| Westons way out in front as Irish
move up Rich List
A Ballymena-based property magnate is Ireland’s highest new entry
on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Sam Morrison’s firm Corbo Ltd has thrived thanks to the North of
Ireland’s property boom.
The paper conservatively estimated his fortune at £350million putting
him joint 214th overall and 26th on the Irish list.
Co. Fermanagh entrepreneur Sean Quinn and family remain second on the
Irish list, with a fortune of £3,050million.
They are joint 12th on the overall list with interests including property,
quarrying and insurance.
The paper says property prices are one reason why Co. Antrim brothers
Kevin and Michael Lagan have leapt up the Irish list from 47th to eighth
with a fortune of £928million.
A veteran of the list racing driver Eddie Irvine has invested wisely following
the end of his Formula One career, and the paper says he has £150million,
including a motor yacht, international properties and a number of Dublin
bars.
Singer Van Morrison is joint 173rd on the Irish list and the fourth richest
Irish entertainer with a £51million fortune.
Katie Melua may be some way off this sort of cash, but with £8million
in earnings, the 22-year-old is joint 15th on the paper’s list of
the richest Irish people under 30.
The singer moved from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to Belfast
at the age of eight when her father got a job as a surgeon at the Royal
Group of Hospitals.
U2 are the richest Irish entertainers, but their £487million fortune
only puts them 20th on the Irish list.
Second and third are self-styled Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley, worth
£377million, and singer Enya who has £77million.
They all have some way to go to catch Hilary Weston and family whose £4,089million
wealth puts them top of the Irish list.
The former model is married to supermarket owner Galen Weston, who is
Canada’s second richest man. |
