Denis O'Brien's wealth tops US$4b
Published:Sunday | March 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Digicel founder and chairman Denis O'Brien has got richer. His net worth has grown to US$4.2 billion, placing him at No. 254 on the Forbes rich list, up four places from 258. In his home country, Ireland, O'Brien is now the second-richest person there.
His fortune in 2010 was estimated at US$3.5 billion.
The 52-year-old is a self-made telecoms maven, who, since 2001, has grown his Digicel businesses to 32 markets across the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific. He has also invested in media, an online and recruiting site in China, and a Portuguese resort, Forbes said.
The Boston College-educated father of four maintains the base of his Digicel business in Jamaica, where he is now building a new headquarters - a US$65-million investment - to house about 1,000 employees that politicians and real- estate brokers expect will be a catalyst to lifting the blight on downtown Kingston.
Jamaica and Haiti form the largest portion of Digicel's subscriber base - an estimated four million-plus of the global 11.5 million subscribers.
O'Brien and his wife, Catherine, have just completed the refurbishing of Haiti's historic Iron Market, pouring US$12 million of their personal wealth into the project.
Another Jamaican associated investor, Michael Lee-Chin, whose home is in Canada, was dropped from the billionaires list this year.