The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Ray Davis's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Ray Davis could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.8 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Ray Davis could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.8 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Ray Davis could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.2 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 Ray Davis could pay for it entirely for 1.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Ray Davis could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.7 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Ray Davis 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
Ray Davis's fortune is equivalent to 27 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.
Ray Davis could buy 7,304,472 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 Ray Davis will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Ray Davis and fellow billionaire Kelcy Warren founded natural gas distributor and pipeline company Energy Transfer in 1995 and built it into a giant.
Davis stepped down as co-CEO in 2007 and left the board in 2022.
In 2017, despite protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Energy Transfer finished building the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline.
Energy Transfer is one of the largest energy companies in the U.S., operating about 130,000 miles of pipeline for oil and natural gas.
Davis and a group of investors bought the Texas Rangers baseball team for about $600 million in 2010; it's now worth $1.8 billion net of debt.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison