A lot of familiar names in here.
“There’s always money in the banana stand” was the mantra of the most corrupt successful businessmen of in history – George Bluth Sr.
There’s also money in retail, food, media, industry, health, finance and technology and these Irish people are reaping the rewards.
The Sunday Independent have released their 2015 Rich List of the 300 wealthiest people in Ireland.
Here’s a rundown of the top 10 and some famous faces who are also raking it in.
10. Patrick and John Collison – €1.03bn
The Tipperary brothers’ e-payment firm Stripe powers Facebook’s ‘Buy’ option. They also have partnerships with Apple and Twitter.
9. JP McManus – €1.05bn
A former bookie who made most of his money “gambling on currency and financial derivatives from his Geneva trading centre.” We must try that.
8. Dermot Desmond – €1.5bn
Some very shrewd investments in communications and finance companies is a key reason he built this massive fortune.
7. Martin Naughton – €1.6bn
He owns Glen Dimplex which is the world’s biggest manufacturer of home and industrial electrical goods.
6. John Dorrance – €1.9bn
The Irish-American who is the heir to the Campbells Soup empire. Who knew there was so much money in soup? *JOE buys ingredients for soup*
5. Pearse Lyons – €2.2bn
Pearse, from Dundalk, owns the fast-growing animal nutrition group Alltech. There are a few businesses under that umbrella from animal feed to Alzheimer’s research to fish farming.
4. John Grayken – €4bn
The Irish-America made his fortune in the private equity game. A game we know absolutely nothing about, but we’re going to Google it immediately.
3. Denis O’Brien – €5.97bn
You know him pretty well at this stage. He owns loads of media organisations, golf resorts and has invested wisely in Asia.
2. Hilary Weston – €8.8bn
Hilary and her husband are retail loyalty. They are involved in Brown Thomas, Selfridges in London, the De Bijenkork chain in Holland, Penneys and Ogilvy in Canada.
1. Pallonji Mistry and Family – €14.5bn
Pallonji Mistry, who became an Irish citizen through marriage, has his finger in a lot of pies.
To name a few; Jaguar, Tetley Tea along with global chemical, steel, IT, real estate and construction companies.
He’s over €5bn better off than this time last year so expect him to be top of the pile for some time.
A lot of famous faces are further down the list. Michael Flatley is 36th with €340m, Paul McGuinness is 64th with €180m and Enya is 103rd with €117m.
Action hero Liam Neeson is 110th with €110m, Rory McIlroy is 188th with €67m, Eddie Jordan is 205th with €63m and Pierce Brosnan is 206th with €52m.
Source: Irish Independent.
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