Dermot Desmond

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Dermot Desmond (born 1950, Macroom, Cork, Ireland) is regarded as one of Ireland's most successful entrepreneurs. He is estimated to be worth €2.121 billion (£1.5 billion) and is ranked 5th on the Irish Rich List and 746 among 'The World's Richest People'.^[1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Rise Up the Corporate Ladder 3 Business 4 London City Airport 5 Private Jet 6 Trivia 7 References

[edit] Early life

Desmond was born into modest circumstances in Macroom in 1950. At the age of 6, the family uprooted from the area and moved to Dublin's northside, Beaumont district. Desmond was educated at Scoil Mhuire, Marino and later studied at Good Counsel College in New Ross.

One of his first money making exercises was selling match programmes at Tolka Park Dublin.

After completing his leaving certificate in 1968, Desmond applied for a junior position in Citibank.

[edit] Rise Up the Corporate Ladder

Desmond left school in 1968 and shortly afterwards took up a junior position with Citibank in Dublin. He moved on and accepted positions first in the Investment Bank of Ireland and then as a banking consultant for Price Waterhouse Coopers. In 1979 he was contracted by the World Bank and transferred to Kabul, Afghanistan. His time there was short lived as the bank withdrew its staff shortly afterwards following the Soviet invasion. In 1981, he founded the Irish stockbroking company National City Brokers (NCB). He is credited with being the inspiration behind the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

[edit] Business

Desmond's past and present business interests and investment holdings include;

• London City Airport
• Sandy Lane Hotel
• eLearning company Intuition
• BETDAQ betting exchange
• GIS software house eSpatial
• Bottin (International) Investments Ltd. [1]
• International Investment Underwriters (IIU)
• Newfoundland & Labrador Refining Ltd. [2]
• Daon
• Baltimore Technologies
• Barchester Healthcare
• Greencore
• Rietumu Banka
• Celtic FC
• Sporting Emporium Casino
• RemoteMDx
• MHC Mental Health Care
• Castlebeck Group
• Swanton Healthcare
• Young Foundations
• Lydian

[edit] London City Airport

Desmond purchased London City Airport from Mowlem for £23.5m in 1995. The investment was considered a large risk as London's Docklands was in recession and Canary Wharf was in receivership. The airport has since become one of the more profitable in the United Kingdom. Desmond sold London City Airport in October 2006 for a reported £750 million (€1.2 billion) to a consortium consisting of insurer AIG, GE Capital and Credit Suisse.

[edit] Private Jet

Desmond owns Dassault Falcon 900 jets.

[edit] Trivia

• Known as "the Kaiser" due to his luxuriant moustache which he is said to have acquired during his time in Afganistan.

[edit] References