Tony Ryan

Thomas Anthony Ryan was an Irish billionaire businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Ryanair in 1984 along with cofounders Christy Ryan and Liam Lonergan (owner of Irish travel agent Club Travel), 9 years after founding Guinness Peat Aviation an international aircraft leasing industry. Through Guinness Peat Aviation and Ryanair, he amassed two fortunes by identifying gaps in the market.

Early life Ryan was born at Limerick Junction, County Tipperary on 2 February 1936; his father was a train driver. Around 1945 the family moved to Thurles in the same county, and he attended the Christian Brothers school there. His hopes of attending university were ended by the death of his father, and instead he joined Aer Lingus as a dispatch clerk, and was selected as a management trainee. Ryan made €55m from the sale of AerFi (the successor to GPA) in 2000.

Ryan was one of the co-founders of Ryanair in 1984. Michael O'Leary joined Ryanair in 1988 as chief financial officer (CFO), becoming chief executive officer (CEO) in 1994.

Two of Ryan's associates went on to become billionaires: O'Leary through Ryanair,

Other investments In 2001, Ryan acquired Castleton Farm near Lexington, Kentucky from the Van Lennep Family Trust. Ryan renamed it Castleton Lyons after his Irish estate Lyons Demesne, and undertook renovations to the property while returning to its original roots as a thoroughbred operation.

At the time of his death he owned 16% of Tiger Airways, a discount carrier based in Singapore which was founded in December 2003.

He was a major shareholder in Château Lascombes near Bordeaux until his death. Other investments included Newcourt, Paddy Power, Providence, Tesco, Tullow Oil and UTV, and shares in private companies Conficius and Ginko Investments. He showed interest in marine science and aquaculture development in the west of Ireland. He also funded The Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship at the Citywest park, that is run by Dublin City University.

Personal life Ryan married his childhood sweetheart, Mairéad, in 1958 and they had three sons together. The couple separated while the boys were young but they were not divorced.

Ryan then began a series of affairs with well-connected women, beginning in the mid-1980s with Lady Miranda Guinness, who had earlier separated from her husband Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh. The relationship ended around 1991 but they remained close friends. but also owned a stud farm near his home in Dolla, County Tipperary. He was the 7th wealthiest individual from Ireland in the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 with over €1.5bn (£1bn).

Death Ryan died at his home Lyons Demesne in County Kildare on 3 October 2007, aged 71, following an 18-month illness with pancreatic cancer. He had other homes in London, Castleton Lyons stud in Kentucky, and on Ibiza. His estate was worth more than €95million at his death. In his will he left more than €20million to his estranged wife Mairéad, and more than €6million to Martine Head. He also left Château Lascombes wine worth €3million. Most of his wealth had already been entrusted to his children before his death.

His eldest son, Cathal, died three months later, aged 48, after being diagnosed with cancer.

Awards and honours 1994, Order of the Aztec Eagle 2012, National Aviation Award: the inaugural award was presented to his family by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar Ryan held honorary doctorates from several universities, including Trinity College, Dublin, the National University of Ireland, Galway and the University of Limerick.