Denis O’Brien features on Forbes rich list despite €1bn drop

The wealth of Denis O’Brien has fallen by $1.1bn (€1bn), but the telecoms businessman still remains one of the country’s richest people, according to the annual Forbes list of the world’s mega rich.

Mr O’Brien last year pulled plans to float Digicel amid the global stock market turmoil.

Mr O’Brien, along with Dermot Desmond and Martin Naughton, as well as little-known Pallonji Mistry, are listed among the Irish businesspeople on the Forbes list of the world’s 1,810 billionaires.

Forbes estimates Mr O’Brien’s fortune at $5.7bn — down $1.1bn in the year. That places Mr O’Brien in joint 219th place in the world’s billionaire list.

Mr Mistry, an Indian-born international construction magnate, is Ireland’s richest billionaire, with wealth of $12.5bn. He is the world’s 73rd richest, says Forbes.

Fashion retailer Galen Weston, with wealth estimated at $9.3bn, is ranked in 116th place, while John Grayken — the Irish- American behind the giant Lone Star Funds, which is involved here in buying up distressed bank loans — is ranked in 184th place, with a fortune of $6.3bn.

Campbell Soup’s John Dorrance is worth $2.7bn, while Dermot Desmond has wealth of $1.9bn, placing the financier in 959th place.

Martin Naughton of Glen Dimplex has a fortune of $1.6bn — down from $2.8bn in the year.

Microsoft’s Bill Gates tops the list as the world’s richest, with wealth of $75bn — down by $4.2bn in the year. Legendary investor Warren Buffet’s wealth has also dropped, by $11.9bn, to almost $61bn.

Forbes said the 1,810 billionaires on its list have an average net wealth of $3.58bn, down from $3.86bn in the year.