Meet ‘reclusive’ Grand National millionaire behind London’s terrifying ‘Sky Pool’ aiming for £500,000 win on Saturday
HE is rumoured to be one of Ireland's richest people with a stable of equine superstars.
He sponsors one of the top races at Cheltenham Festival yet you rarely see him on the racecourse.
Meet Sean Mulryan, a giant of Irish property development, the brains behind London's controversial 'Sky Pool' and owner of one of the favourites to win the Grand National.
Mulryan will watch anxiously on Saturday as his horse Longhouse Poet attempts to win the £1million contest.
First place is £500,000, a massive sum but one that, in truth, means relatively little to someone as incredibly successful as Mulryan.
He is rumoured to have a net worth of around £80million, according to an article from the .
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Not bad for someone who, according to the , was 'born into rural poverty as one of seven children in a tiny thatched cottage' in Ireland.
Mulryan has always had a hand in property, quite literally.
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He left school in Roscommon to be a bricklayer and stonemason.
Aged 20 he bought a small plot, built a house on it then sold it for profit.
Mulryan said: "From the age of 18, I always knew I wanted to start my own business. It took a lot of hard work to get the money to do it.
"In the end, I started the company when I was 26."
BRICKLAYER TO MULTI-MILLIONAIRE
That developed into property development colossus Ballymore, through which Mulryan has amassed a serious fortune.
With it come the benefits of fame and riches.
He counts U2 singer Bono as one of his close friends and had Blondie sing at his 50th birthday.
Yet at the same time he has been called 'reclusive' and famously 'never gives interviews'.
He may have no choice in front of the ITV cameras should his Martin Brassil-trained runner win the world's most famous race at odds of around 16-1.
Mulryan can afford to spend big on promising horses thanks to the success of Ballymore.
The property mogul's big break came in the crash of the Nineties, when he snapped up sites in East London because it was cheaper than land in Ireland.
Fast forward to today, after 39 years in business, and they have built 7,000 homes in London in the past five years.
There are 10,000 currently under construction, 15,000 in their property pipeline and some 800 employees under the Ballymore banner.
But for all that, nothing has attracted more attention than the terrifying 'Sky Pool' in Battersea.
WORLD'S MOST AMAZING SWIMMING POOL
Located at the plush Embassy Gardens, the crystal clear, 25-metre pool looks like it floats in the air.
In reality, it stretches between the rooftops of two adjacent buildings, but there is no other swimming pool like it in the world.
It is suspended 115ft above ground and offers amazing views out over London.
Mind you, you might need a cheque book as big as Mulryan's to afford a flat there.
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A penthouse apartment is currently on the market for a whopping £4.5million.
You'd need to win the next nine Grand Nationals to afford that!
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