Michael Moritz
Source of wealth: Venture capital
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Michael Moritz's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Michael Moritz could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 3.7 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Michael Moritz could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.6 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Michael Moritz could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.4 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 Michael Moritz could pay for it entirely for 3.3 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Michael Moritz could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 13.8 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Michael Moritz 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
Michael Moritz's fortune is equivalent to 56 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.
Michael Moritz could buy 14,998,665 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 Michael Moritz will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Wales native Michael Moritz got his start as a journalist at Time Magazine after immigrating to America in 1976.
Moritz wrote an early biography of Steve Jobs and Apple, "The Little Kingdom," while he was Time's San Francisco bureau chief.
After making the jump to venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, Moritz invested in companies such as Google, LinkedIn and PayPal.
He stepped back from a leadership role at Sequoia in 2012 after being diagnosed with a rare and undisclosed medical condition.
In 2023, Sequoia announced in a letter to its limited partners that Moritz had left the firm after 38 years.
Moritz said in the letter he intended to shift focus to Sequoia Heritage, a wealth management business that runs independently to the venture practice.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison