Harry Stine & family
Source of wealth: Agriculture
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Harry Stine & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Harry Stine & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 4.5 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Harry Stine & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.0 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Harry Stine & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.9 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 Harry Stine & family could pay for it entirely for 4.0 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Harry Stine & 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 16.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Harry Stine & 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 0.4 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Harry Stine & family's fortune is equivalent to 68 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.
Harry Stine & family could buy 18,087,006 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 Harry Stine & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Farm boy turned seed-genetics savant Harry Stine has made a fortune licensing corn and soybean genetics to multinationals like Monsanto and Syngenta.
Stine founded and runs Stine Seed; his current obsession is tinkering with seed genetics that allow for better yields or pesticide resistance.
The son of a hardscrabble farmer, Stine became fascinated with seeds when he was a boy growing up in Iowa.
He started farming at just five years old, driving a tractor to pick up straw bales.
Stine, who is dyslexic and mildly autistic, is also a math and data wiz and a formidable negotiator.
In the 1990s he struck highly lucrative licensing deals with large multinational corporations across the globe, which form the backbone of his empire.
He's donated to numerous Iowa institutions, including McPherson College, Drake University and Spurgeon Manor, a skilled nursing facility for seniors.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison