Ben Silbermann
Source of wealth: Social media
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Ben Silbermann's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Ben Silbermann could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 0.6 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Ben Silbermann could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.2 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Ben Silbermann could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.4 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 Silbermann could pay for it entirely for 0.5 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Ben Silbermann could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Ben Silbermann 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 0.0 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Ben Silbermann's fortune is equivalent to 9 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 Silbermann could buy 2,276,847 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 0 trucks to transport them. Although Ben Silbermann will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Ben Silbermann is cofounder and chairman of the photo bookmarking site Pinterest.
Silbermann grew up in Iowa and collected dried insects which he then would pin on cardboard.
He and cofounders Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra, launched the first desktop version of Pinterest in March 2010.
Pinterest lets its 570 million users save and share image collections from recipes to hairstyles to crafts and home decor through their mobile phones or computers.
Prior to cofounding Pinterest, Silbermann graduated from Yale, spent three years as a consultant and worked for Google before quitting to focus on a startup, Cold Brew Labs.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison