Chryss Goulandris, Lady O'Reilly (born 27 June 1950), also known as Chryssanthie (from the Greek) or Christina, is one of the richest women associated with
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and holds both USA and Greek citizenship. For many years, she owned a major horse breeding operation located in Ireland, France and other countries and was Chairperson of the
Irish National Stud
The Irish National Stud (official name: ''Comhlacht Graí Náisiúnta na hÉireann Teo.'') is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility in Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland. It was formally established by incorporation on 11 April 1946 ...
for over a decade. She is the wife of former media and industrial magnate
Tony O'Reilly
Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish former businessman and international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009,Dublin, Ireland, ...
, and is heavily involved with
The Ireland Funds
The Ireland Funds are a global fundraising network for people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout t ...
.
Life
She was born in the United States to
John Goulandris, a wealthy member of a
Greek family of ship owners and operators, and Maria
Lemos Lemos is a Portuguese-language surname. It can be also Greek (Λεμός).
Notable people by that name include:
Portuguese surname
* Álvaro Lemos (born 1993), Spanish professional footballer.
* Amanda Lemos (born 1987), Brazilian mixed martia ...
, from another Greek shipping dynasty. The family lived at the time in the
Savoy Palace Hotel, with homes also in Greece, Connecticut, Switzerland and the Bahamas.
She grew up primarily in America (on
Fifth Avenue, New York), with holidays spent in Greece, chiefly on the family's ancestral home island,
Andros
Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...
.
She studied French civilisation and art history at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
in Paris, then returned to New York, working in the family offices, her business activities ranging from silver futures trading to horse breeding.
[London, UK: ''The Racing Post'', 15 July 2001, Michael Clower, "Lady O'Reilly Interview: Rebel line flies the flag for O'Reilly's worldwide empire"]
She met Tony O'Reilly briefly, with her brother, in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in 1989, at the
Pierre Hotel
The Pierre is a luxury hotel located at 2 East 61st Street, at the intersection of that street with Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City, facing Central Park. Designed by Schultze & Weaver, the hotel opened in 1930 with 100+ employees, ...
, his usual base when staying in New York; he was in New York seeking funding for
Waterford Wedgwood
Waterford Wedgwood plc was an Irish holding company for a group of firms that specialized in the manufacture of high-quality porcelain, bone china and glass products, mostly for use as tableware or home decor. The group was dominated by Irish bu ...
. They next met in 1990, after O'Reilly invited her to the ''Heinz 57'' race in Dublin that year (she knew Ireland because of horse racing and breeding and was already considering buying a stud farm there), and a relationship developed, with the two becoming a couple in
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in The Bahamas. The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutio ...
the following Easter.
On September 14, 1991, they were married in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
, Goulandris's first marriage and O'Reilly's second. At the time, O'Reilly was said to be worth around $520 million and Goulandris $450 million, though some reports said the latter was worth more than the former.
In 1996, Tony O'Reilly bid $2.6 million for the diamond engagement ring of
Jacqueline Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...
, to give as a gift to Goulandris, who had known the Onassis family, and she, with some
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
executives, made a naming gift in her husband's honor in 1999 with the
O'Reilly Theater
The O'Reilly Theater is a 650-seat theater building, opened on December 11, 1999, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Located at 621 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District, the O'Reilly Theater is actually a three-part building: The t ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
.
Homes
Goulandris shares a range of residences with her husband. Although not tax resident in Ireland, one of her main homes is
Castlemartin House and Estate
Castlemartin is the name of a historic house and estate, and the townland in which they sit, on the banks of the River Liffey in Kilcullen, County Kildare, Ireland. Formerly a key estate of the Eustace family, it was for many years the home of ...
near
Kilcullen
Kilcullen (), formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its population of 3,473 at the 2011 census made it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growi ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, which includes a horse stud facility and a Charolais cattle breeding operation. She managed the restoration of the Georgian house's upper floor and roof. Her official main residence is a house in the closed executive development of
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in The Bahamas. The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutio ...
near Nassau, the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
; other are a complex on the southern coast of Ireland at Shorecliffe,
Glandore
Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of both a harbour and village in County Cork, Ireland. Glandore is located about an hour's drive south-west of Cork city.
The village has several pubs, with traditional music. It i ...
,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, and a Georgian townhouse on Fitzwilliam Square,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and a chateau in
Deauville
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...
, France. She also owns property in New York.
Horse breeding
Goulandris owns, breeds, trains and races horses under a number of house names, including at least ''Castlemartin Stud'' (shared with her husband), ''Petra Bloodstock Agency'', ''Skymarc Farm''. Castlemartin Stud is situated on the estate around one of her principal homes, with operations in multiple countries, and her horses are trained in Ireland, England, Normandy in France and in the USA at a stud called Matagorda, with many trainers employed across the various locations.
Two of her uncles were involved in racing, one, George, winning the English Oaks in 1962 and another, Constantin, owning the La Louviere Stud in France. She bought her first racing horse, a yearling filly, in 1976, and in 1978, following her uncle Constantin's death, took over La Louviere Stud.
At the end of October 2006, she had around 100 horses in training, and 128 brood mares. Her operations have a policy of selling male foals, and one of those sold was Helissio who won the 1996 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, while one retained was European champion miler in 1991. In all, she has bred 11 Group 1 winners, including two wins at Royal Ascot.
National Stud
In 1993, Goulandris was appointed to the board of the Irish National Stud by the Minister for Agriculture, and in early June 1998, she was made its chairperson by Joe Walsh, in succession to David Shubotham, a post she continues to hold.
Wealth
Estimates of her personal wealth have varied greatly, but have exceeded 400 million USD since the early 1990s. In June 2004, it was reported that she would be a major beneficiary of the sale of a family-owned unit of land in New York, assembled in the 1970s at a cost of about 25 million USD, for around 400 million USD and in 2005, her personal wealth was estimated at 442 million UK pounds.
Other activities
In June 1994, she was appointed a non-executive director of
Waterford Wedgwood
Waterford Wedgwood plc was an Irish holding company for a group of firms that specialized in the manufacture of high-quality porcelain, bone china and glass products, mostly for use as tableware or home decor. The group was dominated by Irish bu ...
plc, with special responsibility for organizing commemorative events for the bicentenary of the death of
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...
.
[London, UK: The Independent, June 18, 1994, Alison Eadie, "Job in china for Mrs O'Reilly"] She resigned from this role in January 2009. She was a director of the Wedgwood Museum Trust until June 2007 and is now an honorary member.
She has been Chairperson of the
O'Reilly Foundation
The O'Reilly Foundation is a personal charitable trust set up in 1998 by media magnate, and former CEO of Heinz, Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly. Its stated function is the funding of educational projects; the two main work areas in its active per ...
since its establishment, was invited by family friend
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
to be first Chairperson of the
Barrettstown Castle ''Hole in the Wall Club''.
The Ireland Funds
Goulandris has been involved with
The Ireland Funds
The Ireland Funds are a global fundraising network for people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout t ...
for many years, especially with the annual Pittsburgh fundraising dinner. She is the ''President d'Honneur'' of the Ireland Fund of France, and funded since 1993 the ''bourse Chryss O'Reilly de l'Ireland Fund de France'', a 2000 euro per annum scholarship for eight universities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Sources
* London, UK: The Racing Post, 15 July 2001, Michael Clower, "Lady O'Reilly Interview: Rebelline flies the flag for O'Reilly's worldwide empire" – "Lady O'Reilly, owner of Irish Oaks hope Rebelline, has 100 horses in training and 128 broodmares. Michael Clower went to see her at the Castlemartin stud and estate in County Kildare."
Notes and references
External links
The O`Reilly FoundationCastlemartin StudForbes listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goulandris, Chryss
Kilcullen
O'Reilly Foundation
Tony O'Reilly family
Waterford Wedgwood
1950 births
Racehorse owners and breeders
Greek businesspeople
American people of Greek descent
American billionaires
American businesspeople
American expatriates in France
American expatriates in the Bahamas
American emigrants to Ireland
Chryss
Living people
University of Paris alumni
Greek women in business