Andrey Melnichenko & family
Source of wealth: Fertilizers, coal
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Andrey Melnichenko & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Andrey Melnichenko & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 9.2 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Andrey Melnichenko & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 4.1 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Andrey Melnichenko & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.0 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 Andrey Melnichenko & family could pay for it entirely for 8.2 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Andrey Melnichenko & family could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 34.4 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Andrey Melnichenko & family 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 0.8 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Andrey Melnichenko & family's fortune is equivalent to 140 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.
Andrey Melnichenko & family could buy 37,344,497 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 7 trucks to transport them. Although Andrey Melnichenko & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Andrey Melnichenko is the founder of fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK.
The son of a Soviet physicist, Melnichenko dropped out of college when the Soviet Union fell in 1991 to start a chain of currency exchange booths.
Two years later, he founded MDM Bank, which became one of Russia's most successful private banks.
Melnichenko's companies, which employ more than 100,000, have invested some $23 billion into fertilizer and coal production over the past 15 years.
Melnichenko was sanctioned by the EU and UK in March 2022, and by the US in August 2022; he called the sanctions "absurd and nonsensical" and is disputing them.
In 2022 Melnichenko's wife, Alexandra, became the beneficiary of a trust that holds stakes in Eurochem and SUEK.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison