He was the head of his family business the Carroll Group, once one of the largest private companies in the United Kingdom, until it collapsed in the early 1990s, leading to his bankruptcy.
[citation needed] His grandfather was John E. Carroll who built homes for workers at the Ford factory in Dagenham.
Carroll took control of the family business in the late 1970s[3] but claimed in an interview with Sky News to be self-made.
[4] He launched a bid for quoted car dealership Frank G. Gates in 1985[5] but specialised in spotting property development sites and obtaining planning permission for them.
[citation needed] In 1990, Carroll agreed to endow a chair of Irish history for £1.5m at Hertford College, University of Oxford.