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Nine Irish people on Forbes billionaires list

US magazine Forbes has published its billionaires list for 2019. Nine Irish entries appear on the...
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

14.05 5 Mar 2019


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Nine Irish people on Forbes bi...

Nine Irish people on Forbes billionaires list

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

14.05 5 Mar 2019


Share this article


US magazine Forbes has published its billionaires list for 2019.

Nine Irish entries appear on the 'Richest People In The World' publication.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is again number one in the world, followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates at number two.

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Investor Warren Buffet, Louis Vuitton owner Bernard Arnault and Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu round out the top five.

Overall, both the number of billionaires and their total wealth shrank.

This latest count latest shows there are 2,153 billionaires, 55 fewer than a year ago.

Of those, 46%, are poorer than they were last year.

While 11% of its members from last year - or 247 people - dropped out of the ranks, the most since 2009.

Pallonji Mistry is Ireland's highest entrant on the list, at number 79, worth US$15bn (€13.2bn).

He controls Mumbai-based engineering and construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

The family also holds a 18.4% stake in a holding outfit of the Tata Group.

The reclusive Indian tycoon has an Irish passport due to his marriage to an Irish national.

Forbes John Grayken | Image: Lone Star Funds

The founder and owner of Lone Star Funds, a private equity firm based in Texas, is next up - with a worth of US$6.9bn (€6.09bn).

John Grayken is from Boston, but he renounced his US citizenship for tax purposes in the 1990s.

Businessman Denis O'Brien, with a wealth of US$4bn (€3.53bn), comes in at number 504 on the list.

Mr O'Brien runs and owns 94% of Digicel, a mobile phone network provider that operates in the Caribbean, Asia Pacific and Central America.

He also funded the restoration of Port-au-Prince's Iron Market and his Digicel Foundation built 150 schools following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Mr O'Brien, who is the owner of Communicorp Media, also has investments in other media and healthcare.

Heir to the Campbell's Soup fortune John Dorrance is at number 877 on the list with a net worth of US$2.6bn (€2.29bn).

His relatives are still the company's largest shareholders, but he sold his stake in the mid-1990's and emigrated to Ireland.

Forbes Patrick Collison on stage at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona | Image: David Jensen/EMPICS Entertainment

Brothers John and Patrick Collison, who co-founded online payments company Stripe, are jointly at number 116.

The two Limerick men, who are worth US$2.1bn (€1.85bn), came up with the idea for Stripe while they were both in college in Boston.

Equity firm founder Dermot Desmond is listed at number 1,227 on the list.

With a net worth of US$1.9bn (€1.67bn), he has stakes in travel software firm Datalex, Mountain Province Diamonds, Barchester Healthcare and Glasgow soccer club Celtic PLC.

Forbes John Armitage, co-founder of Egerton Capital, addresses a Ira Sohn Investment Conference in London in 2012 | Image: Geoff Caddick/PA Archive/PA Images

Co-founder and chief investment officer of Egerton Capital, John Armitage, is listed with a worth of US$1.3bn (€1.14bn).

He was born in the UK, but changed his citizenship to Irish in 2018.

At number 1,717, Eugene Murtagh is listed on the 2019 billionaires list more than five decades after founding building materials manufacturer Kingspan Group.

He owns about 16% of the Dublin and London-listed company.

Worth $1.3bn (€1.14bn), he stepped down as CEO in 2005 in favour of his son, Gene.

Other notable new entrants include Spotify's Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and Kylie Jenner, who is the world's youngest billionaire at 21.

Main image: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos tops the Forbes list | Image: Patrick Fallon/Zuma Press/PA Images


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Billionaires List Denis O'Brien Dermot Desmond Eugene Murtagh Forbes Irish Billionaires John And Patrick Collison John Armitage John Dorrance John Grayken Kylie Jenner Pallonji Mistry

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