Sir Michael Smurfit,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(born 7 August 1936), is an English-born Irish businessman. In the "2010 Irish Independent Rich List" he was listed at 25th with a €368 million personal fortune.

Early life

Smurfit, who was born in St Helens, England, was educated at

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

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 ...

, Ireland. He left school while a teenager and joined his father's company, Jefferson Smurfit & Sons Ltd, in 1955. In 1967, he was appointed joint managing director and was made deputy chairman in 1969. He was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1977, a position he held until his retirement as CEO in November 2002.

Business

At Jefferson Smurfit Group, Smurfit led the early expansion of the Group in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. He followed this with a series of acquisitions in the US, Latin America and Continental Europe. As chairman, Smurfit oversaw the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of the Smurfit Group with Kappa Packaging BV to form Smurfit Kappa, with the merged company employing 42,000 employees in 33 countries on 5 continents. His share of the merged company was 4.9%. He is also a director of Ballymore International, a property development and investment group, and has investments in other small companies. He previously owned the K Club in County Kildare, which was sold for €70 million in November 2019.

Interests

Smurfit is a member of a number of sporting and social clubs in Ireland,

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, United States, Monaco and Spain. He owns a €53 million super yacht and the

Smurfit Art Collection Smurfit Art Collection is a collection of art work by the businessman Michael Smurfit Sir Michael Smurfit, KBE (born 7 August 1936), is an English-born Irish businessman. In the "2010 Irish Independent Rich List" he was listed at 25th wi ...

, which contains works by Irish artists such as

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do i ...

, Louis le Brocquy and

Jack B. Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist and Olympic medalist. W. B. Yeats was his brother. Butler's early style was that of an illustrator; he only began to work regularly in oils in 1906. His early pict ...

. Smurfit also commissioned Anna Livia, a bronze monument formerly located on O'Connell Street in Dublin. It was affectionately known as the ''Floozie in the Jacuzzi''.

Personal life

He has two daughters and four sons and lives in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...

. He is an uncle to Irish actress Victoria Smurfit. His son Tony is the current CEO of Smurfit Kappa. He was appointed as a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I in November 2002 at a ceremony in Dublin in recognition his of contribution to charitable and humanitarian endeavour.

Recognition

In 2005, Smurfit was appointed to be a Knight Commander of the

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE) in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2005, published in June 2005. The postgraduate business school of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, is named after him as a result of his financial support. In 1996, he received the ''Cross of Merit with Gold Star'' from the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, for his support for Christians in the Holy Land.

References

External links

Michael Smurfit School of Business biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smurfit, Michael 1936 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Living people British businesspeople British expatriates in Monaco English philanthropists Irish businesspeople Irish expatriates in Monaco Irish philanthropists People educated at Clongowes Wood College People from St Helens, Merseyside Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire