John Tu
Source of wealth: Computer hardware
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare John Tu's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
John Tu could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 11.8 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, John Tu could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 5.2 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
John Tu could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 7.7 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 Tu could pay for it entirely for 10.5 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
John Tu could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 44.0 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of John Tu 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 1.0 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
John Tu's fortune is equivalent to 179 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 Tu could buy 47,783,775 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 9 trucks to transport them. Although John Tu will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Kingston Technology CEO John Tu runs the firm, which makes storage and memory products, from a cubicle on sales floor.
With longtime partner David Sun, Tu launched a computer memory business out of a garage and sold it to now defunct PC maker AST a few years later.
After losing a fortune in the stock market in 1987, the pair started Kingston to manufacture surface-mount memory chips.
Tu, a Chinese native who grew up in Taiwan, got an engineering degree in Germany and then immigrated to the U.S. in 1971.
Tu's first jobs in the U.S. included running a one-man gift shop with imported Chinese collectibles and selling commercial real estate.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison