#365

Morris Chang

Source of wealth: Semiconductors

94 years male Technology 🇹🇼 TW

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 Morris Chang's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Morris Chang could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 4.2 years.

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

On the other end, Morris Chang could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.9 years.

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Education

Buying the future

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

Morris Chang could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.7 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 Morris Chang could pay for it entirely for 3.7 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

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

Morris Chang could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 15.7 years.

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

But even if we compare the total wealth of Morris Chang 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.

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

Morris Chang's fortune is equivalent to 64 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.

Morris Chang could buy 17,011,065 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 Morris Chang will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Morris Chang founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductors. He retired from the chairman's post in 2018.

Chang worked for a quarter-century at Texas Instruments and then joined the Taiwan research body that spun off TSMC.

TSMC customers include Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm.

TSMC is building a $165 billion site with three chip plants in Phoenix, Arizona. The first plant began production in 2024 and the other two for more advanced chips will come onstream by 2028 and 2030.

In 2024, TSMC also broke ground on a factory in Dresden, Germany, its first in Europe. The company committed $3.8 billion for a 70% stake in the joint venture.