Réal Plourde

Source of wealth: Convenience stores

75 years male Fashion & Retail 🇨🇦 CA

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 Réal Plourde's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Réal Plourde 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, Réal Plourde could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.3 years.

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Education

Buying the future

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

Réal Plourde 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 Réal Plourde 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

Réal Plourde could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 2.2 years.

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

But even if we compare the total wealth of Réal Plourde 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

Réal Plourde'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.

Réal Plourde could buy 2,378,830 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 Réal Plourde will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

Biography

Réal Plourde is a cofounder and board member of Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian convenience store giant that owns the Circle K chain.

Couche-Tard does $73 billion in annual revenue across more than 17,000 stores.

The chain has made three other cofounders billionaires: former CEO Alain Bouchard, Richard Fortin and Jacques D'Amours.

Couche-Tard has ballooned by snatching up competitors, including Minnesota-based Holiday Stationstores for $1.6 billion in 2017.

Plourde held a number of roles at the business, including chief operating officer and manager of technical services. From 2011 to 2014, he was chairman.