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HE OWNS A swathe of land in the US spanning nearly two-thirds the territory of all Northern Ireland and sits on a fortune worth an estimated $7.4 billion (€5.9 billion). And he’s been buying up big lately in the Republic.
The Limerick Strand Hotel, overlooking the Shannon River, is the latest Irish property to be snapped up by American billionaire John Malone, the biggest private landowner in the US.
The 73-year-old, who amassed most of his wealth through the cable business, is believed to have agreed on a circa-€20 million sale price for the hotel – above the €17 million guide set when it was put on the market in September, but significantly below its boom-time development cost.
The deal caps a period in which Malone has also picked up three Dublin hotels – the Westin for about €65 million, and the Trinity City Hotel and Charlemont Place Hilton for around €30 million each.
His first high-profile foray into the Irish property market came in 2012 when he bought the 142-year-old Humewood Castle in Co Wicklow for €8 million after, according to reports, the estate caught his wife’s eye.
In an interview after the sale, the property baron, whose ancestors hail from Co Cork, said it was “an act of love, rather than financial acumen”.
About 2.2 million acres and counting
But the sales are only a pin-prick in the land empire of the property baron, who owns some 2.2 million acres spanning 9 states in the US.
The majority of his vast wealth comes from the three companies he chairs - Liberty Global, the parent company behind Irish telecoms provider UPC, Liberty Media, which owns the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and Liberty Interactive, which owns travel website Expedia.
Malone also heads libertarian think-tank the Cato Institute, which spruiks a low-tax, free-market agenda, while he has personally been accused of being”congenitally averse” to paying taxes – exploiting charitable trusts and other mechanisms to drastically slash his bills.
The force is strong in this one
In a nod to the Connecticut-born businessman’s ruthless approach to the cable business, former US vice president Al Gore once dubbed Malone “Darth Vader”.
He is also one of the few media moguls who has dared to go toe-to-toe with Australian-American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who in the mid-2000s handed Malone control of one of his satelittle TV operations after the “cable king” launched a potential takeover bid for Murdoch’s News Corp.
More recently, Malone’s Liberty Global expanded its global reach with a takeover of Richard Branson’s Virgin Media, the UK’s second-biggest pay TV operator.
In another interview, Malone revealed he had interests in several countries – including Canada, Australia and Norway – and commodities like gold, but the “vast bulk” of his wealth was still in the US companies he had founded.
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At his age its amazing that he is still motivated to carry out these deals. You’d think when you get to 70+ and already a billionaire you’d be happy to kick back and enjoy your spoils.I reckon he just does it for shits and giggles at this stage
It’s greed and nothing else
Hew wants to own the world the poor little thing !
This is one of the biggest scams going. These guys buy these hotels at slashed prices from Nama’s ‘portfolio’. Nama then provides low interest financing for running costs until they are back in profit. They will then be sold off for massive gains.
They offer cheap deals for weekends, that smaller locally owned hotels can’t match because they can’t get credit from anywhere. This puts these hotels under massive pressure and has led to hundreds of closures.
Labour of love my hole. Transfer of wealth is all it is.
Don’t think these ones were NAMA – I think it was Lally’s groups directly.
I was referring to Hume wood and this limerick one
The limerick strand made 1.5 million profit last year.
I`d definitely prefer an American to be buying them,than a Chinese.
I hear you’re a racist now father..
Should we all be racists now father?
Ah here now. The Chinese. They’re a great bunch of lads.
GOOD FOR YOU FATHER!
its nothing to do with the race of Chinese,i quite like the ordinary ones,but their human rights and some of their practices don`t sit well with me.
You could do with looking at your own views on immigrants before taking a pop at people over their human rights.
How does one tell if “a Chinese” is an ordinary one?
O’Brien
you are starting to annoy me as im sure you are annoying a lot of commentators,with your politically correct self righteous views ,why don`t you crawl off under a rock and disappear,you won`t be missed don`t worry
First you’re stuffed and then you’re starving again.
Leinster – you would have got more traction if you said Saudis, but whatever. Your post falls down as it’s chinese citizens buying property not the gov (they with cr@ppy human rights thingy)
Also, can we stop re-hashing fr Ted and South Park quotes. A bit of originality wouldn’t hurt.
Well constructed argument there leinsterlion – just carry on with the unfounded casual racism it seems suited to your intellect.
Well, Scarr, as I said last time, it won’t happen again.
leinsterlion6, please put down the keyboard and step away from the computer. You’re lowering the IQ of the population who might have accidentally read your ignorant, racist and vile comments.
Should we all be original now Father? ;-)
For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Ablative – you sum it up perfectly. Where’s that quote from?
James 1:11
The verse number is fitting.
James 1:11
Doh – googled it. bible basher. Thought you were a romantic poet. Still a good quote.
“TOIL and grow rich,
What’s that but to lie
With a foul witch
And after, drained dry” Yeats!
“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike the inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave. ”
Thomas Gray – Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard – Pub. 1751
Health And Wealth
We squander our health in search of wealth,
We scheme, borrow and save.
Then squander wealth in search of health,
only to end up in the grave.
We live and boast of what we own,
flaunting our goods so they can be shown,
not even caring for the poor…
‘Now look at that lovely stone upon the floor.’
Tracey Pierce
Frank, your Iranian handlers will have a problem with you quoting the bible. You shill for Iran don’t you.
Funny business here – if I’m not mistaken, the prior owner of the hotel sold it at a major loss, but is also one of the co investors at the westin.
Journal, you did an article on this being for sale a few months back where I predicted that Malone would buy it as something sat funny – any chance of a link?
The link’s already in this story – but I think the article you’re after Dara is this one: http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/limerick-strand-hotel-sale-1675776-Sep2014/
That’s the one Peter – Thanks.
Lally bought Humewood and sold it to Malone at a huge loss, then he jointly purchased the Westin with him, now he’s after selling this one, again to Malone and, again, at a huge loss.
Shenanigans of the highest order methinks.
Dara – what could it be? Residual debt bring written off courtesy of tax payers?
Possibly Scarr or some other way of avoiding tax? Not 100% certain but it seems a bit dubious to me
The kind of man who buys a hotel for 8 million just because his ancestors hail from a couple of hours away, madness
It’s akin to you buying a fridge magnet when you’re on holidays because you want a souvenir! Don’t lose sleep over it.
TheJournal invents new verb. “To spruik”.
Just remember you heard it here first. But seriously, I can’t lay claim to this particular piece of invention:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/spruik
Similar situation on in parts of Kerry and around the country – any available land is being hoovered up by US billionaires – who can easily gazump locals with an extra €5k or €30k on the asking price without blinking.
Whilst the intentions may not be nefarious at this stage, what happens down the line, when said billionaires pass away or sell some stock, leaving assets to parties, who have never been to Ireland, have no intention of coming to Ireland, and whose only motivation is money.
Just hit them with the blackthorn Bull – ’tis your field, 1 acre, 4 roods and 32 perches – they’ll never know the love of it, they’ll never take it …
Here in the USA, we only quote Al Gore to demonstrate the meaning of the word “fatuous”.
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