Leo KoGuan
Source of wealth: IT provider
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Leo KoGuan's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Leo KoGuan could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 4.0 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Leo KoGuan could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.8 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Leo KoGuan could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.6 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 Leo KoGuan could pay for it entirely for 3.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Leo KoGuan could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 14.9 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Leo KoGuan 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 0.3 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Leo KoGuan's fortune is equivalent to 61 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.
Leo KoGuan could buy 16,234,411 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 3 trucks to transport them. Although Leo KoGuan will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Leo KoGuan is founder and chairman of $15 billion (gross sales) IT provider SHI International, which his ex-wife Thai Lee, also a billionaire, runs as CEO.
Leo, who once claimed to be Tesla's third largest individual shareholder, is now an Elon Musk critic and says he's sold a chunk of his shares.
He posted on X in November that he was "no longer all-in-Tesla" and instead accumulating 3-month Treasury Bils.
Born in Indonesia, Koguan received a master's degree from Columbia University and a law degree from New York Law School.
He says his first investment was in Manhattan real estate, which he then sold to buy a software reseller, SHI's predecessor, for less than $1 million in 1989.
At the start of the pandemic market chaos, he sold most of his stock holdings, including shares of Baidu and Nvidia, to buy long-term Tesla call options.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison