Niall Mellon
Niall Mellon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 56–57) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Charity work (Niall Mellon Township Trust) |
| Website | https://www.melloneducate.com/ |
Niall J. Mellon (born 1967) is an Irish entrepreneur, charity Chief Executive and property developer who founded the Niall Mellon Township Trust to provide homes to impoverished communities in South Africa's townships. His property business interests pre 2010 are under the control of the National Asset Management Agency.
Early life
Mellon grew up in Ballyroan, County Dublin. After finishing school, Mellon joined his father's personalised investment brokerage.[1] At age 24, he set up his own mortgage company, and subsequently grew his property and financial services interests through the Niall J. Mellon Group. He carried out several highly successful development projects in the U.K and in Ireland and acquired numerous properties through his primary investment and syndicate vehicle Earthquake Property Partners.[2]
Philanthropy
In 2002, aged 35, Mellon began to spend most of his time working to help the poor. While on a visit to South Africa, he was moved by the poverty of some township communities near Cape Town,[3] and subsequently formed the building charity, the "Niall Mellon Township Trust", primarily with his own funds. In 2013 Mellon Educate was established with the goal of building and refurbishing schools in South Africa and Kenya.[4] As of March 2014 the charity had built about 22,000 houses for 120,000 South Africans.[5]
Personal Life
Mellon pleaded guilty to charges of public drunkenness and breach of the peace after verbally abusing a Garda at a NAMA-controlled pub he owns in July 2013. He was convicted in January 2014 and forbidden from breaching the peace for a period of 12 months. He was previously convicted for breach of the peace in 2005.[6][7]
References
- ^ "noses out of joint as €5m goes to Niall". Independent.ie. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Earthquake planning £276m UK shake-up". Irish Independent. 24 November 2012.
- ^ "Ten questions for... Niall Mellon". RTE.ie. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ Niall Mellon turns from houses to schools after crash, The Irish Times, 18 November 2015
- ^ "New Niall Mellon project building classrooms in South Africa". 21 March 2014 – via The Irish Times.
- ^ RTE (6 January 2014). "Niall Mellon guilty of breach of the peace". RTE. RTE. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ^ "Niall Mellon admits to public drunkenness and breaching the peace". The Irish Times. 2014-01-06.