Robert Carmichael LaRouche was born on November 23, 2001, to Rosemary and Clinton LaRouche in Houston, Texas, where his father's family had oil holdings.

The LaRouche family got into the oil business in the early 1900s and subsequently diversified into other industries in Texas and throughout the Southwest. Clinton LaRouche founded the successful LaRouche Steak Houses with restaurants throughout Texas and Oklahoma and later expanded to other Southern states, including Mississippi.

Rob's father insisted that he attend public schools so he could learn to get along with people of all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. As a result, Rob has a diverse friend group today.

His school friends often teased Rob for his zeal when it came to environmental and conservation issues. He fanatically collected and recycled aluminum cans, plastic, paper, and glass, and he scolded them for shopping at retailers that used non-biodegradable containers. But when he launched a senior class fundraiser, his high school classmates helped collect aluminum cans to make the campaign a success.

Rob saw no contradiction between the way his family had made their fortune and his interest in conserving the country's raw materials and protecting the environment. In fact, he believed it was the industry's duty to find new energy sources.

Clinton respected and supported Rob's desire to help conserve natural energy resources. He gave Rob a brand new Hyundai Kona Electric for his 17th birthday, and Rob was thrilled with his new car.

The summer before Rob's senior year in high school, Clinton invited Rob to accompany him on a business trip through several Southern states. They traveled by car, which gave them a unique opportunity to spend time together. It also gave Rob some insight into what would be expected of him in the future. Father and son agreed that Rob would major in business at college because he would need that education to understand and manage the LaRouche fortune someday.

During that trip, they visited the University of Mississippi. Rob really liked the small-town atmosphere, and the School of Business Administration was well thought of, so his father approved. Rob had hoped to take a gap year before college to travel the United States, but his father said if Rob finished college first, Clinton would fund a year of travel for Rob before he entered the family business.

When Rob got to Ole Miss, he participated in fraternity rush, but just before pledging, decided it wasn't for him. He wasn't against a beer now and then, but he valued his privacy and preferred living alone in his own place. He was something of a loner but not antisocial, so he had an active dating and social life.

Rob and Michelle Prescott began dating and hit it off pretty well. She hinted at marriage in their future, but Rob is focused on finishing school and his post-graduation trip.