Filip Balcaen & family
Source of wealth: Textiles
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Filip Balcaen & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Filip Balcaen & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 0.7 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Filip Balcaen & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.3 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Filip Balcaen & family 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 Filip Balcaen & family could pay for it entirely for 0.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Filip Balcaen & family could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.5 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Filip Balcaen & family 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
Filip Balcaen & family's fortune is equivalent to 10 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.
Filip Balcaen & family could buy 2,692,543 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 Filip Balcaen & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Filip Balcaen derives his fortune from his holding company Enterhold, which invests in a slew of private companies and real estate across Belgium, the Netherlands, China and the U.S., among other countries.
Prior to Enterhold, he led the Balta group, one of Belgium's largest carpet makers, which was founded by his father Paul Balcaen in 1964.
In 2004 Filip sold Balta and soon after started IVC, a manufacturer of vinyl tiles, which he sold to U.S.-based Mohawk Industries in 2015.
He has a controlling stake in Brussels-based Recticel, a company that specializes in insulation boards and panels.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison