Julio Ponce Lerou
Source of wealth: Fertilizer
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Julio Ponce Lerou's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Julio Ponce Lerou 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, Julio Ponce Lerou 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
Julio Ponce Lerou 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 Julio Ponce Lerou 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
Julio Ponce Lerou 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 Julio Ponce Lerou 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
Julio Ponce Lerou'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.
Julio Ponce Lerou could buy 7,694,892 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 Julio Ponce Lerou will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Julio Ponce Lerou owns a 17% stake in Sociedad de Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), a publicly-traded chemicals and mining company.
He resigned as chairman of SQM in 2015, citing personal reasons.
SQM is one of the world's largest miners of lithium, which is used in batteries for electric cars.
For almost 40 years Ponce headed SQM, which also mines and sells potassium nitrate and iodine -- chemicals used in fertilizers.
He is a former son-in-law of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and SQM was privatized by Pinochet's government in the 1980s.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison