Gordon Sondland, theEU ambassador, finds himself at the center of Wednesdays impeachment inquiry hearings set to take place inWashington. He is considered a key witness, but unpredictable due to hisevolving accounts of how the Trump administration dealt with Ukraine. Before the wealthy businessmanappeared on the scene in D.C., he was a Seattle hotelier and major donor to President Trump. Here arefive other factsabout the 62-year-old.

FAMILY SURVIVED THE HOLOCAUST: Sondland once told the Portland Business Journal that his parents escaped from Nazi Germany. "My mother was able to get out of Nazi Germany because her father was Russian, and those with a Russian passport could leave,"he said. "My father was not so fortunate and he had to be smuggled out of Germany by being tied to the bow of a vegetable freighter that was leaving for the North Sea. He almost lost one leg because it was so cold and he wound up in France."His father went on to fight Nazis in North Africa. His family eventually ended up in Uruguay and moved to Seattle.

POWER COUPLE: Sondland is married to Katherine Durant, a successful Portland real estate broker. The couple wasfeatured in OregonBusiness.com in January about their courtship (she said he wasnt her type at first). Durant, who helpedrun the hotel business while her husband servedoverseas, toldThe Washington Post that the media is not treating her husband fairly. "We live in a world right now where theres no upside to supporting someone like Gordon who isworking for Trump; its a mob."

AYN RAND INFLUENCE: Sondland is a fan of Ayn Rand, the author of "The Fountainhead"and "Atlas Shrugged."President Trump is also a fan of "The Fountainhead." The author died in 1982.

ATTRACTION TO PEOPLE WITH POWER: An associate of Ted Kulongoski, the former governor of Oregon, told Fortune that Sondland works hard to ingratiate himself with influential people. Sondland is a major Republican donor and a divining rod for people with political power, the source said. If you walk into a crowded room and you're looking for the most powerful person, look for Gordon, because you know he's tall and he'll be within 5 feet of them."

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ABANDONED TRUMP: Sondland, who initially supported Jeb Bush in 2016, made a public break from then-candidate Trump after his comments on the Gold Star Muslim family. He went on to donate $1 million to Trumps inauguration through some of his companies, NPR reported.

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Gordon Sondland: 5 things to know - Fox News