Five Irish On Forbes World's Richest List

Five Irish citizens have been named on the list of the world's wealthiest people published by Forbes Magazine, but hardly anyone has heard of the man who leads them.

81-year-old Pallonji Mistry lives in Mumbai, India and is worth an estimated $8.8bn, the 103rd richest in the world.

He holds an Irish passport thanks to the Irish citizenship of his wife and sons.

A large portion of his wealth comes from his stake in Tata Sons, a company which owns brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Tetley Tea, Corus Steel and others.

A more familiar face is the next richest Irish citizen - telecoms mogul Denis O'Brien.

Forbes says he is the 254th richest person in the world, worth $4.2bn.

His Digicel cellphone company operates in dozens of Carribbean and Pacific countries, and the 52-year-old also owns Communicorp, which owns 42 radio stations in Europe including several in Ireland like Today FM, Newstalk, Dublin's 98fm and others.

O'Brien is something of a controversial figure in Ireland, as he is considered a "tax exile" who resides outside the country for a certain number of days every year to minimize his tax bills.

John Dorance III is the US-born heir of the Campbell Soup empire, who renounced his US citizenship and moved to Ireland before selling most of his stake in the company for $1.5bn in the mid-90s.

Forbes claims his current wealth is around $2.4bn making him the 488th richest in the world.

At 651 on the list is Martin Naughton, the owner of Glen Dimplex, the world's largest electrical heating company founded by him in Ireland in the 1970s.

The 71-year-old is worth an estimated $1.9bn.

Completing the Irish contingent is financier Dermot Desmond at 782 on the list.

He founded NCB Stockbrokers in 1981, sold it in 1994, and put the money into a private equity firm.

His business holdings include a football team (Glasgow Celtic), a luxury hotel in Barbados and an international betting exchange Betdaq.

Forbes says Desmond is worth $1.6bn.

There is no room on this year's list for insurance and cement king Sean Quinn, who was said to be worth $2.3bn in last year's issue of Forbes, but who has taken a hammering over bad investments in Irish banks and other projects.

The world's richest man is Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim at $74bn, followed by Bill Gates and Warran Buffett.

The magazine lists 1,209 billionaires around the world.