William Hockey
Source of wealth: fintech
...
...
The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare William Hockey's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
William Hockey could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.5 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, William Hockey could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.7 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
William Hockey could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.0 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 William Hockey could pay for it entirely for 1.3 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
William Hockey could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 5.6 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of William Hockey 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
William Hockey's fortune is equivalent to 23 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.
William Hockey could buy 6,093,004 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 William Hockey will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
In 2012, William Hockey cofounded payments company Plaid, which helps other fintechs connect to customers' bank accounts.
He met his cofounder Zach Perret while they were both working as junior consultants at Bain & Company.
He stepped down as Plaid's chief technology officer in 2019, but he remains a board member.
In 2022, he launched Column, a chartered bank based in San Francisco that helps other businesses (including Mercury and Brex) offer banking services. Hockey self-funded Column and owns the vast majority of it.
Hockey studied history and business at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Financial Assets
Financial assets information not available.
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison