Jan Roman Potocki - an earl, descendant of the famous Potocki family and a successful businessperson. Describes what it means to be an aristocrat in the XXI century.

-You were born in Switzerland, you studied in Paris and Cambridge, and you have lived among others in London and New York. You speak six languages fluently. You are a citizen of the world. How do you feel yourself? Jan Roman Potocki: When people ask me where I am from, regardless if I am in the States, France, or England, I always say that I am Polish. I have always felt this way. My father is Polish (He was born and raised in Poland; that is where he spent his childhood; he left the country when he was twenty something years old). My mother is Swiss, but she thought me to speak Polish quite well. They met and got married in Paris. Therefore, at home, I spoke French, and for the first seven years of my life, I had a Polish babysitter, who thought me Polish. After that, I lost contact with this language, but I have always wanted to learn it as much as possible as well as the Polish culture. Therefore, I actually learned the language again upon my trips to Poland on vacation, visiting my family and later on in business. In a sense, you could say that I am a self-learner.

When I got my first job in an English bank I accepted the offer, but I was always on a look out for something else since I always wanted my job to be connected with Poland. As it was the beginning of the 90's and the period of great privatization of the industry in Poland, the bank that I was working for was helping the Polish government in the process of privatizing the tobacco industry. Thanks to that, I often had an opportunity to visit Poland and I had to work in Polish.

-Who embedded such strong sense of patriotism in you? J.R.P. (laugh) My babysitter. She would often tell me how her younger brother died the Warsaw uprising. I remember it clearly. I also remember my first trip to Poland; I went to the forest preserves with my aunt, I think I was eight years old, and when I played with the kids it was always me and the Germans. Not Indians or cowboys. And in a sense, that is how it all started.

Although after that I did not visit Poland for I would say about 10 years, I still had souvenirs in my home. My father is rather not the sentimental type and back then he did not think about returning to Poland (given that the communist times were not easy for him), however he was always very sentimental about his family and he would collect many family souvenirs. Some of them originate from my family estate in Lancut. It happened so that the last ordinate in Lancut named Alfred Potocki, took with him a few things in order to survive while living as an emigrant after the war when leaving Poland. Part of it had been sold, but afterwards my father bought them back. That is why regardless of where we lived, Rome, Athens, Geneva or even Moscow, we have always had portraits of our ancestors on the walls, and our home was filled with different souvenirs: books, silver etc.

As an interesting fact for the readers of PLUS magazine I can say that my father had a job which involved a lot of traveling. The main headquarters of the company he was working for that produced machines for digging ground for the heavy industry, is based in Illinois. When my father took this job after graduating business school, he was delegated for a few months to Illinois. That is where I learned to walk.

-Have you ever thought of returning to Poland? Or do you rather prefer living your life as an emigrant? J.R.P.: In reality, the Potocki family never left Poland and part of my closest family lived there. My father also returned to Poland and has been living in Warsaw for the last 10 years. I also am also very sentimental about Poland. Besides my business - Potocki Vodka - is strongly connected with Poland and with its image. I have not decided where I will eventually settle down, but I intend to stay active in Poland. I believe that it is a country of great opportunities, especially when it is opening up to the world. There is a lot to do in every field. I think that anyone who wishes to invest in Poland has great potential in rebuilding this country that is what it is all about. If the country continues to develop it will be a better place to live in. Nevertheless, in order to accomplish this, the whole country must unite in an effort.

-Do you consider investing in Poland or are you rather concentrating on your political activity? J.R.P.: I have already completed my first investments in Poland, because the vodka is produced in Poland. I have many ideas connected to my business and not only. I am very much interested in the culture. I support the building of positive image of Poland by supporting the Polish culture. We have an abundance of talented young people in Poland and abroad who positively represent their country.

-We will return to promotion of Poland later. Let us now return to your ancestry? How did you become interested in your family's history? Did you look back into history or is it a living family tradition passed on to next generations? J.R.P.: It is the family's tradition. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather were always well informed about our family's history and in consequence about Poland's history, Stanislaw Kostka and Ignacy Potocki the authors of Poland's new Constitution are Poland's historical figures. Growing up surrounded by family souvenirs and tradition is thought provoking and inspires ones interests.

-Were you thought at home that an aristocratic blood runs through your veins? And do you feel as one today? J.R.P.: Translated from Greek, aristocracy means "the elite of the ones in power". That is the reason why we were treated so badly after the war. My father always tells me an anecdote. Chruszczow visits Poland he makes a speech in Lancut to our nation and says that the Potocki, Tarnowski, Lubomirski family times are over and shall never return. My grandfather having heard that calls with anger to his cousin Radziwil and says, "How come they had not mentioned you guys" (laughs)

Aristocracy was also a lifestyle for people who made living from their possessions and great fortunes and were used to power. However, upon the decent of all these catastrophes: the Russian revolution, then the war and communism in Poland, our world collapsed. The era of Polish aristocracy ended. What has remained is the sense of history - which is in our blood and in the past, (my cousins and me are aware of that). It is also my responsibility, since my name is known and I cannot feel completely free, if I were born anonymously. This responsibility is about maintaining certain values based on human dignity and behavior. I believe that in this sense anyone can fell like an aristocrat, since it is how you feel inside not necessary what runs through your veins.

-How could you describe a lifestyle of a modern aristocrat? J.R.P.: I live in bit strange situation. On one hand, especially in Europe, this history is still alive and it lives among the society. Of course, I am not talking about the communist countries, where it has been destroyed, but in France or England where aristocratic families still matter to a certain extent. However, in the States aristocracy is rather a relic, because it is a country based on a different system, different tradition and possesses different aristocracy - aristocracy of business, money and personal success. In reality, there are no families in the States, which survived more than 50-100 years. You can see what is happening to the Kennedy, Rockefeller families or other barons of industry. Certainly, there is not much news about their next generations.

Now let us return to your question. You can feel like you belong to a different era, but at the same time you live in the XXI century and it presents a challenge - these two worlds need to be connected in order for it to make any sense. I decided to connect my private and professional life and live according to my own rules.

-Could you then describe Jan Roman Potocki's typical day of? J.R.P.: (laughs) I get up in the morning I turn on my computer and work until evening. I meet different people from diverse spheres given that my product is interesting and it attracts wide audience. I travel a lot around the States: Chicago, New York, California and of course Europe. I am always on the road.

I also have time for pleasure. I meet many friends, many young people - my product connects people. Besides New York where I currently live, is a very interesting, happening place. Here you can discover the past- through people who came here from different counties - and in contrast the incredible modern world.

-Your name is Jan Roman. There is a theory that states that the name you have influences your life and your character. I can see that you have inherited passion for traveling from Jan Potocki; do you play cards like ordinate Roman Potocki? J.R.P.: No. (laughs) There were many gamblers in my family. However, I do not play cards. My father named me Jan due to his sympathy to our ancestor Jan Potocki. The name Roman comes from my father's father, who died five days after I was born, he was happy to have a new grandson and that someone will bare his name.

-Which individual of the Potocki family fascinates you the most? J.R.P: I think that the figures from the XVIII century are particularly interesting. For example Stanislaw Kostka, Ignacy were conscious, active and felt responsible for Poland. Of course, they looked after the interests of the clan since during that time the Potocki family was very influential, but they also looked after the interests of the country. The 3rd of May Constitution or the National Education Committee is generally Ignacy Potocki's baby. And it was Stanislaw Kostka who opened in Wilanow the first private museum in Poland.

Although I have in mind two such special figures. It is of course Jan - the traveler who- as those times- was a man of vision that is why only few actually understood him. Even by the family, he was regarded as a weirdo. He was discovered much later and now looked upon as an intellectual star among particular circles. His books were translated into many languages.

My father became fascinated by him. He used to collect Jan Potocki's belongings, his original manuscripts, and the first publishing of his books. Recently he has cooperated with two specialists in Switzerland and in France who do a lot of research about Jan's life and his work. They collected the first complete volume of Jan's book called "The manuscript found Saragossa".

-Although you family was familiar with the history Jan Potocki's life, after all these years you finally got a chance to see a play based on your ancestors book, last December here in Chicago. J.R.P.: Yes, I saw it for the first time, because "The diary found in Saragossa" is a novel not a play. This adaptation was a sensation since I have never heard of any other adaptation except for film by Hass shot in Poland during the 60's.