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We too were more than a little galled by the idea that the rumored Microsoft/Facebook dealwould value the social network at $10 billion. Kara Swisher did a fine job this morning of pshaw-ing the figure, but we'd like to provide some additional context. Just what, we wondered, would $10 billion buy?
- For starters, it's the GDP of Bolivia. I'm sure the good citizens of La Paz wouldn't mind a year off.
- If you're a conservative investor, you could buy 469 tons of gold at today's price. That would require a rather large vault.
- Ten billion is also enough to fully support 395,000 inmates for a year in federal prison. Say, for example, child predators.
- At $79 a year, $10 billion would buy 127 million online subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal. That's enough for every man, woman, and child in Japan.
- If the Microsoft deal falls through, Google or Yahoo might be interested. Their combined 2006 gross profits totaled almost exactly $10 billion.
- Imagine how large the protest might be if 16.7 million Americans had spent $10 billion on $599 iPhones. Luckily for those of us who held back, that sum would now buy 25 million units of the device.
Me, I'd go for the Bolivia option. But if Mark Zuckerberg ever wants to sell, I'm sure we all could give him a few more ideas on how to spend the cash.
Photo: Curtis Perry/Flickr
