Kirsten Rausing
Source of wealth: Packaging
...
...
The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Kirsten Rausing's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Kirsten Rausing could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 5.1 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Kirsten Rausing could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.3 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Kirsten Rausing could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.4 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 Kirsten Rausing could pay for it entirely for 4.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Kirsten Rausing could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 19.2 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Kirsten Rausing 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 0.4 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Kirsten Rausing's fortune is equivalent to 78 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.
Kirsten Rausing could buy 20,853,254 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 4 trucks to transport them. Although Kirsten Rausing will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Kirsten Rausing owns a third of packaging company TetraLaval, and sits on the board together with her brothers Finn and J?rn.
Kirsten's grandfather founded Tetra Pak, which invented aseptic ?packaging technology.
The new packaging made it possible to store beverages like milk and orange juice in carton instead of glass bottles.
Her late father, Gad, bought out Kirsten's uncle Hans in 1995 for an estimated $7 billion.
Kirsten and her two siblings Finn and J?rn also own a stake in International Flavors & Fragrances.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison