Facebook announced today that it’s buying messaging app WhatsApp for the completely astounding sum of $US16 billion dollars. That’s a whole lot of money. What else could they have done with such a gargantuan stack of cash? Here’s an incomplete list.
64 Washington Posts
When Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post newspaper in August of last year, he paid $US250 million. Which seemed like a lot at the time.
Five-And-a-Half Motorolas
Google let Lenovo take Motorola Mobility for $US2.91 billion just last month.
64 Thousand Virgin Galactic Flights to Space
Better start booking yours before Facebook grabs all the seats.
The Company That Makes Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark
Beam, Inc., which makes seven brands of liquor including Maker’s Mark, was recently sold to a Japanese whiskey and beer conglomerate for $US16 billion.
The House and Senate’s Salary For 172 Years
1,194,029 Indian Tigers
And theoretically, each one comes with an ivory collar, three tiger toys, and one “Hello Tiger” guide. Of course, with probably only a few thousand tigers left in the world, even a company as powerful as Facebook would have a hard time making this happen.
(Nearly) A Year of NASA
NASA’s budget is $17.6 billion for fiscal year 2014, meaning Facebook could have run the space agency for around 332 days for the cost of one WhatsApp.
Talk about an astronomical price.
Top image: Shutterstock / iunewind