Lee Boo-jin
Source of wealth: Samsung
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Lee Boo-jin's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Lee Boo-jin could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 5.3 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Lee Boo-jin 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
Lee Boo-jin could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.5 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 Lee Boo-jin could pay for it entirely for 4.7 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Lee Boo-jin could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 19.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Lee Boo-jin 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
Lee Boo-jin's fortune is equivalent to 80 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.
Lee Boo-jin could buy 21,450,241 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 Lee Boo-jin will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Lee Boo-jin is the president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, one of Seoul's top lodging and conference centers.
Hotel Shilla is also one of the country's biggest duty-free operators.
Lee has also served as an advisor for the trading department of Samsung C&T, her family's de-facto holding company.
Daughter of late Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, she split her father's empire with her mother Hong Ra-hee, brother Jay Y. and sister Seo-hyun.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison