Ben Lamm
Source of wealth: biotech
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Ben Lamm's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Ben Lamm could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.7 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Ben Lamm could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.8 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Ben Lamm 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 Ben Lamm 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
Ben Lamm could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.5 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Ben Lamm 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
Ben Lamm's fortune is equivalent to 26 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.
Ben Lamm could buy 7,047,496 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 Ben Lamm will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Ben Lamm cofounded Colossal with Harvard geneticist George Church in 2021 to try and bring back the woolly mammoth.
A serial entrepreneur, Lamm previously founded or cofounded five companies, each of which was ultimately acquired. Among them: Hypergiant, purchased by Josh Kushner's VC firm Thrive Capital in 2023.
Colossal has raised $615 million from investors that include TWG Global at a valuation of $10.32 billion.
Lamm believes that governments, which have long budgeted for conservation efforts, will pay Colossal to reintroduce extinct species or to prevent endangered ones from dying off.
Longer term, Lamm sees the potential for biovaults that work like a library of multiple tissue types of once-extinct creatures and critically endangered ones that researchers could rely on.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison