Jean Coutu & family
Source of wealth: Drugstores
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Jean Coutu & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Jean Coutu & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.6 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Jean Coutu & family 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
Jean Coutu & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.0 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 Jean Coutu & family could pay for it entirely for 1.4 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Jean Coutu & 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 5.9 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Jean Coutu & 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 0.1 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Jean Coutu & family's fortune is equivalent to 24 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.
Jean Coutu & family could buy 6,446,735 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 Jean Coutu & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
The billionaire in the white lab coat, Jean Coutu founded the Canadian drugstore chain that bears his name.
In 2017 Coutu agreed to sell the publicly-traded company to European supermarket giant Metro for $4.5 billion in cash and stock.
Son of a pediatrician, he opened his first pharmacy in 1969, offering low prices, good customer service and extended hours.
Coutu, who was chief executive until 2002 and then again from 2005 to 2007, grew The Jean Coutu Group by acquiring many of his competitors.
The company was once a leading shareholder of U.S. drug store operator Rite Aid but sold the last of its stake in 2013.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison