The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Abel Avellan's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Abel Avellan could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 2.9 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Abel Avellan could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.3 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Abel Avellan could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.9 years.
And yes, we can also compare it with a rich country
But they couldn't just cover the cost of a poor country; Luxembourg is considered the country with the highest per capita investment in education in the world, and Abel Avellan could pay for it entirely for 2.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Abel Avellan could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 10.8 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Abel Avellan with Israel, the country that invests the most per capita in research in the world, they could cover the total cost of the system for 0.2 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Abel Avellan's fortune is equivalent to 44 tons of gold. It's hard to process, since we don't usually keep a handful of gold bars in our piggy banks.
A standard gold ring usually weighs between 4 and 7 grams. Let's say this one weighs 5 grams. It's usually 18 karats.
Based on today's gold price (excluding the jeweler's commission, shipping, or anything else), that ring would be worth $546.86.
Abel Avellan could buy 11,694,382 gold rings. That's a lot of fingers and way too many gifts!!
And if you're struggling to visualize that many rings, it would take 2 trucks to transport them. Although Abel Avellan will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Abel Avellan is the founder and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, which is building satellites that enable broadband connections directly to cell phones.
Avellan was born in Venezuela, where he trained as an engineer. After college, we went to work for Swedish communications giant Ericsson.
Avellan founded his first company, Emerging Markets Communications in 2000, which provided satellite communications to remote places.
He sold Emerging Markets Communications in 2016 for $550 million, and used his share of the proceeds to found AST.
AST SpaceMobile has contracts with Verizon, AT&T and Vodafone to provide connections to customers in areas without tower coverage.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison