Kim Sang-beom

Source of wealth: Semiconductors

65 years male Technology 🇰🇷 KR

Net Worth

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Earnings per second

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The scale of their wealth

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Health

The price of life

Let's compare Kim Sang-beom's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Kim Sang-beom could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 0.7 years.

But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country

On the other end, Kim Sang-beom could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.3 years.

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Education

Buying the future

Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country

Kim Sang-beom could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.5 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 Kim Sang-beom could pay for it entirely for 0.7 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country

Kim Sang-beom could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.8 years.

And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide

But even if we compare the total wealth of Kim Sang-beom 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.

While billions of people struggle to access basic healthcare, education, and research, a single individual could fund entire national systems for centuries.

Gold

Everyday luxuries

Kim Sang-beom's fortune is equivalent to 11 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.

Kim Sang-beom could buy 2,995,229 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 Kim Sang-beom will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Kim Sang-beom is chairman of ISU Group, a holding company with stakes in semiconductor, chemical and biotech sectors.

ISU Group's most valuable holding is ISU Petasys, a manufacturer of printed circuit boards in South Korea. Its customers include Alphabet, Nvidia and Microsoft.

ISU Petasys was established in 1972 and listed on the South Korean stock exchange in 2000. ISU Group acquired a controlling stake in ISU Petasys in 1995.

ISU Group was started by Kim's late father, Joon-sung, who founded South Korea's first regional bank, Daegu Bank, in 1967.

Sang-beom joined ISU Group in 2000 as chairman, taking over the reins from his father. Before joining the family business, Sang-beom worked at Daewoo and was a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York.