Farooq Kathwari

Farooq Kathwari (born 1944), is a Kashmiri-American businessman and philanthropist who is the Chairman, CEO, and President of Ethan Allen Interiors since 1989.

Early life and education Kathwari was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, to a father from a long-time merchant family and a mother from one of Kashmir’s royal families, about whom his brother Rafiq Khatwari wrote the book My Mother’s Scribe. In his teens, he was a passionate cricketer and later became the captain of the cricket team at his alma mater, Kashmir University, where he majored in literature and political science. They live in New Rochelle, New York. He also owns a fruit farm in Columbia County, New York.