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Apple is now worth more than the GDP of Sweden

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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February 9, 2012, 5:05 PM ET
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Also, the combined market caps of Google and Microsoft. Steve Jobs would be pleased.



GDP: $458 billion. Map: Tourist Destinations

Apple (AAPL) closed Thursday at a record high $493.17, up a whopping $16.49 (3.46%) for the day. That pushed its market capitalization (share price times shares outstanding) to nearly $460 billion — more than any other company in the world and, as Apple Insider‘s Neil Hughes noted, greater than the value of Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) combined.

What else is Apple worth more than? Let’s see …

Updating some of the links in the Things Apple Is Worth More Than tumbler, and adding a few of our own, we find:

  • The gross domestic product of Sweden ($458 billion)
  • All the gold in the Federal Reserve, and then some. ($350 billion)
  • All the illegal drugs in the world, and then some ($321 billion)
  • Six and a half years of global coffee consumption ($70 billion/year)
  • More than six years of U.S. beef consumption ($74 billion/year)
  • More than five U.S. Civil Wars ($74-$84 billion each)
  • More than 2.5 Apollo space programs ($145-$170 billion apiece)
  • Three times the entire U.S. clothing industry ($150 billion)
  • Fourteen National Football Leagues ($33 billion for all the teams combined)
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By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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