Hiroshi Mikitani
Source of wealth: Online retail
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Hiroshi Mikitani's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Hiroshi Mikitani could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.7 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Hiroshi Mikitani could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.7 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Hiroshi Mikitani could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.1 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 Hiroshi Mikitani could pay for it entirely for 1.5 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Hiroshi Mikitani could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.2 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Hiroshi Mikitani 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
Hiroshi Mikitani's fortune is equivalent to 25 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.
Hiroshi Mikitani could buy 6,740,028 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 Hiroshi Mikitani will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Hiroshi Mikitani is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, one of Japan's biggest e-commerce retailers.
The firm launched its $5.5 billion mobile service in 2020.
In 2021, China's Tencent, Japan Post Holdings and Walmart together invested more than $2 billion in Rakuten.
In 2023, Rakuten listed its online lending subsidiary Rakuten Bank and sold off part of its stake in two tranches worth nearly $900 million.
For 2025, for the seventh straight year of red ink, Rakuten reported a net loss of $1.1 billion on revenue of $16.1 billion.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison