IT SEEMS we have vastly underestimated the wealth of Kingspan founder and chairman Eugene Murtagh, judging by the proceedings of a High Court case this week being pursued by the Kingspan founder and chairman.

Murtagh, who made his fortune in building materials, is suing Merrill Lynch for compensation relating to an investment he made with the bank in 2007 that left him nursing losses of €3.8 million.

In an affidavit, Murtagh said he bought 5,000 “five-year non- interest-bearing outperformance certificates” in February 2007 for €24.875 million, including a €375,000 investment fee.

He said he chose that product on the basis of representations made by Merrill’s London branch to his son Paul, who is a former employee of the bank.

The purchase was financed by a €22.7 million loan, also from Merrill Lynch. The investment turned sour and Murtagh is now in dispute with Merrill.

It emerged in court that the investment by Murtagh, who also owns the Hempel hotel in London, amounted to 2 per cent of his net worth.

This would indicate Murtagh was worth €1.24 billion net in 2007, a figure that would have placed him in the company of Dermot Desmond, Denis O’Brien, Seán Quinn and

Hilary Weston, among the 10 wealthiest people in Ireland at that time.

In the 2008 version of the Sunday Times Rich List, his wealth was estimated at €425 million, ranking him 31st.

This was the first time he was listed separately from his  brother Brendan, also a Kingspan founder.

He fell to 66th by the time of this year’s list with wealth of €126 million, largely due to the collapse in Kingspan’s share price. While the true figure is probably higher, Murtagh’s wealth has taken a big hit, which might explain his willingness to wash his dirty laundry in public.