Primark co-founder W Galen Weston has died at the age of 80, his family has announced.
He passed away peacefully at home after a long illness, according to Reuters.
Weston was born in Buckinghamshire but moved to Ireland at the age of 21, where he met his future wife, Hilary Frayne.
Using funds given to him by his grandmother, he then founded a line of retailers in Ireland, one of which went on to become the Primark we know today.
Weston spent his life moving between the UK, Ireland, the US, and Canada, where his family's businesses had been based since the late 19th century. He was part of a long line of successful business people: his father, W Garfield Weston, and grandfather, George Weston, had previously set up successful companies, including George Weston Ltd, in Canada. Weston and his family went on to buy and run Selfridges, the British department store brand.
He went on to be awarded the Order of Ontario and made a commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his charity work, which included funding scientific research into preserving Canada's fragile wildlife and Arctic regions.
"In our business and in his life he built a legacy of extraordinary accomplishment and joy," Galen Weston Jr, chairman and CEO of George Weston Ltd, told Reuters.
"The luxury retail industry has lost a great visionary," Alannah Weston, Weston Sr's daughter and chair of Selfridges Group, said.
Weston is survived by his wife Hilary, daughter Alannah Weston, and son Galen Weston Jr.
