Racecourse bookie to £170m art collector – incredible rise of Cheltenham Festival star & Shishkin owner Joe Donnelly
THEY say you never see a poor bookie - but you rarely see one with a £170million fortune and amazing art collection.
Meet Joe Donnelly and elegant wife Marie, who could strike it big at Cheltenham Festival again with their superstar stable of top horses.
Household names like Champion Chase favourite Shishkin, double Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo and Ryanair chance Melon are just a few.
But for all their success on the track, the couple made their fortune - or part of it at least - off it.
Just over 15 years ago, the pair relocated to France after earning a packet from selling a building found in Paris' Champs-Elysees, that was said to be where Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana were staying before their fatal car crash.
Joe began life as a bookie, before earning millions and investing his money in art.
At one time he did own a gallery in Ireland, although it was reportedly impossible to visit - with only the elite being allowed in.
But it did house works from world-renowned artists, including Picasso and Matisse that are now at his Dublin home.
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This is a man who cherishes his privacy.
The bookmaker
Back in the 1990s, Donnelly was an influential bookie.
"After the deal was closed, his father removed everything. The Donnellys acquired it as an investment with the intention of selling off all the apartments."
A year later, Joe flipped the building for an undisclosed sum.
Now, it's in racing he holds his trump card.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Ahead of Cheltenham, his horse Shishkin is big favourite for the Champion Chase.
You wouldn't put it past the Donnellys to be cheering on a winner... discreetly of course.