Marcel Erni

Source of wealth: Private equity

61 years male Finance & Investments 🇨🇭 CH

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 Marcel Erni's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Marcel Erni could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.4 years.

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

On the other end, Marcel Erni could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.6 years.

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Education

Buying the future

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

Marcel Erni could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.9 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 Marcel Erni could pay for it entirely for 1.3 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

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

Marcel Erni could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 5.3 years.

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

But even if we compare the total wealth of Marcel Erni 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

Marcel Erni's fortune is equivalent to 22 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.

Marcel Erni could buy 5,765,405 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 Marcel Erni will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Marcel Erni is the cofounder of Partners Group, a Swiss private equity firm with more than $131 billion in assets under management.

He started Partners Group in 1996 with fellow billionaires Alfred Gantner and Urs Wietlisbach; the trio had all worked at Zurich's Goldman Sachs.

The firm was reportedly created in a 300-square-foot office with Ikea desks, with its founders pooling together $100,000 for its startup capital.

Partners Group went public in Switzerland a decade later, and Erni still owns roughly 5% of the stock.

The University of Chicago alum also did a stint at McKinsey & Co. and has a PhD in finance and banking from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.