Seán Quinn facts for kids

John Ignatius Quinn, known as Seán Quinn (born 5 December 1947), is an Irish businessman. He was once the richest person in the Republic of Ireland in 2008. However, by 2012, he faced serious financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt.

In 2008, a report called the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his personal wealth to be around €4.7 billion. This made him the wealthiest person in Ireland at that time. Forbes magazine also listed him as Ireland's richest person, ranking him 164th among the world's wealthiest individuals.

The Quinn Group, which was owned by the Quinn family, was valued at billions of euros in 2005. This group made a large profit in 2007. However, in April 2011, a company called KPMG took control of the Quinn family's ownership in the Quinn Group because of money owed to Anglo Irish Bank. Seán Quinn and his family no longer manage or own the Quinn Group. Quinn was declared bankrupt in Northern Ireland in November 2011. Although this decision was later changed, he was declared bankrupt in the Republic of Ireland in January 2012. He owed a lot of money to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

In November 2012, Quinn was sentenced to nine weeks in jail in Dublin. This was because he did not follow court orders.

Building a Business Empire

Starting Small

Seán Quinn took over his family's farm in late 1967 after his father passed away. The land was not great for farming but had a lot of minerals like gravel. Farming was not making much money, and Quinn did not enjoy it.

Quinn said his first successes came from people he met through the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). In 1973, he borrowed £100 and started digging gravel from his family's farm. He would wash the gravel and sell it to local builders. This company was called Seán Quinn Quarries Ltd. This led to Quinn Cement, which became the main source of his wealth.

Growing the Quinn Group

Over the years, Quinn expanded his business into many different areas. His company, the Quinn Group, became a big player in Ireland's hotel business, setting up Quinn Hotels. A famous hotel he owned was the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, County Cavan. He also had interests in glass, radiators, and plastics with companies like Quinn Glass and Quinn Lite Pac. By 2009, the Quinn Group employed more than 5,500 people across Ireland.

Quinn also started Quinn Financial Services in 1996, which included the Quinn Direct insurance business. This insurance company, based in Cavan, made significant profits. In January 2007, the Quinn Group bought Ireland's second-largest health insurance provider, Bupa Ireland. In the same month, Quinn increased his ownership in the Anglo Irish Bank.

Throughout 2007 and into 2008, Quinn and his family increased their ownership in Anglo Irish Bank to 15%. However, the bank's share price dropped sharply in late 2008. In January 2009, the Irish government took control of the bank.

Financial Challenges and Bankruptcy

Impact of the 2008 Recession

The global financial downturn in 2008 had a big impact on the Quinn family's wealth. Forbes magazine estimated that their net worth dropped significantly. Denis O'Brien then became Ireland's wealthiest person.

A major reason for Quinn's financial losses was his large investment in the Anglo Irish Bank. This bank faced severe problems, which caused at least €2.8 billion of the family's wealth to disappear. Quinn had built up a large stake in the bank using special financial tools. He later admitted that this investment "set the company back 2 to 3 years."

In 2008, the value of Quinn's investments in Anglo Irish Bank fell sharply. The bank then had to find buyers for Quinn's shares. A group of clients bought these shares, and the bank controversially lent them money to do so. This money was never paid back. The bank was later taken over by the government in 2009.

Quinn Insurance Issues

In 2008, Quinn Insurance received a large fine from the Financial Regulator in Ireland. Quinn himself was also fined. These fines were because Quinn Insurance had given loans to other companies he controlled, which was against insurance rules. Quinn accepted responsibility for this. The loans were used by the Quinn family to cover falling investments and to buy shares in Anglo Irish Bank. Following these fines, Quinn stepped down from the board of Quinn Insurance and other Quinn Group boards. In March 2010, a court ruled that Quinn Insurance should be put under special management.

Quinn Insurance had lost a lot of money in 2009 and 2010. The Irish Government then passed a law in 2011 that added a 2% charge to all other insurance policies. This was to help cover an estimated €280 million shortfall in the state's Insurance Compensation Fund. This meant that Irish policyholders would pay about €65 million each year for five years.

Legal Battles and Bankruptcy

Because of Anglo Irish Bank's financial problems, Quinn was pursued in 2010 for the money he owed, which was about €2.8 billion. In April 2011, the bank officially demanded the loans be repaid. This led to many court cases in different countries. For example, his overseas company, Quinn Investments Sweden, was closed down in July 2011.

In July 2011, Anglo Irish Bank was renamed the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).

It was later found that some of the Swedish company's assets had been moved to companies controlled by the family in Cyprus. This led to more legal action. Other properties in Kyiv, Ukraine, were also part of these legal proceedings.

Separately, Quinn's wife and children started their own legal cases in Dublin in 2011. They argued that the €2.34 billion he borrowed from Anglo-Irish Bank to buy shares in the bank should not have to be repaid. They claimed the money was lent for an unlawful purpose.

On 11 November 2011, Quinn applied for voluntary bankruptcy in Belfast. He stated that he had debts of €194 million. However, the IBRC challenged this application, arguing that Quinn mainly lived in the Republic of Ireland, where bankruptcy rules were different.

On 10 January 2012, the court in Belfast cancelled the bankruptcy order against Quinn. Later that day, a court in Dublin agreed to quickly hear a request to declare him bankrupt in the Republic of Ireland. He was officially declared bankrupt there on 16 January 2012.

In July 2012, Seán Quinn, his son Seán Jr, and Peter Darragh Quinn received court orders to reverse actions that moved assets away from the bank's reach. This was after courts found they had not followed earlier orders. Seán Quinn was not jailed at that time, as the bank wanted him to help ensure the orders were followed. However, the bank later complained that he had not done enough. Seán Quinn was then sentenced to 9 weeks in jail in Dublin on 2 November 2012.

Quinn was released from Mountjoy Prison on 3 January 2013. Later that month, his five adult children were questioned in court by lawyers for the IBRC. The goal was to find out if they had provided full details of their bank accounts and other assets.

In July 2013, a High Court judge said it was "simply incredible" that five of Quinn's children and three of their spouses could not produce documents about their alleged employment by Russian companies. He noted they had received "very large" sums of money in a "very strange way."

Global Business Ventures

The Quinn Group had expanded its hotel business internationally. They owned hotels in the Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and Poland. In 2004, the Quinn Group took control of the Prague Hilton, which is the largest five-star hotel in Prague. They also bought the Hilton Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2005, the group purchased The De Vere Belfry hotel and golf course in England.

In 2004, Quinn Direct insurance also expanded into the UK car and business insurance market. Quinn Direct Insurance sponsored the British Masters golf tournament in May 2006.

As of April 2011, Seán Quinn and his family no longer have any role in managing, operating, or owning the Quinn Group. The ongoing legal cases about asset transfers involve former Quinn properties in Ukraine and Russia.

Personal Life and Interests

Seán Quinn was born in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, which is close to the border with County Cavan. In the 1960s, there was not much money in the area, and football was a popular activity. Quinn spent much of his teenage years playing Gaelic football. He and his brother Peter played for Teemore Shamrocks, and their team won the Fermanagh County Championship in 1969. Seán Quinn eventually became captain of the Fermanagh county team.

His brother, Peter, became a financial advisor and was elected President of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1990. The GAA is Ireland's largest sporting and cultural organization.

The Quinn Group was also an important sponsor of Fermanagh GAA. Quinn's involvement in the GAA was a big part of his life. He also donated land to Kildallan GFC, which was used to develop a training field.

In May 1999, Quinn received an honorary degree called a Doctor of Laws from NUI Maynooth. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Queen's University Belfast (QUB).

Quinn is married to Patricia, and they have five children: Seán Jnr, Colette, Ciara, Aoife, and Brenda. All his children worked in the family business. His son, Seán Jnr, played for the Fermanagh minor team.

In 2012, Quinn was jailed for three months for not following court orders. He lives with his wife and family in Ballyconnell, Tullyhaw, County Cavan, near his Slieve Russell Hotel and his birthplace in Derrylin.