Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary: ‘There isn’t enough cooking oil in the world to power one day of green aviation’
Even in an age of astronomical executive pay, few bosses would be indifferent to the idea of gaining another E100m. And even fewer billionaires might regularly be seen lugging their own cardboard props into the cramped lift of a London hotel before a press conference. But Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, who is in line for a payout that could dwarf anything yet seen in aviation, has long given the strong impression of not being bothered about the megabonus soon heading his way. The airline’s chief executive will receive the payout, agreed in 2019, if the company hits long-term profit targets that are looking increasingly achievable. This stems partly, of course, from O’Leary being a significant investor in the airline. Given his 3.9% shareholding, the potential E98m bonus becomes just a fraction of his spiralling on-paper wealth: a 50% rise in the shares since November already makes his stake in Ryanair several hundred million euros fatter. It is possibly still not enough for O’Leary. He will concede only that aviation has made him “reasonably wealthy”. A billionaire, no? “Probably,” he says. “The Ryanair share price goes up and down.” But he also appears determined to keep himself and his family grounded. At least one holiday a year is dedicated to an “educational tour”, and on this year’s agenda was a visit to concentration camps. “Children of people who are reasonably wealthy and have a very entitled view of the world that comes from social media – they should go and see Auschwitz and realise that bad things happen, he says. “Everyone should be aware and never forget the atrocities. No matter how hard you think your life is – go and see what happened to the Jews in the second world war.”<br/>
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Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary: ‘There isn’t enough cooking oil in the world to power one day of green aviation’
Even in an age of astronomical executive pay, few bosses would be indifferent to the idea of gaining another E100m. And even fewer billionaires might regularly be seen lugging their own cardboard props into the cramped lift of a London hotel before a press conference. But Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, who is in line for a payout that could dwarf anything yet seen in aviation, has long given the strong impression of not being bothered about the megabonus soon heading his way. The airline’s chief executive will receive the payout, agreed in 2019, if the company hits long-term profit targets that are looking increasingly achievable. This stems partly, of course, from O’Leary being a significant investor in the airline. Given his 3.9% shareholding, the potential E98m bonus becomes just a fraction of his spiralling on-paper wealth: a 50% rise in the shares since November already makes his stake in Ryanair several hundred million euros fatter. It is possibly still not enough for O’Leary. He will concede only that aviation has made him “reasonably wealthy”. A billionaire, no? “Probably,” he says. “The Ryanair share price goes up and down.” But he also appears determined to keep himself and his family grounded. At least one holiday a year is dedicated to an “educational tour”, and on this year’s agenda was a visit to concentration camps. “Children of people who are reasonably wealthy and have a very entitled view of the world that comes from social media – they should go and see Auschwitz and realise that bad things happen, he says. “Everyone should be aware and never forget the atrocities. No matter how hard you think your life is – go and see what happened to the Jews in the second world war.”<br/>
