Chung Yong-jin
Source of wealth: Retail
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Chung Yong-jin's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Chung Yong-jin could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.3 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Chung Yong-jin could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.6 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Chung Yong-jin could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.8 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 Chung Yong-jin could pay for it entirely for 1.1 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Chung Yong-jin could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 4.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Chung Yong-jin 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
Chung Yong-jin's fortune is equivalent to 19 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.
Chung Yong-jin could buy 5,112,009 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 Chung Yong-jin will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Chung Yong-jin is a grandson of Samsung group founder Lee Byung-Chull and a cousin of Samsung Electronics executive chairman Jay Y. Lee.
The bulk of his fortune comes from Samsung Electronics and discount chain E-Mart, a unit of Korea's retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group.
In 2024, Chung was promoted from vice chairman to chairman of Shinsegae, a retail conglomerate.
In 2021, Shinsegae acquired Korean baseball team SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers), winner of four championships, from the SK group for about $120 million.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison