Zhu Gongshan & family
Source of wealth: Solar panel materials
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Zhu Gongshan & family's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Zhu Gongshan & family could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.1 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Zhu Gongshan & family could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.5 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Zhu Gongshan & family could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 0.7 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 Zhu Gongshan & family could pay for it entirely for 1.0 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Zhu Gongshan & 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 4.1 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Zhu Gongshan & 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 0.1 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Zhu Gongshan & family's fortune is equivalent to 17 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.
Zhu Gongshan & family could buy 4,467,441 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 Zhu Gongshan & family will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Zhu Gongshan chairs GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, a producer of polysilicon used to make solar panels.
Zhu is active in business groups, including the Global Green Energy Council and Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association.
Son Zhu Yufeng is a member of GCL-Poly's board of directors.
Chu also chairs GCL System Integration Technology, whose shares trade at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Zhu graduated from Nanjing Electric Power College in July 1981 and obtained a diploma in electrical automation.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison