Robert Wilson Goelet, Jr. was descended from the founders of Chemical Bank in Manhattan; his mother was an Italian countess. He spent the majority of his life in Europe.
Was a principal in two film-producing companies, Voyagers Inc. and Normandy Productions.
The son of Robert Wilson Goelet of New York, a philanthropist and director of the Chemical Bank, and Donna Fernanda Rocchi), Princess Riabouchinsky later Duchess de Villarosa of Florence, Italy.
After marrying actress Lynn Merrick in 1949, his mother disinherited him. The couple divorced seven years later.