‘Peter Gillis under a magnifying glass’, ‘Holiday parks by a thread’, ‘Things are looking increasingly worse for Peter Gillis’. Few entrepreneurs attract as much attention as the holiday park magnate from Ommel. His empire is said to be on the verge of collapse now that almost all of his parks are threatened with closure. But who is Peter Gillis actually and how did he get to this point?
Peter Gillis was born on March 20, 1962. He comes from a family where they were not well off at home. ‘I really had a pussy youth. We had no money and our dad always wanted his drink,’ he wrote in his biography ‘Mass is cash register’. He thought it was important to publish that book. Gillis wanted to make it clear that his success did not just happen to him. “I’ve worked my ass off all my life to get to this point, you know?”
‘Self-made millionaire’
He has never been secretive about his poor childhood. In an interview with Playboy he explained: “Everyone thinks I’ve had an easy life and that it all fell into my lap, but I’m a self-made millionaire.” Often enough he had to go to bed early because there was no money for dinner.
His life mainly took place at his parents’ campsite, where he often had to work after school. Although Gillis first thought he would become a butcher. In the village he learned the trade: deboning and making sausage. But the commercial spirit he acquired at his parents’ company did not leave him. Because in 1986 he made a big hit. He was 24 at the time and together with his brother and sister he bought a holiday park in Asten for 4.25 million guilders. He didn’t have that money himself, but he borrowed it from the bank.
‘Mass is cash register’
The campsite, now known as Vakantiepark Prinsenmeer, turned out to be the profitable start of the Oostappen Group Holiday Parks. Before Gillis knew it, he had ten parks under him, in the Netherlands and Belgium. When everything is fully booked, about 50,000 people will stay there, he estimates.
‘Mass is cash register’ is his motto. If he can’t fill his houses with paying customers, he will have to take care of refugees. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) pays good money for room and board.
‘Big teddy bear’
Business magazine Quote estimates his fortune in 2019 at 85 million euros. He himself says he is worth much more. He was not afraid to call the magazine when, in his own eyes, he was unfairly missing from the Quote 500 of the richest Dutch people.
SBS decides to give him his own reality show. The main characters? In addition to his children, also his (now ex-) girlfriend Nicol. The two fell in love immediately, she tells Veronica. “Peter is actually a very big teddy bear. When we first met, it was clear to me within five minutes. A hard outside and a soft inside.”
Death list
Unfortunately, the TV series is also the start of a number of bad events. For example, he becomes unwell during the recordings. He has to go to the hospital urgently. He then states that he really has to do something about his weight. He also has to say goodbye to his mother. “Having a nice lunch together or having a cup of coffee, I could always share my story with you,” he writes on Instagram years later. “The loss has not diminished.”
When his biography is released, Peter makes a shocking revelation. He’s on a hit list. He does not know from which direction the threat comes. “I’ve been looking back all my life.” So he says he will just move on with his life.
Bitten
It then also emerged that he had abused his girlfriend. The Public Prosecution Service is prosecuting 60-year-old Gillis because he allegedly bitten Nicol (32). The two announced their separation shortly afterwards.
The millionaire now has mounting conflicts with municipalities, the FIOD, the tax authorities and his ex-girlfriend. The latter speaks of more than ten assaults in recent years. Nicol tells RTL Boulevard that she never wants to see him again. “I hope that Peter gets the punishment he deserves, that he understands what he did and that he cannot run away from it.”
Biggest fear
Gillis, who is now happy with his ‘great love’ Wendy, is trying to keep his head above water financially. He says he is ‘severely disappointed’ in the municipality of Asten, which wants its park empty. But he doesn’t give up. He says he is studying the case with his lawyers and has confidence in a successful outcome.
The editor of Playboy asked him about his greatest fear. “That I’m going to get cancer or something.” He compares it to a lottery ticket. “You will just end up with the wrong fate. Whether you have money or not, it doesn’t matter: you cannot buy health.”
This is what’s wrong at Peter Gillis’s parks.