Thomas Anthony Ryan (2 February 1936 – 3 October 2007) was an Irish billionaire, philanthropist and businessman.

Through his establishment of Guinness Peat Aviation in 1975 he began a course of events which ultimately led to the development of the international aircraft leasing industry, although he was best known in the public mind as the founder of the eponymous Ryanair with Christopher Ryan and Liam Lonergan.[1] Ryanair was believed to be the main source of his wealth in later life: the company is now one of the biggest airlines in Europe and is valued at over 15 billion Euros as of December 2019.[2]

Ryan held honorary doctorates from several universities, including Trinity College, Dublin, the National University of Ireland, Galway and the University of Limerick.[3][4]

Business career

Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ryan worked for Aer Lingus, before going on to found their aircraft leasing arm, wet-leasing out their aircraft in the quieter winter months.

In 1975, with Aer Lingus and the Guinness Peat Group, he founded Guinness Peat Aviation (later GPA Group), an aircraft leasing company, with a $50,000 investment.[5] GPA grew to be the world's biggest aircraft lessor, worth $4 billion at its peak. But its value dramatically collapsed in 1992 after the cancellation of its planned IPO.[6] Ryan made €55m from the sale of AerFi (the successor to GPA) in 2000.[7] Ryan was a tax exile who lived in Monte Carlo,[8] but also owned a stud farm near his home in Dolla County Tipperary.[5] He was the 7th wealthiest individual from Ireland in the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 with over €1.5bn(£1bn).[9]

Ryan over the years helped nurture two successful business protégés – Denis O'Brien and Michael O'Leary – both of whom became billionaires.[10]

Philanthropy

Ryan was an active and innovative funder of university education in Ireland. He donated a marine science institute to NUI Galway in 1993 which was named the Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute in honour of his father.[11] 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.[12][13]

In 2001, Ryan acquired Castleton Farm near Lexington, Kentucky from the Van Lennep Family Trust. Ryan renamed it Castleton Lyons and undertook renovations to the property while returning to its original roots as a thoroughbred operation.[14]

At the time of his death he owned 16% of Tiger Airways, a discount carrier based in Singapore which was founded in December 2003.[15][16]

Awards and honors

• 1994, Order of the Aztec Eagle[17]
• 2002, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement - presented at the International Achievement Summit in Dublin, Ireland[18][19]
• 2012, National Aviation Award - the inaugural award was presented to his family by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar[20]

Death

Ryan, who lived at Lyons Demesne in Ardclough, County Kildare, died on 3 October 2007, aged 71, following an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He had other homes in London, Castleton Lyons stud in Kentucky, Château Lascombes near Bordeaux and on Ibiza.[21] His eldest son, Cathal, died just three months later, aged 48, after being diagnosed with cancer.[22]

See also

• Ryanair
• Irelandia Aviation
• Guinness Peat Aviation
• Tiger Airways
• Viva Air Perú
• Viva Air Colombia
• Viva Air

References

Further reading

• Ryanair: How a Small Irish Airline Conquered Europe by Siobhan Creaton – ISBN 1-85410-992-8: published about Ryanair's success and Tony Ryan's earlier enterprises.
• Tony Ryan: Ireland's Aviator by Richard Aldous.[1]

External links

• Short Reuters article about his death
• Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute