William Stone
Source of wealth: Software
...
...
The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare William Stone's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
William Stone could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.4 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, William Stone could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.6 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
William Stone could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.9 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 Stone could pay for it entirely for 1.2 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
William Stone could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 5.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of William Stone 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 Stone's fortune is equivalent to 21 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 Stone could buy 5,496,753 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 Stone will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Bill Stone started financial-software firm SS&C Technologies in 1986 with the $20,000 he had saved from his days as a KPMG executive.
His product became popular among asset managers, bankers and insurers who wanted to electronically manage their books.
He guided the firm to an IPO in 1996, but the dot-com crash nearly crippled the company in 2001.
Stone refocused and added services such as data centers, then took the company private in 2005.
In 2011, a resurgent SS&C went public again; Stone remains the firm's largest individual shareholder, with a 15% stake.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison