The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare John Caudwell's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
John Caudwell could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.9 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, John Caudwell could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.8 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
John Caudwell could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.2 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 Caudwell could pay for it entirely for 1.7 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
John Caudwell could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 7.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of John Caudwell 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 0.2 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
John Caudwell's fortune is equivalent to 29 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 Caudwell could buy 7,658,232 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 John Caudwell will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
John Caudwell founded mobile phone retailer Phones 4u before selling his stake in 2006 and 2011.
Born into a working-class family, he and brother Brian first started selling mobile phones in 1987.
Six years later the brothers founded Singlepoint, a mobile service provider that was acquired by Vodafone in 2003 for $650 million.
Caudwell pumped his share of the money into Phones 4u, which grew into the U.K.'s largest independent mobile phone retailer.
Three years later he sold a majority stake to Providence Equity Partners for $2.8 billion and, in 2011, unloaded the remaining 25% for $272 million.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison