The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Naguib Sawiris's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Naguib Sawiris could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 2.5 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Naguib Sawiris could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.1 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Naguib Sawiris could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.6 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 Naguib Sawiris could pay for it entirely for 2.2 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Naguib Sawiris could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 9.4 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Naguib Sawiris 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 0.2 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries

Naguib Sawiris's fortune is equivalent to 38 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.
Naguib Sawiris could buy 10,216,853 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 2 trucks to transport them. Although Naguib Sawiris will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt's wealthiest family. His brothers Nassef and Samih are also billionaires.
He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction.
He's chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, which has stakes in an asset manager in Egypt and Italian internet company Italiaonline, among others.
He also developed a luxury resort called Silversands on the Caribbean island of Grenada.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison