IRELAND’S RICHEST PEOPLE are now wealthier than they were during the peak of the Celtic Tiger.
The Sunday Times Rich List shows Hilary and Alannah Weston topped the Irish list for the sixth year in a row. They own the Brown Thomas department store, Selfridges in the UK and have a combined wealth of €15 billion.
Denis O’Brien is in second place with his €5.343 billion. He has more than doubled his fortune in six years. His Topaz operation is the biggest generator of tax for Irish Revenue and he has the largest shareholding in Independent News & Media.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is 14th on the list, with €819 million and this year, Bono is number 22 on the Rich list and is worth €590 million.
Ireland now has 13 billionaires including Patrick and John Collison, aged 26 and 24 who have now become the youngest billionaires in the country’s history. They set up online payments company Stripe in 2010 and the system has now been adopted by giants like Facebook, Twitter and Apple.
According to the list, the 1,000 richest people in Britain are worth £547 billion and their wealth has more than doubled in the last ten years, despite the economic crisis.
Ukranian businessman Len Blavatnik, who is an investor in a range of industries like oil, petrochemicals and media, has been named the wealthiest man in Britain with this £13.17 billion.
Blavatnik knocked Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who run the multinational conglomerate of the same name, off the top spot.
Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is also on the list, though he is worth £1.23 billion less than he was last year. We wouldn’t start crying tears for him just yet though – he still has £7.29 billion.
Richard Branson, of course, still features on the list, in 20th position. He and his family are said to be worth £4.1 billion.
In order to get your name on the well respected Rich List, you have to be worth at least £100 million. So, maybe next year then?
- With reporting from AFP.
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