Luis Carlos Sarmiento
Source of wealth: Banking
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Luis Carlos Sarmiento's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Luis Carlos Sarmiento could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 4.4 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Luis Carlos Sarmiento could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.9 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Luis Carlos Sarmiento could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.9 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 Luis Carlos Sarmiento could pay for it entirely for 3.9 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Luis Carlos Sarmiento could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 16.3 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Luis Carlos Sarmiento 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
Luis Carlos Sarmiento's fortune is equivalent to 67 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.
Luis Carlos Sarmiento could buy 17,750,297 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 Luis Carlos Sarmiento will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo took a fortune amassed in the construction industry and invested it in banks.
His Grupo Aval now controls one third of all banks in Colombia; his son Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutierrez is chairman.
After graduating with a degree in engineering, Sarmiento briefly worked at a construction company, but took a 10,000 pesos payout and started his own firm.
He bought Colombia's largest newspaper El Tiempo in 2012 for an estimated $250 million.
His construction firm built the Grand Hyatt in Bogota, which opened in August 2018.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison