Where is Robert Lichfield Today when Netflix premiered The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping? Has he responded to the new show? Who is his wife? How old is he now?
We attempt to answer all these questions in this article below.
Has WWASPS Founder Responded To Netflix’s The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping?
No, WWASPS founder Robert Lichfield hasn’t responded yet regarding Netflix’s The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping. Robert Lichfield created the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP) in 1998. Lichfield made significant contributions to the problematic teen business.
A documentary about the problematic teen business that mostly examined one school was released by Netflix in March 2024. Under the auspices of WWASP, The Academy at Ivy Ridge was situated in Ogdensburg, New York. The director of the documentary, Katherine Kluber, spent fifteen months incarcerated at Ivy Ridge in the mid-2000s. When she went to Robert’s huge home in Utah at one point in the series, his nephew informed her that Robert had never lived there. His nephew didn’t even know where his uncle was.
In June 2003, Robert was interviewed by The Los Angeles Times to discuss his accomplishment at what the article describes to as “tough-love” academies. The WWASP system featured 11 schools, and it was just one aspect of his portfolio that encompassed “everything from restaurants to radio stations.”
“We’re here getting kids off drugs and other evils,” Robert told the LA Times. “Do I believe, being a God-believing person, that the adversary to all good is going to sit back and let that happen without a major unleashing of dark forces? No, I don’t.”
According to WWASP Survivor website, “Robert Lichfield was the owner of WWASP, and still owns most WWASP program facilities. Owner of Cross Creek Programs (Cross Creek Manor/ Cross Creek Center) and Owner of Teen Help, the marketing arm of WWASP. Lichfield has no background in Child Psychology, his former job being a staff member at Provo Canyon Boys school which was shut down due to abuse, neglect and mistreatment of children. He then went on to start his own program, which with the help of former LifeSpring cultist David Gilcrease, and his marketing seminars Resource Realizations, WWASP quickly spanned into an umbrella corporation of specialty programs with programs located all over the world including countries such as Samoa, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. Several WWASP programs have been shut down after investigations into allegations of child abuse and medical neglect, and WWASP no longer exists as a corporate entity.”
However, Robert claimed to have “supplied only business and educational services to the programs” for more over ten years, as reported by The New York Times in 2013.
“I wasn’t there, I didn’t abuse or mistreat students, nor did I encourage or direct someone else to do so,” he told the outlet. “I provided business services that were non-supervision, care, or treatment services to schools that were independently owned and operated.”
But he’ll be known differently to the former teenagers who appear in The Program. “Obviously, I’d love to see Robert Lichfield in jail for what he’s done, but I can’t do that,” documentarian Katherine Kubler says toward the end of The Program. “But what I can do is expose the methodology of these places in this documentary, so that other parents don’t get manipulated and sucked up into this scheme.”
Robert is the son of Walter C Lichfield and Wilma Jeanette Browning Lichfield. His dad was born in 1927 during the Great Depression and served in the US Marine Corp in China. He married his Weber high school sweetheart Wilma Browning. They had 13 children altogether including 9 boys and four girls.
Where Is Robert Lichfield Today?
Robert Lichfield’s name still comes up occasionally even though he stays out of the spotlight and away from the public eye. According to a June 2023 Salt Lake Tribune article, some Hurricane, Utah residents were attempting to block the construction of a recreational facility that the founder of WWASP had donated.
Following her election in 2021, Hurricane Mayor Nanette Billings pleaded with Ropbert to donate a facility he was not using. He consented, provided she accepted the structure exactly as it was.
In addition, Nanette volunteered to rename the building after Robert despite objections from the locals—many of whom had previously attended WWASP facilities. At a news appearance, Nanette offered a vacuous apology to the people who had been sent to one of the troublesome teen boarding schools, claiming she didn’t know the individuals who had wronged them and that forgiveness was vital. Robert was presumably out of the country at the time, so he wasn’t there.
How Much Is Robert Lichfield Net Worth?
Robert Lichfield had accumulated a net worth of over $5 million but the figure is yet to be scrutinized.
Robert Lichfield Age
Reportedly born in 1954, Robert Lichfield is 70 years of age as of March 2024.
Robert Lichfield Wife
Back in 2003, the LA Times reported that Robert Lichfield and his wife had six children together. He was likely married to Patti Packer but they are no longer married.
Patti is currently wedded to Curtis Packer since 21 January 2022.
The six children of Robert and Patti are named Roger Lichfield, Rob Lichfield, Lyndee Lichfield Gubler, Loni O’Neil, Reagan Lichfield, and Lana Patrica Lichfield.
Related FAQs
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When Is Robert Lichfield Birthday?
Robert Lichfield likely celebrates his birthday in February.
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Is Robert Lichfield On Instagram?
No, Robert Lichfield appears to be on Facebook (@robert.lichfield.9) where he isn’t active since 2012.
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When Is Robert Lichfield Birthday?
Robert Lichfield celebrates his birthday in February.
