Cheah Cheng Hye
Source of wealth: Investments
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Cheah Cheng Hye's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Cheah Cheng Hye 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, Cheah Cheng Hye 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
Cheah Cheng Hye 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 Cheah Cheng Hye 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
Cheah Cheng Hye 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 Cheah Cheng Hye 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
Cheah Cheng Hye's fortune is equivalent to 8 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.
Cheah Cheng Hye could buy 2,247,018 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 Cheah Cheng Hye will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Cheah Cheng Hye is honorary chairman of Hong Kong-listed asset management firm Value Partners Group, which he cofounded in 1993 and took public in 2007.
He stepped down as cochairman in January 2025.
Born in Malaysia, he worked as a reporter, subeditor and writer at the Star newspaper in the country after leaving Penang Free School with a high school diploma.
In 1974, he traveled to Hong Kong, where he had stints in journalism at the Standard, HK-TVB News, the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review.
He worked at Morgan Grenfell Group in Hong Kong before starting Value Partners.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison