Seán Quinn | |
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Born |
Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
5 December 1947
Residence | Ballyconnell, Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland |
Net worth | Unknown (bankrupt) |
Spouse(s) | Patricia Quinn |
Children | Seán Quinn, Colette Quinn, Ciara Quinn, Aoife Quinn and Brenda Quinn |
John Ignatius Quinn, commonly known as Seán Quinn, is an Irish businessman and conglomerateur. In 2008 he was the richest person in the Republic of Ireland, but in 2011 he filed for bankruptcy.
The Sunday Times Rich List in 2008 estimated his personal worth to be €4.722 billion or £3.73 billion, thereby making him the richest person in Ireland.Forbes magazine's 2008 Rich List listed him again as the richest person in Ireland, in 164th place amongst the wealthiest individuals in the world. His net worth, as of February 2008, was estimated at $6.0 billion, approximately £3.084 billion.
In November 2005 the Quinn Group, which was then privately owned by the Quinn family, was elsewhere estimated to be worth between €4 billion and €5 billion. In 2007 the group made a pre-tax profit of £439m. In April 2011 Kieran Wallace of KPMG was appointed as share receiver to Anglo Irish Bank (to which the Quinn Group owe over €2.8 billion) and took control of the Quinn family’s equity interest in Quinn Group. Sean Quinn and the Quinn family no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group. Quinn was declared bankrupt on 11 November 2011 in Northern Ireland; this was annulled on appeal but he was declared bankrupt in the Republic of Ireland on 16 January 2012. Quinn was sentenced at the High Court in Dublin on 2 November 2012 to nine weeks in jail, due to continued asset stripping and non-co-operation with the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
Quinn is married to Patricia and they have five children - Seán, Colette, Ciara, Aoife and Brenda.
In an interview with Ireland's Sunday Business Post, Seán Quinn attributed his initial success to the contacts he developed through the Gaelic Athletic Association. These contacts enabled him to build a company spanning both sides of the Irish border when, in 1973, he borrowed £100 and started extracting gravel from his family 23-acre (93,000 m2) farm, washing it and selling it to local builders. The company was called Seán Quinn Quarries Ltd. From this came Quinn Cement, the basis of his wealth. In recent years Quinn diversified with his Quinn Group playing a leading role in Ireland's hospitality industry, setting up Quinn Hotels. The centrepiece hotel was the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, County Cavan. He maintains interests in Ireland's glass, radiator and plastics industries with Quinn Glass, based in Fermanagh, and Quinn Lite Pac, based in County Longford. As of 2009, the Quinn Group employed more than 5,500 people throughout Ireland.