New book discusses the life and times of the Caribbean’s Telecom giant Digicel’s Denis O’Brien

UNITED KINGDOM – He is the Irish telecoms tycoon with business interests from Ireland to the Caribbean: a billionaire powerful enough to have graced the cover of Forbes magazine; an indefatigable entrepreneur who invests where others fear to tread, bringing his bright red Digicel brand to some of the world’s poorest and most dangerous nations.

In building his business empire – from Esat Telecom to Digicel –Denis O’Brien has smashed the hegemony of state-run networks and the cosy alliances of governments and traditional suppliers – even audaciously snatching the sponsorship of West Indies cricket.

Denis O’Brien

As notable for his low-profile philanthropy as for his high-profile joust with, among others, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, he is equally capable of forensically monitoring every last taxi fare and throwing hundreds of millions into a takeover bid for the Independent News and Media group. But his huge wealth and commercial dominance have not been achieved without controversy: a long-running Tribunal in Ireland is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the first mobile phone licence he won in 1996 amid allegations of political corruption.

Now, renowned business journalist Siobhán Creaton has spoken to those who know and have dealt with Denis O’Brien to produce the first comprehensive biography of this fascinating, contradictory and immensely influential man, A Mobile Fortune
The Life and Times of Denis O’Brien.

Siobhán Creaton is the author of two previous books, Ryanair (also published by Aurum) and Panic at the Bank. She lives in Dublin.