Van 't Wout is a surname primarily belonging to a Dutch family that conducts its business through Indiana Finance BV. As of 2016 the company was responsible for 40–51% of Dutch trade with Cuba.

History

Family head Willem Van 't Wout started his financial career during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, stealing

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

from the occupying Germans and selling it to a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

. In the 1950s he started trading

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

internationally, specializing in "politically complicated countries". After his first encounter with

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, he bought a large amount of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

, the country's most important export at that time. ''Quote Magazine'' once listed Van 't Wout as the 384th wealthiest Dutchman. In 1991, he was elected Rotterdammer of the year. He is the official Cuba expert retained by Dutch investigative news journalism television show ''Netwerk''. As of 2006, Van 't Wout was preparing to retire and hand over the business to his relatives. He later closed a deal to deliver two hundred used Rotterdam city buses to Cuba, where Dutch buses have been in use for years. Indiana Finance had a turnover of 178 million euros in 2005, 30% of which was accounted for by trade with Cuba. Castro's 2006 illness did not influence business since trade was conducted largely with Cuban ministers. The Van 't Wouts say they are apolitical: "As a trade organisation you can't really bring about a regime change."

Descendants

Daughter Merel is a

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

and served as Castro's personal tailor, convincing him to occasionally change from his customary military attire to a business suit. She claimed that "green doesn't suit him at all". Unlike her father, who regularly referred to him as "Señor Presidente", she was less formal, choosing instead to address Castro as "Fidel". Merel often amicably slapped Castro on the shoulder, an approach he appreciated and one that helped build his trust in her.

References

External links

"Cuban trade will continue without Fidel"
in ''

Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...

'', a Dutch daily newspaper
"Bartering fridges for Cuban nickel"
in ''

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...

'', a Dutch daily newspaper

Official website of Indiana Finance B.V.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van T Wout Businesspeople from Rotterdam