With Apple now worth well over $500 billion, we though it’d be fun to look at just how big they are. “Downtown Josh Brown” over at Things Apple is Worth More Than has compiled a list (and these were written before Apple hit the $500 billion mark!)
The Construction of the Interstate Highway System: “One of the more ambitious public works projects ever done in the United States was the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Over 35 years from 1956 to 1991, some 47 thousand miles of highway were built with the program at an estimated cost of 477 billion dollars (estimates in 1996 dollars, 2006, and 2009; inflation adjusted). With a market cap of 487 billion dollars, Apple is worth more than the construction of the highways across America.”
The Entire National Football League… Times Ten!: “15 of the NFL’s 33 franchises are worth over a billion apiece. The most valuable team is the Dallas Cowboys, valued at $1.85 billion.
“If you added up all the value of every team in the NFL, you’d come up with some $33 billion as your total. With Apple’s current market cap of roughly $380 billion, it is worth more than ten times that!” (Currently worth over 15 times as much, as Apple is now valued at over $500 billion.)
The United States Beef Consumption: “The retail value of consumed beef in the U.S. was 74 Billion dollars in 2010. 26.4 billion pounds were consumed. At a market cap of 390 billion, Apple is worth more than all the steaks and cook out goodies for an entire year in the United States.”
Four American Civil Wars: “The United States Civil War was the most terrible conflict in American history. Casualties for the Civil War amounted to more American casualties than all other American wars combined.
“The entire country stopped and fought for 4 long years. Estimates for the cost of the Civil War range from 75 Billion to 84 Billion. While the cost in lives lost cannot be measured, Apple with a market cap of 360 Billion is worth more than 4 American Civil Wars.” (Now 4 to 6 civil wars.)
Worldwide Lottery Sales: Worldwide lottery sales amounted to 240 billion dollars in 2009 (best free statistics available). Assuming even 10-15% growth to 2011 year end, Apple’s 400 billion market cap engulfs the money spent on hopeful thinking. (Apple’s $500 billion market cap is now approximately double worldwide lottery sales.)
This is interesting stuff that puts Apple’s value in context. For more visit “Downtown’s” website.
