It was their entire remaining royalty earnings. They also deleted their back catalogue so they couldn't earn any more. I remember having to buy Japanese imports when I wanted CD copies of the White Room and Chill Out as a teenager. It was only a couple of years ago when they finally reissued any of their work.
Not so - it was the majority of their music industry earnings, and they are apparently quite haunted by it to this day!
They sound to me like astronomical idiots the likes of which will rarely be approached in the past, present, and future of the human race.