Thomas Anthony Ryan[1] (2 February 1936 – 3 October 2007[2]) was an Irish billionaire businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Ryanair in 1984 along with cofounders Christopher Ryan and Liam Lonergan (owner of Irish travel agent Club Travel), 9 years after founding Guinness Peat Aviation an international aircraft leasing industry.
[2] Ryanair was believed to be the main source of his wealth in later life: the company became one of the biggest airlines in Europe and was worth approximately $13 billion at the time of his death.
[4] Ryan was born at Limerick Junction, County Tipperary on 2 February 1936; his father was a train driver.
[1] His hopes of attending university were ended by the death of his father, and instead he joined Aer Lingus as a dispatch clerk, and was selected as a management trainee.
[8][9] In 2001, Ryan acquired Castleton Farm near Lexington, Kentucky from the Van Lennep Family Trust.
[10] At the time of his death he owned 16% of Tiger Airways, a discount carrier based in Singapore which was founded in December 2003.
[18][17] Ryan was a tax exile who lived in Monte Carlo,[19] but also owned a stud farm near his home in Dolla, County Tipperary.
[21] Ryan died at his home Lyons Demesne in County Kildare on 3 October 2007, aged 71, following an 18-month illness with pancreatic cancer.