Americans scoop up ‘bargain’ Irish mansions

Billionaire John Malone is the largest private landowner in the US. Now, he’s expanding his reach to the land of his forefathers.

Malone, the 72-year-old chairman of Liberty Global Inc, paid about €8m for the neo-Gothic Irish Humewood Castle after it captured “my wife’s fancy,” Malone said in an interview.

“We call it our green banana project because at our age, you don’t buy green bananas,” Malone said. “It’s going to take a number of years to get it restored.”