Michelle Xia

Source of wealth: Biotech

59 years female Healthcare 🇺🇸 US

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 Michelle Xia's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Michelle Xia could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 0.6 years.

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

On the other end, Michelle Xia could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.2 years.

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Education

Buying the future

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

Michelle Xia could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.4 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 Michelle Xia could pay for it entirely for 0.5 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

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

Michelle Xia could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.1 years.

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

But even if we compare the total wealth of Michelle Xia 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 0.0 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

Michelle Xia's fortune is equivalent to 9 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.

Michelle Xia could buy 2,290,030 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 0 trucks to transport them. Although Michelle Xia will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

Biography

Michelle Yu Xia is cofounder, chairwoman and CEO of China-based biotech firm Akeso, which has multiple approved drugs in China to treat cancer.

Akeso has captured attention in the biotech world because one of its drugs outperformed Merck's bestseller Keytruda in a head to head Phase 3 trial in 2024.

The success of that Akeso drug, ivonescimab, drove up the price of Akeso's shares; the company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Prior to Akeso, Xia worked in research and at U.S. biotech firms for a dozen years starting in the mid 1990s and obtained U.S. citizenship while in America.

Akeso licensed its most promising cancer drug to Miami-based firm Summit Therapeutics in 2022 for markets including the U.S., Europe and Japan.