Balkrishan Goenka
Source of wealth: Textiles
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Balkrishan Goenka's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Balkrishan Goenka could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.6 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Balkrishan Goenka could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.7 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Balkrishan Goenka could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.0 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 Balkrishan Goenka could pay for it entirely for 1.4 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Balkrishan Goenka could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 5.8 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Balkrishan Goenka 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 0.1 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Balkrishan Goenka's fortune is equivalent to 24 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.
Balkrishan Goenka could buy 6,342,719 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 1 trucks to transport them. Although Balkrishan Goenka will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Balkrishan Goenka controls and runs the Welspun Group in Mumbai, with interests in textiles and pipes.
Spurning his family's trading business, Goenka borrowed $100,000 from his father, took a bank loan and started Welspun in 1985 to make polyester yarn.
He expanded into home linen, focusing on the export market, with customers such as Walmart and Macy's.
His Welspun Corp is one of the largest pipe companies in the world.
His wife Dipali runs listed home textiles maker Welspun India.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison