John Brown
Source of wealth: Medical equipment
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare John Brown's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
John Brown could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.1 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, John Brown could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.4 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
John Brown could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.0 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 John Brown could pay for it entirely for 2.7 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
John Brown could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 11.5 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of John Brown 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
John Brown's fortune is equivalent to 47 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.
John Brown could buy 12,498,745 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 2 trucks to transport them. Although John Brown will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
John Brown ran Stryker Corp., a medical device and software company, for 32 years before retiring as chairman in 2009.
Stryker's revenues climbed from $17 million to $6.7 billion under Brown's leadership. He led the IPO of Stryker in 1979.
Brown is chairman emeritus of Stryker's board and owns slightly more than 5% of the company.
Stryker Corp. was founded by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Homer Stryker from Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1941, who made devices to help with procedures.
Brown sat on the board of St. Jude Medical until it was acquired by Abbott Labs in January 2017.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison