{"id":306861,"date":"2025-07-25T17:37:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T15:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/2025\/07\/from-monaco-to-ireland-sir-stelios-launches-e500000-prize-for-cross-border-entrepreneurship\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T17:40:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T15:40:50","slug":"from-monaco-to-ireland-sir-stelios-launches-e500000-prize-for-cross-border-entrepreneurship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2025\/07\/from-monaco-to-ireland-sir-stelios-launches-e500000-prize-for-cross-border-entrepreneurship\/","title":{"rendered":"From Monaco to Ireland: Sir Stelios launches \u20ac500,000 prize for cross-border entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Greek-Cypriot billionaire and Monaco resident is extending his philanthropic efforts to the Emerald Isle with an ambitious initiative that began in the Principality.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Monegasque origin<\/h2>\n\n

The idea for the North-South Business Cooperation Awards for Ireland originated in Monaco. It was during a lunch at the Princess Grace Irish Library, attended by Prince Albert II, that\u00a0<\/span>Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou<\/span><\/a>, founder of EasyJet and Monaco resident, met the former Irish ambassador to London and Washington, Daniel Mulhall. The chance meeting in the Principality would give rise to a major philanthropic initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

“I approached him, and I said, ‘I’m doing this in Cyprus. Do you think it might work in Ireland?’ Immediately, he said ‘yes’, and the rest is history,”<\/em>\u00a0Sir Stelios tells\u00a0The Irish Times<\/em><\/a> from his Monaco home.<\/p>\n\n

Deep personal involvement<\/h2>\n\n

The billionaire’s interest in Ireland goes beyond mere philanthropy. Sir Stelios lives in Monaco with his Irish partner Orla Murphy, originally from Kerry, and is the father of seven-year-old Aria.\u00a0 “We chose a name equally easy to pronounce in Greek and English,”<\/em>\u00a0he says.<\/p>\n\n

The family dimension transformed his involvement:\u00a0“I wanted to do something more substantial in Ireland because, obviously, I’m spending time there. I have family there now. One day, hopefully, this foundation will be run by her, and I want to have a bigger project in Ireland.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Sir Stelios: over \u20ac100m donated to his charitable foundations since 2010<\/a><\/blockquote>