Thomas J. Flatley (August 30, 1931 - May 17, 2008) was an Irish–American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

engaged in

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

Early life

Flatley was born on August 30, 1931, in

Kiltimagh Kiltimagh () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. As of the 2022 census, the town had a population of 1,232 people. Although there is no river going through the town, three rivers flow around the town: the Glore River, Yellow River and Pollag ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and grew up on a 25-acre farm. In 1950, he immigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with only $32. He worked at a Bronx delicatessen, served in the army for 2 years and then moved to Boston, enrolling at

Wentworth Institute of Technology Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. Wentworth was founded in 1904 and offers career-focused education through 22 bachelor's degree programs as well as 11 master's degrees. History In 1903, B ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. He dropped out, and in 1956, he started a plumbing and air conditioning business. In 1958, he developed his first apartment complex. In 1972, he formed

Democrats for Nixon Democrats for Nixon was a campaign to promote Democratic support for the then-incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. The campaign was led by the former Democratic governor of Texas, John Connally. Connal ...

along with

John Connally John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917June 15, 1993) was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas from 1963 to 1969 and as the 61st United States secretary of the treasury from 1971 to 1972. He began his career as a Hi ...

. Between 1984 and when he shut it down in 1989, Flatley owned WNHT, a television station in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

; he also owned

WSYT WSYT (channels 43 and 68) is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network and owned by Imagicomm Communications. The station's studios are located on James Street/NY 290 in ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. By 1996, he owned and operated 12 malls and

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

s, 56 office buildings, 15 hotels, 7 nursing homes and 14 apartment complexes with 6,000 units. His developments included the Sheraton Tara Hotel in

Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree () is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is officially known as a town, but Braintree is a city with a mayor-council form of government, and it is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The populat ...

, built based on the design of Irish castles, and the Quincy Marriott. In 1997, he sold 2 hotels on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

for $29 million. In 1998, Flatley funded construction of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial. In 1999, he sold 3 nursing homes for $33 million. In 2002, he sold 11 properties to

Aimco Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is a Canadian crown corporation and institutional investor owned by the Government of Alberta, established to manage several public funds and pensions headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. AIMCo was ...

for $500 million. In March 2007, Flatley was ranked 754th by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

on the list of the world's billionaires. In May 2007, Flately sold his 10 shopping centers for $500 million. In 2008, Flatley died of

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

Personal life

Flatley lived in

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Milton is an immediate southern suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Milton is located in the relatively hilly ...

. He attended mass every morning at St. Agatha's Church, lived in a modest home, and usually flew coach. He established a foundation with $200 million. Flatley gave millions to

Catholic Charities USA Catholic Charities USA is the national voluntary membership organization for Catholic Charities agencies throughout the United States and its territories. Catholic Charities USA is a member of Caritas Internationalis, an international federatio ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, Africa relief, and Irish causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flatley, Thomas 1931 births 2008 deaths American billionaires American businesspeople in real estate Irish emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from County Mayo Wentworth Institute of Technology alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American philanthropists Deaths from motor neuron disease in Massachusetts People from Kiltimagh