Hong Ra-hee
Source of wealth: Samsung
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Hong Ra-hee's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Hong Ra-hee could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 5.0 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Hong Ra-hee could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.2 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Hong Ra-hee could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.3 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 Hong Ra-hee could pay for it entirely for 4.4 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Hong Ra-hee could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 18.6 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Hong Ra-hee 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
Hong Ra-hee's fortune is equivalent to 76 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.
Hong Ra-hee could buy 20,257,559 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 4 trucks to transport them. Although Hong Ra-hee will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Hong Ra-hee is the widow of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had long been South Korea's richest person before his death in 2020.
She was the director of the Samsung Museum of Art, known as Leeum, and the Ho-Am Art Museum before her resignation in 2017.
Hong is an arts graduate of Seoul National University, and both museums contain collections from her father-in-law, Samsung founder Lee Byung-Chull.
Her father was chairman of one of Korea's largest daily newspapers, JoongAng Ilbo, which is now run by her nephew.
One of her brothers, Hong Seok-joh, is the chairman of Korea's biggest convenience-store chain.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison