The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Strive Masiyiwa's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Strive Masiyiwa could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.0 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Strive Masiyiwa could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.4 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Strive Masiyiwa could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.6 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 Strive Masiyiwa could pay for it entirely for 0.9 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Strive Masiyiwa could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.6 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Strive Masiyiwa 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 0.1 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Strive Masiyiwa's fortune is equivalent to 15 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.
Strive Masiyiwa could buy 3,963,225 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 Strive Masiyiwa will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Strive Masiyiwa overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in his country of birth in 1998.
He owns 38% of publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is one part of his larger Econet Group, as well as roughly 33% of mobile phone-based money transfer firm EcoCash.
Masiyiwa also owns a stake in private company Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which provides fiber optic and and cloud-based services to telecom firms across Africa.
His other assets include investments in fintech and power distribution firms in Africa plus stock options in Netflix, where he has served on the board since December 2020.
He and his wife Tsitsi founded the Higherlife Foundation, which supports orphaned and poor children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi and Lesotho.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison