{"id":152131,"date":"2025-10-29T21:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T21:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/152131\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T21:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T21:11:09","slug":"billionaire-john-malone-to-step-down-as-chair-of-media-and-telecoms-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/152131\/","title":{"rendered":"Billionaire John Malone to step down as chair of media and telecoms empire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">News of the retirement of Mr Malone (84) was first reported by the Financial Times. <\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">He is leaving his roles as chair of Liberty Media and Liberty Global, the FT said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">It marks a big change for the business that Mr Malone himself created during a wave of telecoms and TV deregulation during the Reagan era. <\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">His fortune was founded in building up TCI, a US cable TV business that Mr Malone was hired to turn around when he was still in his 20s. He eventually sold to AT&amp;T for a staggering $48bn (\u20ac39bn) in 1998.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">He then shifted to heading up Liberty Global, which he built into the world&#8217;s biggest international cable company. That empire now includes businesses like the Formula One racing series and concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Liberty Media owns Formula One. Photo: Getty\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IB F1.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" data-testid=\"article-image\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_caption1 indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_regular indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0 indo-1d70522a_marginleft0 indo-1d70522a_marginright0 indo-1d70522a_margintop3 indo-b48c4984_left\" style=\"color:var(--color-grey-60)\">Liberty Media owns Formula One. Photo: Getty<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Nicknamed the \u2018Cable Cowboy\u2019, he also became the biggest private land owner in the US, including vast ranches in the American west.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Malone and his wife, Leslie, have said they intend to ensure the bulk of their roughly two million acres will remain open land rather than ever being developed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The businessman has said that he wants to make sure much of the land remains open in perpetuity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cWe\u2019re big into conservation,\u201d he said. \u201cOur biggest push right now is to make sure that the, give-or-take, two million acres we own are going to be kept open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In Ireland, Malone was relatively little known until the aftermath of the financial crisis, when he was among a cohort of mostly US-based investors that swooped in to buy businesses and property assets at then knock-down prices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Liberty Global bought the broadband provider Virgin Media here in 2013 and added the former TV3 after buying it in a separate deal. <\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In his own right, Mr Malone also bought up a string of Irish hotels, partnering with local operators Paul Higgins and John Lally to build the MHL Hotel Collection, which has 2,300 bedrooms in Ireland and operates the five-star College Green Hotel and InterContinental Dublin in the capital, Powerscourt Hotel Resort &amp; Spa in Wicklow and a string of four-star properties in Dublin, Galway and Limerick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In Ireland, the Malones also snapped up trophy assets like Castlemartin Stud, the late Tony O\u2019Reilly\u2019s Georgian mansion and stud in Co Kildare, and the vast Humewood Castle in Co Wicklow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In his autobiography published earlier this year, the octogenarian revealed that he had turned down an offer from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for Castlemartin. <\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The FT reports, which cited two people familiar with the matter, said he will continue to manage his personal venture capital portfolio and retain his stake in the Atlanta Braves baseball team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Liberty didn&#8217;t immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The retirement plans were well signposted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Malone stepped down from the board of Warner Bros Discovery earlier this year and in May, Liberty\u2019s Charter Communications, the largest cable provider in the US, agreed to merge with Cox Communications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">But his businesses remain active in deal-making. Earlier this month Liberty Global in the UK sold a 5pc stake in ITV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Two weeks ago, Apple struck a five-year deal with Liberty Media for exclusive television rights to Formula One races in the US. Financial terms of the agreement weren&#8217;t disclosed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News of the retirement of Mr Malone (84) was first reported by the Financial Times. He is leaving&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,34851],"class_list":{"0":"post-152131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-virgin-media-television"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115459515000376925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}