House of Lobkowicz which shares 700 years of Bohemian inspiration through five cultural heritage sites, offering event design and hospitality management services, cultural tourism experiences, and the Lobkowicz Collections—one of Europe’s oldest and finest private art collections. House of Lobkowicz oversees the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle, Nelahozeves Castle and the adjacent Antonín Dvořák Birth House, Roudnice Castle, and Střekov Castle.
William has served on numerous cultural and educational boards, including the Fulbright Commission, the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague. The family has received several awards and recognitions including the International TREBBIA Award (2007) and the International Preservation Award from the Preservation Society of Newport County (2017). William was also awarded an honorary doctorate from West Bohemia University (2017).
William works together with his wife on all aspects of their business and cultural heritage work. They have three grown children, two of whom are actively working in the family organization.
