Collapsed travel giant Thomas Cook's fatcat boss was being protected by security tonight as thousands of holidaymakers were stranded around the world.
Swiss millionaire Peter Fankhauser, 58, was not at his rented £2million mansion as chaos ensued in the wake of the firm’s collapse.
A security guard was positioned outside Dr Fankhauser’s £6,000-a-month, six-bedroom mansion on a private estate in Hersham, Surrey.
He threatened to call the police when asked if the chief executive officer would like to send a message to more than a million customers whose holiday dreams have been shattered after the firm went into administration.
The guard said: “He’s not at the property and I can’t tell you when he is coming back. He is with one of our security teams.
"He has made it clear he doesn’t want to speak to the press.
"This is a private estate and you are not welcome here.”
Father-of-three Dr Fankhauser has been chief executive since 2014, during which time he has pocketed an annual salary of up to £725,000.
With his bonuses of £4.6million, he earned more than £8million in the past five years.
Dr Fankhauser shares his Surrey home, which has a swimming pool in the back garden, with his wife Raffaella Cassani and two of his three children.
The former aerobics instructor went into the travel business when his father stopped him becoming a fighter pilot following a period in the Swiss army’s tank division.
A keen skier, Dr Fankhauser has said he runs the last six miles to work every morning while his car is driven ahead with his bag.
He once said the company, the world’s oldest travel firm, had to “walk in its customers’ flip-flops” if it was to remain relevant.
