By Business & Finance 
Eddie Jordan is to posthumously receive the Outstanding Contribution to Ireland Award at the 2025 Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG.
The Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG, have today announced that the late Formula One team Founder of Jordan Grand Prix and entrepreneur Eddie Jordan will posthumously be honoured with the 2025 Outstanding Contribution to Ireland Award at a gala ceremony on Thursday, December 11th 2025 in the company of over 1000 International Business, Political and Social Leaders.
Eddie Jordan is being recognised for his extraordinary legacy as a visionary and trailblazer in international motorsport, a dynamic force in business and an unyielding ambassador for Ireland on the world stage.
Early life
Born Edmund Patrick Jordan (Eddie) on 30 March 1948 in Dublin, the future Formula One team founder was the son of Eileen, a housewife, and Danny, an accountant for the Electricity Supply Board.
“My mother was the boss and head of the family, and I think I took a lot from her,” Jordan said. “We had that strong mother-and-youngest-son bond. I was driven.”
The young Jordan attended Synge Street Christian Brothers School, noted at the time for its strict discipline. He displayed business acumen from a young age, trading conkers, marbles and books with his fellow students.
He briefly considered careers in dentistry and the priesthood before joining Bank of Ireland as a clerk at their branch in Mullingar.
A banking strike in 1970 prompted him to move to the island of Jersey, where he discovered kart racing. The young Jordan was fascinated by it.
Motor racing
Jordan returned to Dublin and purchased his own kart. In 1971, he entered the Irish Kart Championship and won, sparking a long and illustrious career in motor racing.
In 1974, he moved up to Formula Ford, the Irish Formula Ford Championship and, in 1975, to Formula Three.
However, he was forced to sit out the 1976 season after breaking both legs in a crash at the Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire in 1975.
Once his injuries had healed, he moved to Formula Atlantic, winning the Irish Formula Atlantic Championship in 1978.
Team owner
Jordan married Marie (née McCarthy), a former basketball player for Ireland, in 1979. At this time, he decided to switch from driving to team ownership.
His first team was called Eddie Jordan Racing. The team ran notable drivers such as David Leslie and David Sears in 1981 and James Weaver in 1982.
In 1983, Jordan signed Martin Brundle, and the team enjoyed a standout season in British Formula 3. Brundle came a close second to Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna.
“We so nearly won the championship because we psyched Senna, and he started to make mistakes,” Jordan said.
Eddie Jordan Racing won the British F3 title in 1987 with driver Johnny Herbert.
Jordan expanded his team with the launch of Formula 3000 in 1985. In 1989, Eddie Jordan Racing’s new signing, the French driver Alesi, won the F3000 title by winning three races.
Formula One
Inspired by Herbert and Alesi, Jordan decided to make the jump to Formula One. He founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991, with sponsorship from Marlboro, 7UP and the Irish government.
The team employed Gary Anderson as its car designer and received engines supplied by Cosworth.
Jordan signed drivers Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot, who achieved strong results until Gachot was sentenced to time in prison in 1991 for a road rage incident. Jordan replaced him with Michael Schumacher, who made his F1 debut with the team.
In 1998, Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher brought the team their first win at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen added two more wins the following year, helping Jordan’s team finish in third place in the World Championship.
In 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella won the team’s final victory at Interlagos in Brazil.
Following financial difficulties at the turn of the millennium, Jordan sold Jordan Grand Prix to billionaire Alex Schnaider for a reported $60m in 2005.
In 2006 the team became Midland F1.
After Formula One, Jordan established himself as a popular media personality and expert commentator, appearing on BBC and Channel 4.
Entrepreneurship, charity work, and art
Jordan held numerous interests outside the world of motor racing, and was a noted entrepreneur.
He had built a substantial property portfolio and was a shareholder in Celtic FC and co-owner of the London Irish Rugby Club. He was also an investor in Kinmont Advisory and a partner in hedge fund Clareville Capital, and was a friend of Irish businessmen Dermot Desmond and Denis O’Brien.
Jordan also had investments in the gaming and entertainment businesses. In July 2021, Jordan’s name was linked with a $1 billion bid to buy the OpenBet business from Scientific Games.
Jordan launched his own brand of vodka called ‘V-10’ and the energy drink ‘EJ-10.’
Jordan adored rock music and played drums in his band Eddie’s Pitstop Boogie Boys, later known as Eddie & the Robbers. He counted among his contacts The Beatles’ George Harrison, Genesis’ Mike Rutherford, Chris Rea and John Lydon (Johnny Rotten).
He was a keen collector of Irish art and boasted a collection comprising works by Louis le Brocquy, Felim Egan and Markey Robinson.
He was a patron of the child cancer charity CLIC Sargent and the youth charity the Amber Foundation.
Jordan also received honorary doctorates from both the University of Ulster and Dublin Institute of Technology. He received the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin (UCD), and the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin.
In March 2012, Jordan was awarded an honorary OBE for services to charity and motor racing.
Legacy
In December 2024, Jordan announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer. He passed away peacefully at his family home in Cape Town, South Africa, on 20 March 2025 at the age of 76.
Fondly remembered by his peers, Jordan leaves a legacy that combines entrepreneurship, creativity, risk-taking and resilience.
Former F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, spoke to the Financial Times after Jordan’s passing.
“He was the sort of guy you got attached to”, he said. “He’s just such a special guy, a first class person, he was very straightforward, always doing the best he could to get a few dollars”.
“Even if he’s been away from F1 for a long time, people won’t forget Eddie, ever. There’s nobody in F1 like Eddie today”.
The Outstanding Contribution to Ireland Award
The Outstanding Contribution to Ireland Award forms a central part of the Business & Finance Awards programme, Ireland’s longest-running and most prestigious business honours initiative.
Now in its 51st year, the programme has previously recognised global figures including President Clinton, Mary Robinson, Senator George Mitchell, Tony O’Reilly, Ursula von der Leyen, Christine Lagarde, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and President Volodymyr Zelensky among others.
Ryan McCarthy, Managing Partner of KPMG said: “Eddie Jordan exemplified the energy, ingenuity and tenacity that drives Ireland’s global reputation in both sport and business. His ability to lead with courage, adapt with flair, and inspire with authenticity is a legacy we are proud to celebrate.”
Ian Hyland, President and Publisher of Business & Finance, said: “Eddie Jordan’s impact on the global sporting and business landscapes is immense. He was an unyielding maverick, an unrelenting competitor, never giving up in building the first Irish owned Formula One team and later numerous successful businesses across the globe. Eddie remained a proud Irishman and a champion of young leaders using his platforms of success”.
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