Edwin Dyson Healey (22 April 1938 – 21 August 2021) was a British billionaire businessman.

Career

He and his brother, Malcolm were born in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from ...

. They started work in their family's paint firm, and soon started a DIY chain, Status Discount, which grew to have 63 stores in northern England. In 1980, Status was sold to MFI, where Healey worked until 1982. Healey bought a derelict site in Sheffield, where he built

Meadowhall Shopping Centre Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies north-east of Sheffield city centre, and from Rotherham town centre. It is the largest shopping centre in Yorkshire, and currently the eleventh-large ...

. In 1999, he sold it to

British Land The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

for £1.17 billion, a profit of £420 million. According to The ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday n ...

'' in 2020 Eddie and Malcolm Healey's combined net worth was estimated at £2 billion.

Personal life

Healey married Carol in 1966, they had five children, and lived at Westella Hall,

Kirk Ella Kirk Ella is a village and civil parish on the western outskirts of Kingston upon Hull, approximately west of the city centre, situated in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The parish includes West Ella. Kirk Ella has been a village sinc ...

, Yorkshire. Their son James became a Yorkshire amateur golf champion, and turned professional. Another son, Mark Healey, owns

Blue Energy Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obse ...

, a wind and solar power company. Shortly after celebrating his wife's 50th birthday in December 1995, he, his wife and two of their sons, Tim and James, one of whom was roughed up, were robbed and held captive in the family's luxurious home, Westella Hall. The robbers crashed their way through the luxury mansion, stealing a reported £250,000 in jewellery and cash, then escaped in a getaway car. For his 70th birthday party at the

Dorchester Hotel The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

in London, Eddie Healey spent £475,000, including £125,000 for a 45-minute set from

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a ...

, and hired the comedians

Russ Abbot Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, la ...

and

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in '' Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follo ...

. Healey's death, following a long illness, was announced on 21 August 2021. He was 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Eddie 1938 births 2021 deaths British billionaires Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull