Mike Lynch, the billionaire son of Irish parents, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch are among the people confirmed to have died during the Bayesian yacht shipwreck in Italy on Monday, August 19.
Mike’s body was recovered on Thursday while his daughter’s was recovered on Friday. They are among the seven casualties of what is being deemed a ‘freak accident’ that occurred at the port of Porticello in Sicily, Italy early on Monday.
“The Lynch family is devastated, in shock, and is being comforted and supported by family and friends,” a spokesperson for the family said on Friday, August 23.
“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy.
“They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.
“Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”
Separately, Hannah’s sister Esme said in a heartbreaking statement: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me.
“Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.
“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.
“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.
“She is my little angel, my star.”
Mike Lynch, sometimes referred to as the ‘British Bill Gates,’ was born to Irish parents – his mother, a nurse, was from Co Tipperary, and his father, a firefighter, was from Co Cork.
In an RTÉ Radio interview in 2015, Mike said: “I had lots of extended family in Carrick and I have very, very fond memories of holidays spent in Tipperary.
“It’s a beautiful part of Ireland, down there. You’ve got the River Suir going through the town and you can imagine when you’re a young boy going out there and being taken fishing and all sorts of things by the uncles, just wonderful.”
In the same interview, Mike confirmed that he was born in Ilford in London, despite reports claiming that he was born in Ireland. He attributed the confusion to an error on his Wikipedia page.
Mike, who graduated from Cambridge, went on to say that his parents liked to encourage him, but that they also didn’t let him get “too much of a big head.”
In 2011, Mike made an estimated $800 million when Hewlett-Packard bought Autonomy, the tech company he founded in 1996, for about $11 billion. The following year, however, Hewlett-Packard claimed Autonomy’s value had been massively inflated and announced a writedown of $8.8 billion.
Mike denied the allegations.
The UK Serious Fraud Office investigated the allegations but announced in 2015 that it was ending its investigation with no action due to insufficient evidence.
In November 2018, Mike was indicted for fraud in the US along with Stephen Chamberlain, former vice president of finance at Autonomy. Mike submitted himself for arrest in February 2020 and was released on $10 million bail. Mike was extradited to the US – after his appeal against it was rejected – in January 2022.
Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard launched civil action against Mike and Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s CFO, in London’s High Court in 2019, accusing them of artificially inflating “Autonomy’s reported revenues, revenue growth, and gross margins.” Following a nine-month trial, the court ruled in Hewlett-Packard’s favor. The judge said the amount of damages to be paid would be dealt with at a later date. The Associated Press reported this week that the US company was seeking $4 billion.
Mike and Stephen’s US trial began in March of this year and concluded in June. Both were found not guilty on all charges.
Stephen was fatally struck by a car in England on August 17, just days before Mike’s tragic passing.
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency told the Associated Press on Monday that a tornado over the water known as a waterspout struck the area overnight.
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Cocina said
22 people – 10 passengers and 12 crewmembers – were on board. Mike was reportedly celebrating his recent acquittal with the people who had defended him at trial.
As well as Mike and his daughter Hannah, Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s US lawyers, and his wife, Neda; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife, Judy; and Recaldo Thomas, the yacht’s chef, all perished.
Angela Bercales, Mike’s wife and Hannah’s mother, is among the 15 survivors of the tragedy. Early reports said an Irish national was also among the survivors.
As is typical, an investigation into the sinking of the yacht has been launched and is continuing.
