The business tycoon, Tony O’Reilly, aged 88, who acquired his wealth as the head of the American food corporation, Heinz, and subsequently invested in Irish firms such as the Independent Group and Waterford Glass has sadly passed away. It has been confirmed by a family spokesperson that his death occurred on Saturday at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin following a brief illness.
Despite his prior prosperity, O’Reilly lost a significant portion of his wealth due to the losses incurred by the Irish firms he invested in. This lead to his declaration of bankruptcy in the Bahamas at the age of 79 in 2015 after Allied Irish Bank (AIB) obtained a debt judgement against him for €22.6 million. He managed to come out of bankruptcy in the January of the current year.
Hailing from Griffith Avenue in Glasnevin, Dublin, O’Reilly was born in 1936 in the month of May. After his education at the University College Dublin and Belvedere College, he established his career as a solicitor. He also represented Ireland in rugby and became a renowned Irish business personality before he relocated to the United States to become one of the highest-earning executives.
Before his journey to the United States, O’Reilly led the Irish Dairy Board and the Irish Sugar Company with his nomination to the latter role recommended by Taoiseach Jack Lynch of the time. In 1969, O’Reilly assumed the leadership of Heinz in the UK. Shortly after, two years later, he moved to Pittsburgh to serve as the senior vice-president of the corporation.
O’Reilly stayed at Heinz until 1998, acquiring the positions of Chief Executive and Chairman, responsible for a twelvefold expansion in the company’s scale. During his prosperous US career, O’Reilly regularly returned to Ireland to manage his investments. At his career’s peak, he was acquainted with some of the era’s most influential political figures. He owned residences in various locations including Cork, Dublin, and Kildare, as well as Deauville, France, Pittsburgh, and the Bahamas.
O’Reilly founded the US Ireland Fund, a charitable cause that has raised countless millions of euros for peace and reconciliation in Ireland. He also hindered the IRA’s fundraising attempts in the United States. In 2001, the late Queen Elizabeth bestowed a knighthood upon him for his contributions to Northern Ireland. This distinction, the first given to an Irish citizen, required government approval. Subsequently, he preferred the title Sir Anthony.
In 1962, O’Reilly tied the knot with Australian Susan Cameron and they became parents to six children. However, their union ended in divorce in 1990. Subsequently, O’Reilly wed Chryss Goulandris, a Greek shipping magnate’s heir, who adopted the title Lady O’Reilly after O’Reilly was knighted.
In the mid-90s, O’Reilly participated in a bidding consortium for the country’s second mobile phone licence which unfortunately did not succeed, with Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone clinching the victory. O’Reilly later spearheaded a consortium that successfully pushed back against O’Brien when the government moved to privatise telecoms company Eircom in 2001. However, a high-profile corporate power struggle saw him eventually lose the publicly-held Independent group to O’Brien. The financial descent of the Independent group led to significant monetary losses for both men.
The Mahon Tribunal, held at Dublin Castle, received evidence of contentious debates between the late John Bruton’s government and O’Reilly. The latter was critical of the government’s slow response towards unofficial TV operatives, who posed both a threat to his Irish business interests and a political headache for the government.
After a meeting with a government adviser at O’Reilly’s Glandore vacation home in County Cork, Bruton forecasted hostile conduct from the Independent group toward his administration in the upcoming 1997 general election. The eve of the vote saw the Irish Independent publishing a front-page editorial damning the incumbent government and endorsing Fianna Fáil and Bertie Ahern, who went on to become the Taoiseach.
In 2015, prior to his bankruptcy declaration, O’Reilly liquidated many of his assets, including valuable artworks and various properties, notably his residence and surrounding area at Castlemartin, County Kildare. After selling off his assets, he relocated to Deauville. O’Reilly’s independently affluent wife passed away last August.
O’Reilly leaves behind sons Cameron, Gavin, and Tony Junior, as well as daughters Susie, Justine, and Caroline. His ex-wife, Susan O’Reilly, passed away in 2014.
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