The Most Famous
BUSINESSPEOPLE from Ireland
This page contains a list of the greatest Irish Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 4 of which were born in Ireland. This makes Ireland the birth place of the 26th most number of Businesspeople behind Netherlands, and Ukraine.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Irish Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Irish Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Arthur Guinness (1725 - 1803)
With an HPI of 53.94, Arthur Guinness is the most famous Irish Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.
Arthur Guinness (c. 24 September 1725 – 23 January 1803) was an Irish brewer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. The inventor of Guinness beer, he founded the Guinness Brewery at St. James's Gate in 1759. Guinness was born in Ardclogh, near Celbridge, County Kildare, in 1725. His father was employed by Arthur Price, a bishop of the Church of Ireland. Guinness himself was later employed by Price, and upon his death in 1752, both he and his father were bequeathed funds from Price's will. Guinness then worked at his stepmother's public house before founding a brewery in Leixlip. In 1759, during a financial crisis that created an abundance of affordable property, Guinness moved to Dublin and purchased an abandoned brewery from the Rainsford family. It was originally an ale brewery, but Guinness began producing porter in 1778, and by 1799, production of ale ceased with the popularity of his darker beer. Outside of his brewery, Guinness was socially and politically active. A devout Protestant, he founded the first Sunday school in Dublin in 1786 and frequently argued for his fellow gentry to set a strong moral example. He was largely supportive of Catholic rights in Ireland but opposed the Irish Rebellion of 1798. As a member of the Dublin Corporation of Brewers, Guinness was also instrumental in petitioning the Irish House of Commons to change the tax code surrounding the importation of beer. Guinness and his wife had ten children together, and upon Guinness's death in 1803, his son Arthur Guinness II inherited the brewery and all operations.
2. Eddie Jordan (b. 1948)
With an HPI of 50.99, Eddie Jordan is the 2nd most famous Irish Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948) is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship in 1971 and moved to Formula Ford in 1974. He was the founder and owner of Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which operated from 1991 to 2005. He was the chief analyst for Formula One coverage on the BBC from 2009 to 2015 before joining Channel 4 after BBC pulled out in 2016. In February 2016, it was announced that Jordan would join Top Gear as a presenter.
3. Tim O'Reilly (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 46.03, Tim O'Reilly is the 3rd most famous Irish Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Timothy O'Reilly (born 6 June 1954) is an Irish-American author and publisher, who is the founder of O'Reilly Media (formerly O'Reilly & Associates). He popularised the terms open source and Web 2.0.
4. Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (1865 - 1922)
With an HPI of 45.22, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe is the 4th most famous Irish Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era. Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street." About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator. He said, "News is something someone wants to suppress. Everything else is advertising." Lord Northcliffe had a powerful role during the First World War, especially by criticizing the government regarding the Shell Crisis of 1915. He directed a mission to the new ally, the United States, during 1917, and was director of enemy propaganda during 1918. His Amalgamated Press employed writers such as Arthur Mee and John Hammerton, and its subsidiary, the Educational Book Company, published The Harmsworth Self-Educator, The Children's Encyclopædia, and Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia. Challenging the dominance in popularity of the "penny dreadfuls" among British children, from the 1890s Harmsworth half-penny periodicals, such as Illustrated Chips, would enjoy a virtual monopoly of comics in the UK until the emergence of DC Thomson comics in the 1930s.
5. Michael O'Leary (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 43.77, Michael O'Leary is the 5th most famous Irish Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Michael Kevin O'Leary (born 20 March 1961) is an Irish businessman who is the Group CEO of Ryanair. With a net worth of around €848.6 million as of April 2018, he is one of Ireland's wealthiest businessmen.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Irish businesspeople born between 1725 and 1961. Of these 5, 3 (60.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Irish businesspeople include Eddie Jordan, Tim O'Reilly, and Michael O'Leary. The most famous deceased Irish businesspeople include Arthur Guinness, and Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. As of April 2024, 1 new Irish businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including Michael O'Leary.
Living Irish Businesspeople
Go to all Rankings
Eddie Jordan
1948 - Present
HPI: 50.99
Tim O'Reilly
1954 - Present
HPI: 46.03
Michael O'Leary
1961 - Present
HPI: 43.77
Deceased Irish Businesspeople
Go to all RankingsArthur Guinness
1725 - 1803
HPI: 53.94
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
1865 - 1922
HPI: 45.22
