J. Joe Ricketts & family
Source of wealth: TD Ameritrade
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare J. Joe Ricketts & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
J. Joe Ricketts & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.7 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, J. Joe Ricketts & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.6 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
J. Joe Ricketts & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.4 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 J. Joe Ricketts & family could pay for it entirely for 3.3 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
J. Joe Ricketts & 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 13.9 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of J. Joe Ricketts & 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 0.3 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
J. Joe Ricketts & family's fortune is equivalent to 57 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.
J. Joe Ricketts & family could buy 15,072,858 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 J. Joe Ricketts & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Online stock trading pioneer Joe Ricketts founded brokerage firm Ameritrade five decades ago in Omaha, Nebraska and took it public in 1997.
His company acquired TD Waterhouse for $2.9 billion in stock and cash in 2006 and renamed itself TD Ameritrade.
In 2019, competitor Charles Schwab announced it would acquire TD Ameritrade in a $26 billion deal.
Ricketts retired from the board of directors of TD Ameritrade in 2011 but remained its largest individual shareholder until it was acquired.
In 2014, he funded the construction of religious silent retreat center, the Cloisters on the Platte, in Nebraska.
His four children are the majority owners of the Chicago Cubs, which won the World Series in 2016 for the first time in 108 years.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison