In the United States they call him the ‘Cable Cowboy’ and for many years he was reputed to be America’s largest private landowner.
But despite owning 2.2 million acres there, John Malone has made Ireland his home-from-home over the past decade.
The 84-year-old, who this week announced he was relinquishing his full-time board role at Formula One owner Liberty Media and at Liberty Global, the group behind Virgin Media’s Irish operation, is a frequent visitor to Humewood Castle in Co Wicklow.
In an interview with The Irish Times in 2018, Malone estimated that he has spent about €300 million in the past decade on a portfolio of personal assets in Ireland.
He bought Humewood in 2012 for a reported €7.2 million.
“I actually do believe that there may be a genetic element in wanting to own the land you’re on,” he once said.
[ ‘I love the place’: US billionaire John Malone on his €300m Irish portfolioOpens in new window ]
He followed up the Humewood purchase with that of the Castlemartin est
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