Denis O'Brien

Who is Denis O'Brien?

Denis O'Brien is an Irish billionaire. Born in County Cork, he graduated with an Arts degree from University College Dublin, received an MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982, and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.

O'Brien set up and chaired the Esat Digifone consortium which won a mobile phone licence in the 1990s in what would become controversial circumstances despite claims to this day that theirs was the best bid. The Moriarty Tribunal found that in its opinion it was almost beyond doubt that his winning of the contract was due to payments he made to Michael Lowry, the then communications minister, who unduly influenced the bidding process.

It was the winning of this contract that formed the basis of his fortune. He established Digicel, a major telecoms provider in the Caribbean. O'Brien formed Communicorp Group Ltd in 1989, with the company currently owning 42 radio stations in 8 European countries, including Ireland's Newstalk, Today FM, Dublin's 98, Spin 1038 and Spin South West.