David Duffield
Source of wealth: Business software
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare David Duffield's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
David Duffield could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.8 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, David Duffield could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.7 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
David Duffield could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.5 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 David Duffield could pay for it entirely for 3.3 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
David Duffield could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 14.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of David Duffield 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
David Duffield's fortune is equivalent to 57 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.
David Duffield could buy 15,304,637 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 3 trucks to transport them. Although David Duffield will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
David Duffield cofounded not just one, but two successful enterprise software companies after age 40: PeopleSoft and Workday.
He resigned as chairman of Workday in 2021; he cofounded the HR and finance software firm in 2005 and took it public in 2012.
Duffield cofounded PeopleSoft at age 47 in 1987 and sold it to Oracle for $10.7 billion in cash in 2005.
He founded his sixth enterprise software company, Ridgeline, in 2017, and is chairman of the cloud software firm for investment managers.
He has spent more than $900 million supporting animal welfare, education and other causes, mostly via his family foundation and Maddie's Fund.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison