A record year for Ireland’s richest.
It’s the kind of rundown that can only really upset you.
Unless you’re on it, of course.
We’d take the relegation zone places, to be quite honest.
Alas, we press on, craning our necks at the most financially elite individuals in Ireland as the 2019 Sunday Times Rich List comes into focus.
The 32-page pullout surveys the wealth of the 300 richest individuals and families in the country, focusing on a variety of avenues including entertainment, sport, business, technology and construction.
The minimum wealth required to qualify for the list is €57m, up from €52m in 2018.
Overall, the combined wealth of those present amounts to €87 billion, an increase of more than 10% on last year’s total and a record year for Ireland’s most extravagant.
So, who made the cut, then?
For the 11th year in a row, the Weston family can call themselves the most well-off folks in Ireland with a bank balance of €11.932 billion thanks to their retail efforts.
Their business includes Brown Thomas, Selfridges and Penneys (aka Primark), the last of which alone employs 70,000 workers across 10 European countries and in the US, with 2018 seeing it open its first stores in Slovenia, Poland and Slovakia, contributing to a €512m increase in the Weston family’s wealth.
Elsewhere, tech billionaire brothers Patrick and John Collison of Stripe fame take second place on a cool €5 billion, a far cry from their Rich List debut of €59 million in 2013.
Third spot goes to John Dorrance, who is a non-mover on €2.6 billion.
Check out the top 10 below.
1. Hilary, Alannah and Galen Jr Weston and family – €11.932 billion (Retailing)
2. Patrick and John Collison – €5 billion (Internet)
3. John Dorrance – €2.6 billion (Investment)
4. Larry, Kitty, Laurence and Mark Goodman – €2.455 billion (Meat, property and healthcare)
5. Dermot Desmond – €2.017 billion (Finance)
6. Denis O’Brien – €2 billion (Mobile phones and investments)
7. Lady Ballyedmond and family – €1.861 billion (Pharmaceuticals)
8. The Dunne and Heffernan families – €1.784 billion (Retailing and property)
9. John Magnier and family – €1.721 billion (Bloodstock and investment)
10. Deirdre, Mark and Aoife Lyons – €1.7 billion (Animal feed and biotechnology)
As previously reported, U2 take top honours in the entertainment bracket, on a list that also features Enya, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan and Niall Horan.
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