Alain Bouchard
Source of wealth: Convinience stores
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Alain Bouchard's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Alain Bouchard could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.4 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Alain Bouchard could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.5 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Alain Bouchard could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.2 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 Alain Bouchard could pay for it entirely for 3.0 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Alain Bouchard could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 12.5 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Alain Bouchard 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 0.3 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Alain Bouchard's fortune is equivalent to 51 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.
Alain Bouchard could buy 13,612,086 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 Alain Bouchard will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Alain Bouchard cofounded convenience store conglomerate Alimentation Couche-Tard with a single Quebec shop in 1980.
As executive chairman, Bouchard still oversees the $73 billion (sales) company, which boasts more than 17,000 owned or franchised stores worldwide.
Bouchard, who grew the business rapidly by snatching up competitors, retired as president and CEO in September 2014.
Couche-Tard acquired the Circle K chain in 2003 and the Holiday Stationstores and CST Brands chains in 2017.
Couche-Tard made a $20 billion bid for French food retailer Carrefour in early 2021, but the French government nixed the deal.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison