Gerald Ford

Source of wealth: Banking

81 years male Finance & Investments 🇺🇸 US

Net Worth

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Earnings per second

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The scale of their wealth

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Health

The price of life

Let's compare Gerald Ford's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Gerald Ford could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.4 years.

But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country

On the other end, Gerald Ford could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.6 years.

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Education

Buying the future

Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country

Gerald Ford could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.9 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 Gerald Ford could pay for it entirely for 1.2 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country

Gerald Ford could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 5.2 years.

And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide

But even if we compare the total wealth of Gerald Ford 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.

While billions of people struggle to access basic healthcare, education, and research, a single individual could fund entire national systems for centuries.

Gold

Everyday luxuries

Gerald Ford's fortune is equivalent to 21 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.

Gerald Ford could buy 5,679,141 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 Gerald Ford will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Gerald Ford has been buying distressed banks and turning them around since 1975, when he bought his first bank.

His first big success was in 2002, when he and his billionaire friend Ronald Perelman sold Golden State Bancorp to Citigroup for $6 billion in stock.

Ford has a 25% stake in public Hilltop Holdings, which owns PlainsCapital Bank, mortgage originator PrimeLending and investment bank HilltopSecurities.

Ford's son Jeremy Ford is CEO of Hilltop Holdings and his son-in-law Corey Prestidge is general counsel and executive vice president of the firm.

Ford's California-based Mechanics Bank has more than $22 billion in assets.