Hwang Chul-joo
Source of wealth: Semiconductors
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Hwang Chul-joo's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Hwang Chul-joo 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, Hwang Chul-joo 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
Hwang Chul-joo could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.5 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 Hwang Chul-joo 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
Hwang Chul-joo could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Hwang Chul-joo 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
Hwang Chul-joo's fortune is equivalent to 11 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.
Hwang Chul-joo could buy 2,960,668 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 Hwang Chul-joo will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Hwang Chul-joo is the founder, chairman and CEO of South Korean industrial equipment maker Jusung Engineering.
Jusung Engineering makes equipment for mass production of semiconductors, solar cells and advanced digital displays.
Its equipment specializes in thin-film deposition, which is the process of coating thin-film (atomic level) layers of chemicals onto a surface, such as a silicon wafer or glass substrate.
The company draws the bulk of its revenue from the semiconductor business, supplying atomic layer deposition equipment to companies such as memory giant SK Hynix.
Hwang founded Jusung Engineering in 1993 and listed it in 1999. Previously, he worked at Hyundai Electronics (the predecessor to SK Hynix) and semiconductor equipment maker ASM International.
Financial Assets
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison