Barry Zekelman
Source of wealth: Steel
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Barry Zekelman's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Barry Zekelman 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, Barry Zekelman 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
Barry Zekelman could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.1 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 Barry Zekelman could pay for it entirely for 1.5 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Barry Zekelman could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Barry Zekelman 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
Barry Zekelman's fortune is equivalent to 25 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.
Barry Zekelman could buy 6,645,251 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 Barry Zekelman will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Barry Zekelman took over his family's steel business at age 19 and has since grown it into one of North America's largest steel pipe and tube makers.
He sold the company to the Carlyle Group in 2006 for some $1.2 billion, but continued to help run it. He and his family bought it back in 2011.
Today Barry and his two brothers, Clayton and Alan Zekelman, split 100% ownership of the $3.3 billion (revenues) firm, now named Zekelman Industries.
The company has also pumped more than $1 billion into Z Modular, a division that is developing modular apartment complexes in places such as Texas, Arizona and Canada.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison