Denis O'Brien

As of February 2020, Forbes estimates O'Brien's wealth as approximately $3.2 billion.

In June 2019, Independent News & Media was sold to the Belgian group Mediahuis and de-listed from the Euronext Dublin exchange, thus ending O'Briens involvement in the group. It was reported that he lost in excess of €450m in total on his INM investment.

Sam Smyth, a radio show host that aired on one of O’Brien's networks, claimed he was fired as a result of his reporting on the Moriarty Tribunal. Today FM responded to the claim, stating that "the decision was made to address a decline in listenership and was part of an initiative to improve programming quality." The Today FM board supported the decision, which was one of several programming changes made by Willy O'Reilly.

In 2019, O'Brien began an action for defamation against the Sunday Business Post over the articles published in the newspaper in March 2015. The articles, which centred around a confidential Price WaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report given to the government in November 2008 on the exposure of Ireland’s banks in 2008, identified O'Brien as being among the 22 biggest borrowers from Irish banks in 2008. O'Brien claimed the articles defamed him and injured his reputation and also alleged malicious publication. The jury found in the defendant's favour and Justice Barton declared that the case was dismissed with an order for costs against O’Brien.

In March 2018, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) in Ireland applied to the High Court of Ireland to appoint inspectors to Independent News and Media to investigate an alleged data breach. According to an affidavit filed by the ODCE, invoices for the data interrogation were discharged by Blaydon Limited.

In 2016, Actavo expanded into the United States through the purchase of Atlantic Engineering Services, a structural engineering firm. Actavo was also involved in the installation of fibre networks for Digicel in the Caribbean.

In September 2016, during the 2016 US Presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump's campaign produced a lengthy e-mail to the media criticising Hillary Clinton's relationship with O'Brien. O'Brien refused to make any comments on Trump's statements.

In December 2015, Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian convenience store company, announced that it planned to buy Topaz. The sale was completed in February 2016; Topaz had more than 2,000 employees and close to 35% of the consumer market in Ireland at the time of the sale.

In August 2015, the editor-in-chief of satirical website Waterford Whispers News, Colm Williamson received a cease and desist order from O'Brien's solicitor to remove a satirical article about O'Brien. Lawyers for O'Brien also demanded that a reprint of the story be removed from Broadsheet.ie.

In 2015, arguing that revelation of his relationship with his bank was an invasion of his privacy, O'Brien successfully applied for an injunction against RTÉ preventing the state broadcaster from airing a report on how O'Brien was allegedly receiving, on foot of a claimed but disputed verbal agreement with a former CEO of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC)—the former Anglo Irish Bank, and another senior executive, a rate of approximately 1.25% when IBRC "could, and arguably should" have been charging 7.5%. This alleged rate applied to "outstanding sums of upwards of €500 million", or "over €300 million" according to the RTÉ producer's court affidavit. O'Brien then allegedly wrote to IBRC's special liquidator Kieran Wallace to demand that these same favourable terms that were granted him by way of verbal agreement be continued. The Irish government later appointed Kieran Wallace to conduct a review into various IBRC transactions, including the sale of Siteserv by IBRC to Denis O'Brien. Acting as IBRC special liquidator, and in order to protect the confidentiality of IBRC's relations with its customers and of any legal advice given to it, Wallace then joined with IBRC and Denis O'Brien to seek an injunction in Ireland's High Court to hide this information from the public. High court judge Justice Donald Binchy granted O'Brien the injunction and told the court that certain elements of the judgement would have to be redacted. The Irish media therefore could not report on details of the injunction.

Independent TD Catherine Murphy attempted to raise this in the Dáil on 27 May 2015. Seán Barrett silenced her and called her contributions "out of order". Catherine Murphy then attempted to raise the matter again the following day, this time with more success. O'Brien "claimed the information was false and that it was an abuse of Dáil privilege." (The former chief executive of IBRC, Mike Aynsley, also took issue with other comments by Deputy Murphy). Lawyers acting for O'Brien immediately forced much of the country's media to censor its own coverage, with some media outlets confirming they had received warnings from O'Brien's lawyers. RTÉ reporter Philip Boucher-Hayes tweeted that Drivetime would play Murphy's speech; in the event, Murphy's speech was not broadcast and his tweet was later deleted. Tonight with Vincent Browne (with Browne absent and instead moderated by Ger Colleran, editor of INM's Irish Daily Star) featured Colleran reading a statement from TV3 management asserting that no discussion about Murphy's comments would be allowed following letters from O'Brien's lawyers. At least one foreign commentator covering these events for the international media suggested that in Ireland "the bedrock of any society claiming to be democratic" had been "wiped away at a stroke". Some enterprising citizens received a positive response by printing Catherine Murphy's speech from foreign media coverage and handing copies to passers-by on the streets of the nation's towns and cities in an attempt to inform those relying on state media.

The Irish Times stated that "it is an unprecedented development that the mainstream media have been prevented from publishing privileged remarks in the Dáil due to the threat of legal action". However it also added that Deputy Murphy's Dáil speech was still available on the Oireachtas website, and that the website Broadsheet.ie had ignored a request by solicitors to remove a copy of her speech. Broadsheet.ie rejected the request by referring to Article 15.12 of the Irish Constitution - this states "All official reports and publications of the Oireachtas or of either House thereof and utterances made in either House wherever published shall be privileged." Former Attorney General Michael McDowell indicated that parliamentary privilege does not grant "absolute impunity", but that he expected it would apply in this case. In the High Court the following Tuesday (2 June 2015), Justice Donald Binchy stated that it was "never intended nor could it have been intended that any order of this court would impact upon entitlements of deputies to speak as they see fit or the entitlement of the media to report on those utterances", but added that it was "entirely understandable" that RTÉ had sought court clarification on this.

On 17 June 2015, RTÉ published what it stated was "a curtailed version of the story RTÉ sought to publish last month. Two paragraphs of the original planned story cannot be published as they are still covered by the injunction granted to IBRC against RTÉ in May." The curtailed version was accompanied by an alleged "timeline of events". The omissions were not due to O'Brien's lawyers, but to objections by IBRC to publication of reported legal advice given to IBRC that was not already in the public domain.

On 10 June 2015, a Commission of Investigation (O'Keeffe Commission) was established to inquire into the wider issue of certain transactions of IBRC under the Commission of Investigation (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) Order 2015 passed by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. This was partly as a result of controversy over the sale by IBRC of Siteserv to a company controlled by Denis O'Brien, and of complaints by Deputy Catherine Murphy that IBRC special liquidator Kieran Wallace, who had originally been asked to conduct an inquiry into such matters, could no longer credibly do so after he had joined with O'Brien in his above lawsuit against RTÉ.

On 16 June 2015 Counsel for O'Brien informed the High Court that he was suing the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, Ireland and the Attorney General over remarks made by Independent TD Catherine Murphy and Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty about his banking affairs (following his above lawsuit against RTÉ) in an alleged breach of parliamentary privilege, violating his constitutional rights and his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Oireachtas Committee on Procedures and Privileges had previously rejected O'Brien's claims that Deputy Murphy's allegations were a breach of parliamentary privilege.

Although he never owned a majority stake in INM, O'Brien was at times accused of exerting significant influence at the company. In 2014, allegations arose that Stephen Rae, a group editor at INM, ordered amendments to a column by Sunday Independent editor Anne Harris that contained references to O'Brien. In 2015, Paul Meagher, a solicitor for O'Brien, reportedly called INM solicitor Simon McAleese in 2012 to block a story related to environment minister Phil Hogan.

In January 2014, the Financial Times' s Telecoms Correspondent wrote of O'Brien's intention to expand Digicel into next-generation mobile and fixed line services, with O'Brien quoted as being excited by the prospect of a "world order [that] is changing."

In December 2013, O'Brien purchased €300 million in debt owed by Topaz Energy to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. In December 2014, Topaz's parent company, Kendrick Investments, announced it would buy all of Esso's Irish operations.

In February 2013, O'Brien sued the Irish Daily Mail for defamation over his numerous appearances in RTÉ news reports on the relief effort after the Haiti earthquake. The court awarded O'Brien €150,000. The case was the first time a journalist had attempted to use the honest opinion defence before a jury at the High Court since the Defamation Act 2009 became law.

According to The Irish Times, Clinton's 2013 speaking engagement at Dublin's Conrad Hotel was "facilitated largely by his friend" Denis O'Brien. When opening his speech, Clinton personally thanked O'Brien "for the invitation."

In 2012, O'Brien purchased Siteserv, a utilities support company, from IBRC for €45m; in 2015, the company was renamed Actavo. Actavo was bought and controlled through O'Brien's firm Millington on the Isle of Man.

In 2012, O'Brien allegedly threatened to sue journalist and broadcaster Vincent Browne over statements in Browne's articles that O'Brien claimed were defamatory. The Sunday Independent criticized the lawsuit as an attempt to "instill a fear of financial ruin".

In 2012, O'Brien received the Clinton Global Citizen Award from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, due in part to his disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Also in 2012, President Michel Martelly of Haiti awarded O'Brien with the National Order of Honour and Merit for his investments, contributions and promotion of the country.

In 2011, O'Brien donated €2,500 to the campaign of Mary Davis for the Irish presidential election.

In 2011, Bill Clinton flew to Ireland on O'Brien's private jet to attend the Global Irish Economic Forum.

Along with Digicel, O'Brien created the Digicel Foundation, which has worked with local organizations to develop community services, build schools and health centers, and support recovery efforts. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, O'Brien pledged €3.5 million to assist recovery efforts. In 2012, President Michel Martelly of Haiti awarded O'Brien with the National Order of Honour and Merit for his investments, contributions and promotion of the country, and in 2015, O'Brien received honorary membership of the Order of Jamaica for his service to the country's telecommunications industry.

O'Brien and the Clintons were prominent investors of time and money in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Bill Clinton also oversaw the building and then opened a luxury Marriott Hotel in Haiti; this hotel was owned by Digicel, which made a $45 million contribution.

In 2010, O'Brien was named a goodwill ambassador for Port-au-Prince by Mayor Jean Yves Jason, who cited O’Brien’s help with disaster recovery efforts after the earthquake. He is chairman of the Haiti Action Network, which coordinates the activities of approximately 80 support organisations in Haiti. Most recently, O'Brien reconstructed the Iron Market in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, the first public building in the city to be rebuilt since the earthquake. He has also contributed to building 50 primary and secondary schools in 18 months following the earthquake.

On 13 February 2008, Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney confirmed that O'Brien was funding the wages of Ireland national soccer team manager Giovanni Trapattoni. O'Brien's soccer interests also extend to being a minority shareholder in Scottish club, Celtic.

In September 2005, O'Brien was named deputy governor of the Bank of Ireland. He resigned as Deputy Governor, and as a member of the Bank's board or court, on 12 September 2006. The Bank of Ireland issued a statement describing his resignation as due to "his growing international business interests together with the demands of an extensive travel schedule, meant that he could no longer devote the time required to the ever increasing workload of the court." O'Brien also resigned from the Norkom Group and the UCD Smurfit School of Business. His spokesman said these resignations were unconnected with the work of the Moriarty Tribunal.

While considering the flotation of Digicel on the New York Stock Exchange, a March 2006 filing to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) listed O'Brien's residential address as Sliema, Malta. Although O'Brien has remained silent about his change of address, media have speculated that the mediterranean island's lack of taxes on assets or income brought into the country was the primary incentive for the move.

O'Brien supported the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games, holding the title "Chairman of Council of Patrons." He is also a director on the U.S. Board of Concern Worldwide.

In 2001, O'Brien founded Digicel, a telecom company that operates in the Caribbean, South America, and Asia Pacific. Using the cash from his sale of Esat Telecom, O'Brien used Digicel to build a wireless network in Jamaica. That same year, Digicel expanded into the South Pacific. As of 2019, Digicel operated in 31 countries.

In the late 2000s, O'Brien began purchasing shares of Independent News & Media (INM), ultimately spending an estimated €500 million to amass a 29.9% stake in the company. O'Brien clashed with the company's board, especially former owner Tony O'Reilly, who stepped down from his position as CEO in 2009 and sold most of his INM shares in 2014. In April 2019, O'Brien and Dermont Desmond, INM's second largest shareholder at the time, sold their shares to the Belgian media group Mediahuis; O'Brien reportedly received €43.5m as part of the deal.

Digicel was involved in an extensive court battle with the Jamaican Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) throughout the 2000s. The issue originally arose after Phillip Paulwell, the then Jamaican minister of industry, commerce and technology, instructed the OUR to refrain from interfering with the pricing policies of Digicel, after the regulator had itself instructed Digicel to amend its interconnectivity fees. Although Paulwell was ruled to have had no power to issue the instruction to the OUR, Digicel unsuccessfully appealed the ruling first at the Jamaican Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling, though it was subsequently upheld by Court of Appeal after a counter-appeal by OUR, and then at Jamaica's Privy Council.

In June 2000, O'Brien set up the Irish O'Brien Foundation, named after his mother, through which he coordinates many of his philanthropic efforts. In 2006, UCD awarded O'Brien an honorary doctorate.

In 1999, O'Brien co-founded aircraft leasing company Aergo Capital, of which he owned an 80% stake. From its inception until 2014, Aergo traded more than 150 aircraft with a gross value of over €791 million (approximately $1 billion). In October 2014, O'Brien and his partner, Fred Browne, sold the company to CarVal, a US investment firm; Browne remained with the new company as CEO.

Some time after his purchase of Quinta do Lago in 1998, but before Esat Telecom's sale to BT in 2000, O'Brien sold his home in Dublin and established a primary residence in Portugal. Media reports have suggested that the move was spurred by a then-existing exemption to the capital gains tax in the Irish-Portuguese tax treaty, which reportedly would have saved O'Brien about €63 million in taxes.

On 7 November 1997, Esat Telecom Group plc held an initial public offering and was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ. In 2000, Telenor made a bid for control of the company, but O'Brien sold it to BT, reportedly making €250 million from the sale.

In 1997, the Moriarty Tribunal was established to look into allegations against two Irish bureaucrats, Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry. After 14 years, the Tribunal's final report found, among other things, that Lowry, Ireland's then energy and communications minister, assisted O'Brien in his bid to secure a mobile phone contract for Esat Digifone. The tribunal found that this happened after Fine Gael received a $50,000 donation from O'Brien via a circuitous route, although the tribunal also acknowledged that the money was not intended as a payment. The tribunal concluded that Lowry gave "substantive information to Denis O'Brien, of significant value and assistance to him in securing the [mobile] licence" on at least two separate occasions. However, because the Tribunal was not a court of law, its findings were legally "sterile".

In August 1997, O'Brien married Catherine Walsh, who helped Communicorp expand into the Czech Republic and who earlier was the head of marketing for Independent Radio Sales. The couple have four children.

In 1991, O'Brien formed a telecommunications consortium called Esat Telecom to compete with the state-owned Telecom Eireann. In partnership with Telenor, Norway's state telecom operator, Esat formed Esat Digifone, which made a successful bid for Ireland's second GSM mobile licence. Circumstances around the awarding of the licence to Esat Digifone became the subject of the Moriarty Tribunal.

O'Brien is the owner of Communicorp, a media holding company operating across Europe. He started the company in Ireland in 1989, where it has owned independent radio stations like Newstalk and Today FM. The company expanded to markets in Eastern European countries, later selling some of its stations to local operators. In 2014, Communicorp expanded to the United Kingdom, acquiring eight radio stations across the country; in 2017, Communicorp moved its UK radio stations to a new independent company, Communicorp UK, of which O'Brien owns 98% of the shares.

He studied politics, history and logic at University College Dublin, graduating in 1977. After winning a scholarship from Boston College while attending UCD, he completed an MBA in corporate finance there in 1982. Upon his return to Dublin, he was employed as an assistant manager in a local bank, but left that job and became a personal assistant to Tony Ryan, owner of an aircraft leasing company.

Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Communicorp. He was listed among the World's Top 200 in 2015 and is also Ireland's richest native-born citizen. His business interests also extend to aircraft leasing (Aergo Capital), utilities support (Actavo), petroleum (Topaz Energy, until 2016), and football (soccer), being a minority shareholder of Celtic F.C.. O'Brien was implicated by the Moriarty Tribunal as having improperly influenced the decision to award a mobile phone license to the Esat Digifone consortium, which he chaired.