Tony O'Reilly

Infobox Celebrity
name = Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly


birth_date = Birth date and age|1936|5|7|df=yes
birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Chief Executive of Independent News & Media
salary =
networth = gain€1.14 billion (short scale) (US$1.8 billion), #677 in the world (excl. his wife, with over 400M euro)New York, USA: Forbes Magazine, 5 March 2008, Billionaires of the World, #677, retrieved from [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Anthony-OReilly_9811.html] on 21 August 2008]
spouse = Chryss Goulandris (1991–present), Susan Cameron (1962-)
website =
footnotes =
children = Susan Wildman, Anthony Cameron O'Reilly, Justine O'Reilly, Gavin O'Reilly, Caroline Dempsey and Tony O'Reilly, Junior Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly PhD, 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 and Chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company, but was also previously a famous international rugby union player, drove the Kerrygold butter brand, co-founded the Ireland Funds and is a Pro-Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin.

With six children and eighteen grandchildren, and married for the second time, to a Greek shipping heiress and horse breeder, he now lives primarily in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas, and Kilcullen in Ireland, with frequent stays at Glandore also.

O'Reilly is hailed as a rugby and business great, a fine raconteur and a strong contributor to Ireland globally but has also been at times a controversial figure, with questions about "aggressive accounting" tactics - notably at Heinz and Independent News & Media, high executive pay especially while "squeezing" staff cost in the Independent and Waterford, non-independent board members, some significant problem businesses such as Fitzwilton, concerns about his media power (especially in Ireland) - and related political influence- and his long-term "tax exile" status.

Biography

Parents

Tony O'Reilly was born in Dublin, the only child of a civil servant, John "The Judge" O'Reilly (1906-1976), and his partner, Aileen O'Connor (1914-1989). O'Reilly's Drogheda-born father, eventually an inspector-general of customs, was born "Reilly" and added the "O"' when he applied to join the Civil Service, and was married with four children, but estranged from his wife, Judith Clarke, who lived by then in County Wicklow.

John O'Reilly married his partner in 1973, after the death of his wife and only a little time after he had told his son of his other family (Ireland had no provision for divorce at that time) [The Daily Telegraph, London, U.K.: The Real O'Reilly, 9 Aug 2004, Martin Baker] [The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, 12 February 1994: Weekend section, page 3, "Paperchaser", Jim Dunne] . O'Reilly himself had been told about the situation by a Jesuit when he was 15, but kept it secret. He 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, who had studied there.

Early life

O'Reilly, named "Tony" after his mother's favourite brother, began life at Griffith Avenue, a broad middle class street, at the end classified as lying in Drumcondra and Glasnevin. He had prominent red hair. He holidayed with family, including an aunt in Balbriggan, cousins in Sligo and others in Drogheda. In 1951, the family moved to a bungalow in Santry.

Education

Educated at the Jesuit-run Belvedere College from the age of six, O'Reilly was known for sporting proficiency (in rugby, tennis, cricket and soccer), and for acting skills (notably in Gilbert and Sullivan shows and plays such as "Iolanthe" and Dunsany's "A Night at an Inn"). He was an altar boy, and a regular attender at chapel, and during his time there, spent a summer in the Gaeltacht to improve his Irish language skills. He took his Leaving Certificate at 17, passing, and then studied philosophy for a year, while developing his rugby.

O'Reilly went on to study law simultaneously with University College, Dublin and the then Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, qualifying as a solicitor (he never practiced but was chairman of a Dublin solictors' practice). He also holds an earned PhD in agricultural marketing from the University of Bradford in addition to an honorary doctorate.

Rugby Union career

Considered an excellent rugby union player in his day - this was the source of his early fame - O'Reilly played for various teams at Belvedere, then Old Belvedere, Ireland 3rd team, Ireland 1st team, the Barbarians, the British and Irish Lions, and later the Leicester Tigers and London Irish in England. Despite strong personal performances, he never played for a team which won a senior cup or championship.

International career

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. There was a surprise 29th cap in 1970 against England at Twickenham but while he was still remembered as a strong player in his early years, the recall was generally thought a mistake and, having arrived by limousine and spent most of the match standing, he himself joked about it [The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Paperchaser, 12 February 1994] .

Lions

He also toured twice with the British and Irish Lions, on the 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa, and the 1959 British Lions tour 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.

Injuries during the tours dogged him from then on, notably one received as he scored a fine match-ending try.

Barbarians

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.

Rugby today

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

Other sports

O'Reilly played soccer at home, and later for Home Farm F.C.. He played cricket at Belvedere, and was a member of the Junior Cup-winning team in 1950.

He also played tennis, and he was on a Leinster Schools Cup-winning team, and reached the under-15 national semi-finals. Tennis is the only sport he continued to play for life.

Business

O'Reilly went from college to work for a consultancy company, Weston-EvansFact|date=February 2007 in Ashby-de-la-Zouche (at a very good salary by then Irish standards) and then to Sutton's of Cork, selling agricultural products, coal and oil.

Irish semi-State sector

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. He soon developed a joint venture for freeze-drying food between that company and H. J. Heinz & Co.. He also suffered a car accident, which resulted in a conviction for careless driving, although locals testified that the injured party was a careless pedestrian. After this he rarely drove himself, especially at night.Fact|date=July 2008

Heinz

In 1969, after discussion with Taoiseach Jack Lynch (who offered him a government post such as Minister for Agriculture if he would stay), O'Reilly joined Heinz - where he made his name in international business - becoming MD of the Heinz subsidiary in the UK, its largest non-US holding and the source of half its entire profit.

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, Howard Gookin and Jack Heinz made him COO and President. He continued his rise and became CEO in 1979.

O'Reilly earned his Ph.D. in 1980, with a thesis on agricultural incomes and marketing in Ireland. Though he was proud of his work with Bord Bainne and Irish Sugar (and the Erin - Heinz JV) he concluded that Irish farmers were benefiting much more from price-boosting subsidies than from commercial development.

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 seenFact|date=March 2008 as having helped transform the company into a major international competitor, its value increasing twelvefold (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 magazineBusiness Week, 15 September 1997, Lead cover story: "The CEO and the Board"] ; 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. Fact|date=April 2007

Other business interests

During his time at Heinz, O'Reilly held roles as major shareholder and chairman of several companies, including Waterford Wedgwood and Independent News & Media, and of a partnership of solicitors in Dublin.< Provision for this was written into his contract before he went to the USA. After he left Heinz, he focused on three of these in particular, Independent News & Media, Waterford Wedgwood and Fitzwilton, and later, for a brief time, eircom. He was also the main shareholder in Arcon, the Irish base-metal mining company which developed the Galmoy lead-zinc deposit, the company being co-founded with Richard Conroy.

Independent News & Media

O'Reilly had bought into Independent News & Media, a Dublin-based company, in 1973; he currently holds a stake of over 26%, with leverage over more than 29.5% with family and other connected parties. Fact|date=April 2007 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) [Dublin, Ireland: The Irish Times, p.1 and p.14, "O'Reilly buys SA papers">] , 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 Fact|date=April 2007. In the United Kingdom, INM expanded its interests, taking control of the national broadsheet "The Independent" in 1995, edging out MGN and PrisaFact|date=April 2007. 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. [Dublin, Ireland: INM Preliminary Results, 2007]

Current interests beyond IN&M

Among other investments, O'Reilly also has interests in:
* Fitzwilton, a mixed holding company, established with friends (Ferguson and Leonard) formerly of AIB Investment Bank, part-floated and later "taken private" in conjunction with his brother-in-law - the company has had a very mixed record, with significant losses on occasions, and little remaining active business now
* 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 (and was later refused cash support)
* oil prospector Providence Resources, in which he holds a major share.
* Landis+Gyr, in which he holds a 7% stake, with a projected flotation value of over 140 million dollars

eircom / Valentia

He was also part of the Valentia consortium, which bought into Eircom, the former Irish state phone company, in 2001Fact|date=April 2007, later selling on at vast profit.

Commentary

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.

Charitable works

O'Reilly has sponsored and supported a wide range of charitable activities, and continues to do so. Many of these, such as the many-year suport of a Professorship in Australian Studies at UCD, were together with his first wife, and likewise today, he and his current wife will jointly support an activity, such as sponsorship of a gallery at the National Science Historical Museum adjacent to Birr Castle. He has shown a particular interest in "naming rights", where a contribution to a project, generally of 5% to 20%, allows a donor to add a name to the project, and has received at least one such "name" as a gift.

Kilcullen

O'Reilly has supported many local initiatives over the years, from floral street displays, signage for local nature walks in Kilcullen through to commissioning, with his wife, a piece of music for the launch of the Dun Ailline Interpretative Park.

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 Queen's University Belfast.

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.

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.

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. [ [http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/Alumni/CampaignforQueens/TheSirAnthonyOReillyLibrary/ Queen's University Belfast | The Sir Anthony O'Reilly Library ] ]

The 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, and for many years this and later similar initiatives in other countries, took up a considerable amount of his time. 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.

Personal life

Family

O'Reilly met his first wife, Australian secretary and pianist Susan M. Cameron, the daughter of a wealthy Australian mining figure (in whose name he endowed a professorship at UCD for at least a decade), in 1959 in Australia, and after courting her when she moved to London, they were married in 1962. He had six children by her, born 1963-1966: Susan Wildman, Anthony Cameron O'Reilly (generally just "Cameron"), Justine O'Reilly, Gavin O'Reilly, Caroline Dempsey, and St. John Anthony ("Tony Junior"); the last three are triplets. All three boys are involved in family business interests, while the daughters are not known to be, the eldest being a qualified pilot, the second a lawyer and the third a full-time mother. The eldest daughter took a Bachelor's degree at Yale, and a Masters in History at OxfordNew York, New York, USA: The New York Times, August 15 1993, Weddings: "Susan O'Reilly and Tarik Wildman"] .

All the O'Reilly children married and Tony O'Reilly has eighteen grandchildren. Eldest child Susan O'Reilly married investment banker Tarik C. Wildman (1959-) at the restored Church of St. Mary on Castlemartin Estate on August 14 1993, before an Episcopal deanNew York, New York, USA: The New York Times, August 15 1993, Weddings: "Susan O'Reilly and Tarik Wildman"] . Gavin O'Reilly married Alison Doody there some years later.

The O'Reillys separated in the late 1980s, 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 [The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Paperchaser, 12 February 1994] , and Susan O'Reilly settled in London, where she remains, in a house bought for her by her ex-husband. They divorced very discreetly in 1989 or 1990, but remained in contact, attending family events, and with more than one public occasion where the current and ex-wife sat either side of Tony O'Reilly.

O'Reilly shortly after married Chryss Goulandris (also sometimes "Chryssanthi(n)e" or Christina), a Greek shipping heiress some years his junior, who breeds and races thoroughbred horses, and whom he had first met in New York, then at race meetings, in the Bahamas and in Ireland. The wedding took place in the Bahamas on September 14 1991. Chryss O'Reilly, who 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, 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 [Forbes Magazine: [http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/26/cz_bill03coupleslide.html] , retrieved April 2008] . The second Mrs O'Reilly's brother has been a close business ally of O'Reilly for many years.

Residences

A number of homes are associated with O'Reilly, including his current official main residence, Lissadell, with a beach within private gated community Lyford Cay [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] near Nassau in the Bahamas. 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 a remote part of the estate, 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 Carnalway near Brannockstown [Leinster Leader, 17 October 2007: Auction Watch] , under 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 [The Irish Times, 11 October 2007, Property: Sales Results] .

In late 1995, he and his wife purchased a former solicitor's office, a four-storey Georgian house on Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, with a courtyard and coachhouse with separate entrance. The 1 million Irish pound house, formerly owned by railway pioneer William Dargan, was to be a base when travel to Castlemartin was not feasible, and a place for meetings and his private office [Dublin, Ireland / The Irish Times / Siobhan Creaton / 8 March 1996 / p29, Business This Week / "Fitzwilliam Square", "O'Reilly buys period home in Dublin Square"] . O'Reilly also has a holiday compound, Shorecliffe, comprising several houses, garden areas and two swimming pools, by the sea in Glandore, County Cork.

The O'Reillys also own a chateau "built on the ruins of the castle where William the Conqueror plotted his 1066 invasion of England" at Deauville in France [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] .

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, his second home in that area, 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 [The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland: Property, 8 August 2000, from the Wall Street Journal]

porting interests

O'Reilly's sons have noted that he is still a keen player of tennis. For a period in the 1990s, 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.

Popular names

The names by which O'Reilly is known have changed over time. In his rugby 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. Irish journal "The Phoenix" often names him "Tony Boy".

Art collection

The O'Reillys have been significant art collectors for many years, with the biggest known acquisition being Monet's Le Portail (Soleil), bought in 2000, at Sotheby's of London, for 24 million US dollars [London, UK: The Evening Standard, 3/3/04, William Cash, "The Luck of the Irish"] , and others including works by William Orpen and Jack Yeats, as well as bronzes and statues. In June 2008, it was reported that O'Reilly had commissioned a bound catalogue of his art collection, 15cm thick, at a cost of 125,000 euro for 500 copies, edited by Suzanne Macdougald and with notes by, among others, Bruce Arnold. Copies were said to have been given to the President of Ireland and the Queen of England.

Other key figures

Friends

O'Reilly was an enthusiastic networker, and from early developed a wide range of acquaintances and friends. Among the closest were Kevin McGoran and Jim McCarthy.

He made contacts at high levels, which sometimes included becoming friendly with (not always at the time) controversial figures such as Henry Kissinger and Robert Mugabe. He hosted Nelson Mandela more than once, and knew (and knows) a range of Irish and American politicians.

taff

For over 47 years, from his time at Suttons of Cork, O'Reilly had a strong executive secretary, Olive Deasy (1932-2007), who managed aspects of his work and personal lives, living with his family for much of this time [Dublin, Ireland: The Irish Independent, April 19 2007, Ralph Riegel: "Sir Anthony O'Reilly pays tribute", incl. "Sir Anthony said that Ms Deasy was renowned for her loyalty, dedication, organisational skills, calmness under pressure and, above all, her discretion and confidentiality. 'I moved to Cork in 1960 and I first met Olive through Suttons. I chose Olive as my secretary and so began a 47-year partnership. It is amazing to think how the years have gone behind us,' he said. 'from Suttons, UCC, to Bord Bainne, the Irish Sugar Company, the HJ Heinz Company, The Independent, the Ireland Fund, Waterford Wedgwood and, most important of all, my family.'"] Also important was his driver, Arthur Whelan.

Today, his primary assistants are his personal assistant, Sabina Vidunas, who travels with him ["...personal assistant Sabina Vidunas a sign to show he's flagging, but then the adrenalin kicks in and he's off again. Over the years he has put together a formula that smooths the kinks from everyday life: the delightful Sabina at his elbow from dawn until bedtime, gently removing empty teacups, waking him and Chryss with a cheery rendition of Oh What A Beautiful Morning, videoing his speeches for the family record, keeping the VIP cars waiting, lining up the Diet Cokes, attempting the impossible - to keep him on time."] and his INM executive secretary in Dublin, Mandy Scott.

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" - including in recognition for his work as head of The Ireland Funds charity. O'Reilly, who describes himself as a constitutional nationalist, 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, in part due to his pre-1949 Irish birth [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; orassociations by way of descent, residence or otherwise with the United Kingdom or any Crown colony, protectorate, UK mandated territory or UK trust territory.] , holds a substantive and not just an honorary knighthood, and can validly style himself "Sir", as he has done; see British honours system.

Wealth

In March 2008, Forbes Magazine reported that O'Reilly was the 677th richest person in the world, with a net worth of 1.8 billion USD, excluding his wife's hundreds of millionsNew York, USA: Forbes Magazine, 5 March 2008, [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Anthony-OReilly_9811.html Billionaires of the World, #677] , quoted in April 2008 in Village Magazine (Dublin, Ireland)] , reported that O'Reilly was the sixth richest Irish citizen, worth a little less than such as Denis O'Brien, John Dorrance (one of the Campbell Soup heirs), Dermot Desmond, and an arrival from India, and much less than the richest two (Sean Quinn and Hilary Weston). O'Reilly was noted as being in the majority (five out of six) not paying tax in Ireland.

Biography

An authorised biography, "The Player: The Life of Tony O'Reilly", was produced by Ivan Fallon, a journalist and biographer, later (and still today) a senior executive at one of O'Reilly's companies [London, UK, 1994: Hodder & Staughton; Fallon, Ivan: "The Player, The Life of Tony O'Reilly"; 23 cm, 360 pp, ill.] , and remains the only lengthy study of the man. O'Reilly facilitated the project, and the author was given access to family members, including past and current wives, and to staff and business colleagues.

Fallon insisted in the foreword that he had complete discretion on what to include and how to tell it, excluding only some private family matters. Indeed, while giving great detail on some business matters, the book says almost nothing about O'Reilly's children, and little of his second wife. However, it gives considerable detail on business matters, and does question some of O'Reilly's assertions, notably about his Irish business interests. It also gives much detail on O'Reilly's parents' situations and especially his father's family, detail which the author notes even O'Reilly did not have until the book gathered it.

ee also

*List of billionaires

ources

* London, UK, 1994: Hodder & Staughton; Fallon, Ivan: "The Player, The Life of Tony O'Reilly"

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.oreillyfoundation.ie/ The O`Reilly Foundation]
* [http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=9811&datatype=Person Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People]
* [http://www.irlfunds.org/ireland/news_40.asp Sir Anthony O'Reilly speech at The Ireland Funds Gala Evening 2007 (video)]