Eugene Murtagh Net Worth

Eugene Murtagh has an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Eugene Murtagh profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.3 billion in 2019.

Eugene Murtagh is an Irish businessman best known for starting Kingspan Group, a building materials company. He began in the early 1960s making trailers with Andrea Carolan while he worked as a fitter and she worked as a hairdresser. Forbes says he founded Kingspan in 1965. The business started small, with agricultural trailers built behind his family’s bar, and later grew into a major manufacturer.

His wealth comes mainly from Kingspan, which sells insulation products for commercial and industrial projects. He was the company’s CEO until 2005, and he later stepped down as chairman and non-executive director in 2021. Forbes says he owns about 15% of the Dublin- and London-listed company. Kingspan also expanded through acquisitions and reached 212 manufacturing facilities in some 80 countries, with revenue of over $8 billion in 2022.

How Eugene Murtagh built his fortune

Murtagh made his money through manufacturing. In the early 1960s, he and Andrea Carolan started a trailer business, and Forbes says he founded Kingspan in 1965. What began with agricultural trailers behind Murtagh’s family bar developed into a much larger company. Kingspan now focuses mainly on insulation products used in commercial and industrial projects, putting Murtagh in the building materials business rather than consumer goods or property.

A big part of his wealth is his ownership stake. Forbes says he holds about 15% of Kingspan, which is listed in Dublin and London. The company also grew by making acquisitions, not just by selling more products from its original base. By 2022, Kingspan had 212 manufacturing facilities in some 80 countries and revenue of over $8 billion. Murtagh stopped serving as chairman and non-executive director in 2021.

Forbes net worth timeline

Forbes estimated Murtagh’s fortune at $1.3 billion in 2019, then $1.4 billion in 2020. The figure climbed to $2.3 billion in 2021 and $2.8 billion in 2022, before dropping to $2.1 billion in 2023. It then moved back up to $2.8 billion in 2024 and edged down to $2.7 billion in 2025. Those swings show how a large stake in a public manufacturing company can move over time.

In 2026, Forbes put his wealth at $2.9 billion on its World’s Billionaires list, and later showed $3.1 billion on its real-time tracker as of October 20, 2026. The core driver stayed the same: his long-held ownership in Kingspan. Because the company is a large listed manufacturer with insulation as its main business and a broad international footprint, changes in its scale can have a big effect on his Forbes estimate.