The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Xavier Niel & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Xavier Niel & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 6.5 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Xavier Niel & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.9 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Xavier Niel & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 4.2 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 Xavier Niel & family could pay for it entirely for 5.8 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Xavier Niel & family could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 24.3 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Xavier Niel & family 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 0.5 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Xavier Niel & family's fortune is equivalent to 99 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.
Xavier Niel & family could buy 26,361,308 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 5 trucks to transport them. Although Xavier Niel & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Xavier Neil owns telecoms giant Iliad, the parent company of Free, one of France's largest internet service providers.
His portfolio also includes ownership of Monaco Telecom and Orange Switzerland, the latter of which he acquired in 2014 for $2.9 billion and renamed Salt.
Niel also owns stakes in French newspaper LeMonde, British telecoms company Vodafone and Paris-based commercial real estate firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
His early venture WorldNet was France's first Internet provider. He started it in 1993 at age 25 and exited seven years later for $50 million.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison