Tony O'Reilly

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Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly
Born 7 May 1936 (1936-05-07) (age 72)
Dublin, Ireland
Occupation Chief Executive of Independent News & Media
Net worth ▲€1 billion (short scale) (US$1.4 billion)
Spouse Chryss Goulandris (1991–present), Susan Cameron
Children Susan Wildman, Cameron O'Reilly, Justine O'Reilly, Gavin O'Reilly, Caroline Dempsey and Tony O'Reilly Jnr

Dr. Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly KBE, often known simply as "Tony O'Reilly," born 7 May 1936, is a Dublin-born billionaire who holds both Irish and British nationality. He is best known as one of Ireland's richest men, for his leadership of the Dublin-based Independent News & Media Group (INM), and as former CEO of the H.J. Heinz Company, but was also previously an international rugby union player. Married for the second time, to a Greek shipping heiress, he now lives primarily in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas, and Kilcullen in Ireland.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Tony O'Reilly was born in Dublin, the only child of a civil servant, John "The Judge" O'Reilly, and his partner, Aileen O'Connor (died 1989). O'Reilly's father, a customs officer, was married with four children, but estranged from his wife, who lived in Wicklow. John O'Reilly married his partner in 1973, after the death of his wife (Ireland had no provision for divorce at that time)[1]. O'Reilly arranged for the John and Aileen O'Reilly Library at Dublin City University to be named after his parents, and the O'Reilly Institute at Trinity College Dublin to be named for his father.

[edit] Education

Educated at the Jesuit-run Belvedere College from the age of six, O'Reilly went on to study law with University College, Dublin and the then Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, qualifying as a solicitor. He also holds an earned PhD in agricultural marketing from the University of Bradford in addition to an honorary doctorate.

[edit] Rugby Union career

Considered an excellent rugby union player in his day, O'Reilly played for Leicester Tigers and London Irish in England. He made his international debut as an 18 year old in the centre against France on 22 January 1955 and went on to gain 28 caps for Ireland between 1955 and 1963, with a surprise 29th cap in 1970 against England at Twickenham. He was considered a strong player in his early years but the recall was generally thought a mistake and, having spent most of the match standing, he himself joked about it [2].

He also toured twice with the British and Irish Lions, in 1955 to South Africa, and, in 1959 to Australia and New Zealand. In 1955 he was the youngest player to earn Lions selection at 19 years of age. O'Reilly made his test debut on the right wing before a then world record crowd of 95,000, at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on 6 August, 1955. He scored a try in the Lions 23-22 victory. He played in all four tests and scored a try in the fourth in a series that was drawn 2-2. He scored a record 16 tries in all games on the tour.

In 1959 he played in all six tests, two against Australia and four against New Zealand. He scored tries in the two test wins against Australia and in the first and fourth tests against New Zealand, thus bringing his total to a Lion's record of six in test matches. He also set a try scoring record on that tour by scoring 22 tries. His total of 38 tries for the Lions on two tours, set a mark that has not been equalled.

He also holds the record for the most appearances for the Barbarians. He made his debut with the Barbarians in a 6 - 3 win against Cardiff RFC in 1955. He went on to represent the club a record 30 times scoring a record 38 tries. He made his final appearance for the Barbarians against Swansea RFC 8 years later in 1963.

Today, O'Reilly is a member of the IRFU Commercial Committee.

[edit] Business

O'Reilly went to work for a consultancy company[citation needed] and then to Sutton's of Cork, selling agricultural products, coal and oil. He joined An Bord Bainne (the Irish Dairy Board) in 1962 as General Manager, developing the successful Kerrygold "umbrella brand" for Irish export butter during his time there. In 1966 he became Managing Director of the Irish Sugar Company. Having developed a joint venture for freeze-drying food between that company and H. J. Heinz & Co., he joined Heinz, where he made his name in international business, in 1969, becoming MD of the Heinz subsidiary in the UK, its largest non-US holding.

He moved to the company HQ in Pittsburgh in 1971 when he was promoted to Senior Vice President for the North America and Pacific region. In 1973, he became COO and President, then continued his rise and became CEO in 1979.

O'Reilly earned his Ph.D. in 1980. He became Chairman of Heinz in 1987, succeeding H. J. Heinz II, becoming the first non-Heinz family member to hold that post. His guidance was seen[citation needed] as having helped transform the company into a major international competitor, its value increasing fifteenfold (from $908 million to $11 billion). O'Reilly left Heinz in 1998, after several years during which analysts questioned the company's performance, and after challenges from corporate governance groups, major pension funds including CalPERS and Business Week magazine[3]; he was succeeded by his deputy, William R. Johnson. It is reported that O'Reilly still owns a shareholding of 1.5 to 2% in Heinz.[citation needed]

During his time at Heinz, O'Reilly held roles as chairman of several companies, including Waterford Wedgwood and Independent News & Media, and of a partnership of solicitors in Dublin.[4]

O'Reilly had bought into Independent News & Media, a Dublin-based company, in 1973; he currently holds a stake of around 26%, with leverage over more than 28% with family and other connected parties.[citation needed] He pushed the company to expand into other national markets and to increase its reach in Ireland. Throughout the 1990s INM bought into South Africa (from 1994), Australia (from 1988) and New Zealand (from 1995), acquiring 38 newspaper titles, over 70 radio stations, cable and telecoms interests at a cost of around €1.3 billion[citation needed]. In the United Kingdom, INM expanded its interests, taking control of the national broadsheet The Independent in 1995, edging out MGN and Prisa[citation needed]. The company has over 200 national and regional newspaper and magazine titles in total, revenues of €1.9 billion and profits of €110.7 million. The group has assets of around €4.7 billion and debts in the region of €1.3 billion.[5]

Among other investments, O'Reilly also has interests in:

  • Fitzwilton, a mixed holding company, "taken private" in conjunction with his brother-in-law
  • Waterford Wedgwood (in which he and his brother-in-law have invested tens of millions of euro, holding at least 40%), which has controversially sought Government support in early-mid 2008
  • oil prospector Providence, in which he holds a major share.

He was also part of the Valentia consortium, which bought into Eircom, the former Irish state phone company, in 2001[citation needed], later selling on at vast profit. In addition to capital gains with these companies, O'Reilly draws salaries, share options and benefits from many, an article in The Village Magazine suggesting he has "earned" 110 million euro since 2000 just from Independent News and Media. On the other hand, he and his families have sustained the historic Waterford Glass operation, which would certainly have closed without their funding.

[edit] Charitable works

[edit] The O'Reilly Foundation

The O'Reilly Foundation is a charity set up by O'Reilly, and with a Board of Trustees composed of family members, chaired by his wife, and a Scholarship Board with key acquaintances, headed by Professor Emeritus John Kelly of UCD. With an office address at a family home in Dublin, and Amanda Hopkins as Executive Secretary, it contributes to various projects, with an emphasis on the education sector, primarily running an annual scholarship programme, awarding 2-3 advanced, usually multi-year third-level scholarships, each for over 25000 euro per annum.

Both through the Foundation and before its inception, O'Reilly has contributed to a range of University projects in Ireland, with notable examples at Dublin City University, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Queens's University of Belfast.

[edit] Trinity College Dublin

O'Reilly has contributed towards the O’Reilly Institute, backed the development of Jewish Studies and supported the Chair in Neuroscience. He is currently a Pro-Chancellor of the University and a member of the board of the Trinity Foundation.

[edit] Dublin City University

The John and Aileen O`Reilly Library at Dublin City University was named in honour of his parents, as the O`Reilly Foundation contributed a substantial sum to the library's capital costs in 2000.

[edit] Queen's University, Belfast

The new library currently under construction at Queen's University of Belfast is named the Sir Anthony O'Reilly Library in his honour, due to his status as top benefactor to the University.[6]

[edit] Ireland Funds

The American Ireland Fund, now the central entity in the The Ireland Funds, was established in Boston by O'Reilly and his friend, Pittsburgh businessman Dan Rooney, in 1976. The funds, now a network with more than ten national entities, have raised over $300 million to date. O'Reilly is currently the overall Chairman.

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Family

O'Reilly met his first wife, concert pianist Susan M. Cameron, the daughter of a wealthy Australian mining figure, in 1959 in Australia. He had six children by her, born 1963-1966: Susan Wildman, Cameron O'Reilly, Justine O'Reilly, Gavin O'Reilly, Caroline Dempsey, and Tony O'Reilly, Junior; the last three are triplets. All three boys are involved in family business interests, while the daughters are not known to be. All married and Tony O'Reilly has eighteen grandchildren. Eldest child and qualified pilot Susan O'Reilly married investment banker Tarik Wildman at the restored church on Castlemartin Estate in 1993, and Gavin O'Reilly married Alison Doody there some years later.

The O'Reillys separated in 1990, having remained together through years of many rumours of O'Reilly affairs but apparently going their separate ways over O'Reilly's hectic social life [7], and Susan O'Reilly settled in London, where she remains.

O'Reilly shortly after married Chryssanthine ("Chryss" or Christina) Goulandris, a Greek shipping heiress eleven years his junior, who breeds and races thoroughbred horses, and whom he had met at race meetins. The wedding took place in the Bahamas on September 14 1991. Chryss O'Reilly, who sometimes breeds and races as "Skymarc Farms" and also under other names, and who owns stud farms in Normandy and other locations, is well-known on the racecourses of Ireland, Britain and France as Lady O'Reilly and is very knowledgeable on all aspects of the equine industry. She was reputedly worth more than O'Reilly when they met, on a racecourse, and married, as the tabloids and even some mainstream news media pointed out. Chryss made a naming gift in her husband's honour in 1999 with the O'Reilly Theater in Pittsburgh, and he bought her a famous Jackie Onassis diamond ring for over 2 million US dollars[8]. The second Mrs O'Reilly's brother has been a close business ally of O'Reilly for many years.

[edit] Residences

A number of homes are associated with O'Reilly, including his current main residence, Lissadell, with a beach within private gated community Lyford Cay[9] near Nassau in the Bahamas, and a Georgian house on Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin. Still a major base, and for many years his principal residence, is Castlemartin, a "big house" dating in current form from the 18th century, at Kilcullen, County Kildare (which has associated stud farm and cattle breeding premises on the large estate lands). O'Reilly purchased Castlemartin in 1972 from Grey Gowrie, and spent millions on improvements to the house and on restoration of the 15th century Church of St. Mary on the grounds. On February 15 2008, permission was granted for developments of two ancillary houses on the grounds, adjoining Kilcullen (Bridge) village's main street, incorporating residential, restaurant and retail space. In October 2007, O'Reilly paid a record 125000 euro per acre for 60-acre Hollyhill Stud in Brannockstown[10], a subsidiary areas 3 kilometres from Kilcullen. The stud farm on the banks of the Liffey, with a 10-rooom house and a cottage, was thought to have been intended for one of his daughters[11]. O'Reilly also has a compound, comprising several houses, and gardens, by the sea in Glandore, County Cork and a chateau "built on the ruins of the castle where William the Conqueror plotted his 1066 invasion of England" at Deauville in France[12].

For many years, a key O'Reilly residence was a 34-room Tudor house of 8000 square feet, at Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, with seven acres of grounds. This property, with eight bedrooms and bathrooms, an "Irish bar" in the basement, tennis courts, Japanese and English themed gardens and swimming and tennis facilities, was sold for around 2.4 M US dollars in 2000[13]

[edit] Sporting interests

O'Reilly's sons have noted that he is still a keen player of tennis. For a period in the 1990's, O'Reilly chaired a committee set up by the then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Gay Mitchell, aiming to bring the Olympic Games to Dublin in 2004.

[edit] Popular names

The names by which O'Reilly is known have changed over time. In his rugny days, Tony O'Reilly was universal, but after 1980, he preferred to be known as Dr. A.J.F. O'Reilly, and after his knighthood, Sir Anthony O'Reilly. In the media, he was often known as The Bean Baron - even after Heinz, no similar title was derived from Independent News & Media or Waterford Crystal.

[edit] Awards and honours

In 1978, O'Reilly was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by Trinity College Dublin.

O'Reilly was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2001 New Year's Honours, "for services to Northern Ireland," in recognition for his work as head of The Ireland Funds charity. He describes himself as a constitutional nationalist. He sought the approval of the Irish Government in relation to the award, it is thought as a courtesy in terms of using the title. As O'Reilly is also a British subject due to his pre-1949 Irish birth[14], he can validly style himself Sir, as he has done; see British honours system.

[edit] Wealth

In April 2008, Village Magazine (Dublin, Ireland) reported that O'Reilly was the sixth richest Irish citizen (probably including some of his wife's assets), with a net worth of 1.8 billion USD, a little less than Denis O'Brien, one of the Campbell Soup heirs, John Dorrance and Dermot Desmond, and much less than the richest two (one of whom is Sean Quinn). O'Reilly was noted as being in the majority (five out of six) not paying tax in Ireland.

[edit] Biography

A biography, The Player: The Life of Tony O'Reilly, was produced by Ivan Fallon, an executive at one of O'Reilly's companies, and remains the only lengthy study of the man.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Paperchaser, 12 February 1994
  2. ^ The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Paperchaser, 12 February 1994
  3. ^ Business Week, 15 September 1997, Lead cover story: "The CEO and the Board"
  4. ^ Business Week, 15 September 1997, Lead cover story: "The CEO and the Board"
  5. ^ Dublin, Ireland: INM Preliminary Results, 2007
  6. ^ Queen's University Belfast | The Sir Anthony O'Reilly Library
  7. ^ The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Paperchaser, 12 February 1994
  8. ^ Forbes Magazine:[1], retrieved April 2008
  9. ^ Pittsburgh, July 22 2001: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Living large; Anthony O'Reilly rules a global business empire, enchants all those in his sphere and is now addressed as "Sir", Cristina Rouvalis
  10. ^ Leinster Leader, 17 October 2007: Auction Watch
  11. ^ The Irish Times, 11 October 2007, Property: Sales Results
  12. ^ Pittsburgh, July 22 2001: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Living large; Anthony O'Reilly rules a global business empire, enchants all those in his sphere and is now addressed as "Sir", Cristina Rouvalis
  13. ^ The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Property, 8 August 2000, from the Wall Street Journal
  14. ^ As a result of the 1948 Act, Irish citizens (citizens of the Republic of Ireland) no longer had British subject status from 1 January 1949 if they did not acquire citizenship of the UK & Colonies or that of another Commonwealth country, notwithstanding that the Irish Free State did not cease to be one of His Majesty's dominions until 18 April 1949. However, section 2 of the Act allowed certain Irish citizens who were British subjects before 1949 to apply at any time to the Secretary of State to remain British subjects. Applications had to be based on: previous Crown service under the United Kingdom government; possession of a British passport; or associations by way of descent, residence or otherwise with the United Kingdom or any Crown colony, protectorate, UK mandated territory or UK trust territory.

[edit] External links