Tobi Lutke
Source of wealth: E-commerce
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Tobi Lutke's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Tobi Lutke could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 4.1 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Tobi Lutke could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 1.8 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Tobi Lutke 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 Tobi Lutke could pay for it entirely for 3.6 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Tobi Lutke could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 15.3 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Tobi Lutke 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 0.3 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Tobi Lutke's fortune is equivalent to 62 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.
Tobi Lutke could buy 16,566,656 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 Tobi Lutke will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Tobi Lutke is the cofounder and CEO of Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce firm that helps companies set up and run online stores.
He owns about 6% of Shopify, which went public in 2015.
Shopify generated nearly $9 billion in 2024 revenue; it is used by some two million businesses, including Kylie Cosmetics, Allbirds and Gymshark.
Lutke grew up in Germany, where he learned to code by age 12 and left school at 16 to enter a computer programming apprenticeship.
He began developing the e-commerce platform after he and a friend tried to open an online snowboard shop but couldn't find decent software.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison