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The real-life Indiana Jones who trained Gaddafi, made a safari fortune and hates influencers
Geoffrey Kent, founder of luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, built a safari business by combining wilderness trips with comforts such as air-conditioned tents and fine dining. His story matters because those ideas helped reshape safari travel, while his career also involved high-risk adventures and personal negotiations in conflict zones.
Born in Zambia in 1942, Kent began travelling young: at 16 he rode 3,000 miles from Nairobi to Cape Town, then had to find a way home after running out of money. He started the company with his parents in the 1960s, promoted photo safaris and later led private-jet trips costing about $190,000 per person; the book also recounts his negotiation after Sudanese rebels took travellers hostage and demanded $400,000.
In short
- Geoffrey Kent helped create luxury safaris.
- He founded Abercrombie & Kent with his parents.
- His book recounts high-risk travel and business deals.
Explained simply
Geoffrey Kent is a travel entrepreneur who grew up in Zambia and began exploring Africa as a teenager. In the 1960s, he founded Abercrombie & Kent with his parents, building a business around guided trips to see wildlife.
The company helped make safaris more comfortable, pairing time in the wilderness with facilities such as air-conditioned tents and fine dining. Kent’s career also involved expensive private-jet tours and journeys in places affected by conflict, including negotiations after travellers were taken hostage.