Financier Mr Dermot Desmond may be the closest thing Ireland has to a George Soros or Warren Buffett. His latest coup is the sale of Baltimore Technologies, in which he held a stake estimated at between 55 and 60 per cent, to Zergo Holdings. Mr Desmond, who bought his shares for an undisclosed sum, will receive $10 million (£6.7 million) in cash from the deal and retain a 15 per cent stake, worth nearly £17 million, in the new company.

Through his investment vehicle International Investments & Underwriting (IIU), he held a 50 per cent stake in the aircraft leasing group, Pembroke Capital, which made a quantum leap forward earlier this month when it announced it was merging with the aircraft leasing subsidiary of Rolls Royce to create one of the top five aircraft leasing companies in the world. Mr Desmond will own 30 per cent of the new company.

He made up to £14 million for his 56 per cent stake in NCB Stockbrokers, when it was sold to Ulster Bank four years ago. The software company Quay, in which he owned a 75 per cent stake, was also sold for around £20 million.

He sold his stake in food group Golden Vale for an estimated £3 million profit earlier this year. Other IIU investments include a stake in Datalex, a Dublin-based supplier of information technology to the travel and transport industry, and Intuition Publishing, a provider of on-line financial training.