Charles Simonyi
Source of wealth: Microsoft
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Charles Simonyi's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Charles Simonyi could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.4 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Charles Simonyi could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.5 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Charles Simonyi could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.2 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 Charles Simonyi could pay for it entirely for 3.0 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Charles Simonyi could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 12.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Charles Simonyi 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 0.3 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Charles Simonyi's fortune is equivalent to 52 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.
Charles Simonyi could buy 13,769,680 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 2 trucks to transport them. Although Charles Simonyi will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Early Microsoft employee Charles Simonyi is the man behind some of the company's most successful software, including Word and Excel.
The developer has a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford and worked on one of the first personal computers at Xerox.
He joined Microsoft, then a fledgling firm, as employee No. 40 in 1981 and spent two decades in application development.
A native of Hungary, he left Microsoft in 2002 and founded Intentional Software, which develops platforms for productivity apps.
Microsoft acquired Intentional Software in 2017 for an undisclosed price, bringing Simonyi back to the Redmond, Washington giant.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison