Michael Patterson
Source of wealth: Private equity
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Michael Patterson's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Michael Patterson could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 0.9 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Michael Patterson could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.4 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Michael Patterson could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.6 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 Michael Patterson could pay for it entirely for 0.8 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Michael Patterson could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.2 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Michael Patterson 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.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Michael Patterson's fortune is equivalent to 13 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 Patterson could buy 3,478,272 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 Michael Patterson will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Michael Patterson is a founding partner of HPS Investment Partners, one of the world's biggest alternative credit managers with $149 billion in assets.
He oversees HPS' specialty lending, corporate lending and core senior lending funds, and previously worked at Silver Point Capital and Goldman Sachs.
HPS was sold to BlackRock in July 2025 for around $12 billion in BlackRock stock.
Prior to his investing career, he served as an officer in the United States Navy. He serves on the Dean's Advisory Council for the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard.
Patterson holds an AB in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison