25 Things Facebook Could Buy With $19 Billion Instead Of WhatsApp
When Facebook announced it was acquiring WhatsApp for $19 billion in February 2014, the internet collectively did a double-take. This wasn’t a company with hundreds of millions in revenue or decades of brand equity — it was a messaging app with 55 employees and a $1-per-year subscription model. Yet Mark Zuckerberg was willing to write what was, at the time, one of the largest checks in tech history to bring it into the fold.
By the time the deal officially closed on October 6, 2014, Facebook’s rising stock price had pushed the final price tag closer to $22 billion — making it even more jaw-dropping. The payment broke down into $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in Facebook stock, and $3 billion in restricted stock units for WhatsApp’s founders and employees. Co-founder Jan Koum personally walked away with $6.8 billion and a seat on Facebook’s board, while co-founder Brian Acton received $3.5 billion.
Strategic brilliance or extravagant overpayment? That debate still rages. But rather than relitigate the boardroom decision, let’s do something more fun — and more illuminating. Here are 25 things Facebook could have bought with $19 billion instead of WhatsApp, organized by category, to help put that staggering number in perspective.
The WhatsApp Acquisition: A Quick Recap
Before diving into the alternatives, a little context helps. At the time of the acquisition, WhatsApp had 450 million monthly active users, with 70% of them logging in daily — engagement numbers most platforms would kill for. It was processing billions of messages every single day, primarily in international markets where Facebook’s own messenger was weak.
Zuckerberg’s reasoning was strategic: WhatsApp was growing faster than Facebook had at a similar stage, it dominated younger demographics, and acquiring it eliminated a powerful competitor before it could grow into an existential threat. Fast-forward to today, and WhatsApp has surpassed 2 billion users globally, becoming an indispensable part of Meta’s communication infrastructure.
Still — $19 to $22 billion is an almost incomprehensible sum. Let’s see what else it could have bought.
—
Major Tech Companies and Startups
1. Snapchat (Outright Purchase)
In early 2014, Snapchat was valued at approximately $10 billion. Ironically, Facebook had already tried to buy it in 2013 for $3 billion — a bid Snap CEO Evan Spiegel famously rejected. With $19 billion, Facebook could have swooped in, bought Snapchat entirely, and still had $9 billion left over.
2. Spotify
When Spotify’s valuation stood at roughly $4 billion in early 2014, Facebook could have purchased it outright and pivoted into the music streaming market years before launching Audio Rooms or Podcasts. That’s a lot of playlists for a fraction of the WhatsApp price.
3. Dropbox
Cloud storage was booming in 2014, and Dropbox carried a valuation of around $10 billion. A Facebook-owned Dropbox could have created a powerful ecosystem combining social networking with seamless file sharing.
4. Uber (A Major Stake)
Uber’s valuation hit approximately $17 billion by mid-2014. Facebook’s $19 billion could have purchased a controlling stake — or even the whole company at an earlier valuation — giving it a foothold in the on-demand economy that eventually spawned ride-sharing, food delivery, and logistics.
5. SpaceX
In 2014, SpaceX was privately valued at around $12 billion. Buying a significant stake in Elon Musk’s rocket company would have given Facebook the space infrastructure it later tried to build on its own through internet drone projects. Imagine Facebook satellites — for better or worse.
6. Two Snapchats and a Spotify
Because why stop at one acquisition? For $19 billion, Facebook could have purchased Snapchat twice over and added Spotify to the cart, fundamentally reshaping the social media and music streaming landscape in one afternoon.
—
Sports Teams and Entertainment
7. Multiple NFL Franchises
In 2014, even the most valuable NFL teams rarely crossed the $2 billion mark in valuation. The Dallas Cowboys, the league’s crown jewel, were valued around $2.3 billion that year. Facebook’s acquisition budget could have purchased eight NFL franchises, essentially buying a conference.
8. A Premier League Football Club — Several Times Over
Top-tier Premier League clubs were trading for between $500 million and $3 billion in 2014. Facebook could have snapped up three or four elite European football clubs, becoming the world’s most powerful football conglomerate before the concept was even fashionable.
9. A Major Hollywood Studio
Mid-sized film studios and production companies have sold for between $1 billion and $8 billion. For $19 billion, Facebook could have acquired a major studio outright, controlling an enormous library of content and eliminating the need to license movies for a Facebook streaming platform.
10. Every MLB Team’s Payroll — For a Decade
The average MLB team payroll in 2014 was around $100 million. With $19 billion, you could fund every single Major League Baseball team’s roster for nearly six years straight — players, coaches, and all.
—
Infrastructure and Public Works
11. Two International Airports
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, one of Europe’s most significant recent airport projects, cost approximately $7.3 billion to build (albeit with notorious overruns). Facebook’s $19 billion could have funded two comparable international airports and had change to spare — connecting entire regions to the global economy.
12. Four Major Bridge Projects
The new Tappan Zee Bridge (now the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) in New York cost approximately $4 billion. For $19 billion, you could build four of these landmark infrastructure projects, modernizing transportation networks across an entire country.
13. A High-Speed Rail Network
High-speed rail lines cost between $20 million and $80 million per mile to construct. At $19 billion, you could lay hundreds of miles of high-speed rail track, fundamentally changing how people travel between major cities.
14. 100 State-of-the-Art Data Centers
Facebook’s own data centers cost between $150 million and $200 million each to build. With $19 billion, the company could have constructed nearly 100 new data centers, exponentially expanding its processing capacity and creating thousands of permanent jobs in communities across the world.
15. A Moon Mission (and Then Some)
NASA’s Artemis program, designed to return humans to the moon, carries an estimated cost of around $93 billion over multiple years — but individual mission components cost far less. The Apollo program’s total cost, adjusted for inflation, was roughly $25 billion. Facebook’s $19 billion could fund a significant portion of a new lunar mission, planting a flag alongside the stars.
—
Global Philanthropy and Social Impact
16. Clean Drinking Water for the World
The United Nations estimates it would cost approximately $114 billion to provide universal access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation globally. While $19 billion won’t solve the entire problem, it represents a massive — and transformative — chunk of that goal.
17. Eradicate Malaria (Nearly)
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent billions fighting malaria, with experts estimating that eradicating it globally would cost somewhere in the range of $100 billion over 15 years. A one-time injection of $19 billion would represent roughly three years of the total required funding.
18. Build 190,000 Schools
The cost to build a standard school in a developing nation ranges from roughly $100,000 to $300,000. At a median estimate, $19 billion could fund the construction of approximately 190,000 new schools, educating tens of millions of children who currently have no access to formal education.
19. Vaccinate Hundreds of Millions of Children
UNICEF estimates the cost to vaccinate a child against common preventable diseases at around $18 to $30. Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition price could fund vaccines for well over 600 million children — nearly the entire population of children in sub-Saharan Africa.
20. A Decade of Climate Research
The U.S. government spends roughly $2 billion annually on dedicated climate science research. Facebook’s $19 billion could fund a decade of that research without a single congressional budget battle, accelerating the science behind climate change solutions.
—
Pure Luxury and Extravagance
21. 31 of the World’s Most Expensive Superyachts
The Azzam, one of the world’s largest private superyachts, cost approximately $600 million to build. For $19 billion, you could commission 31 of them — enough to form the world’s most expensive and unnecessary naval fleet.
22. 47 Boeing 747-8 Private Jets
The Boeing 747-8 VIP, the most luxurious version of the iconic jumbo jet configured as a private aircraft, costs around $400 million. Facebook could have outfitted the world’s entire billionaire class with personalized jumbo jets for roughly the same price as buying WhatsApp.
23. Every Painting in the Louvre
Art valuation is notoriously complex, but estimates suggest the Louvre’s entire collection — if it were ever sold — could be worth somewhere between $35 billion and $45 billion. Facebook’s $19 billion wouldn’t cover the whole haul, but it would get you well over half the collection, including the Mona Lisa herself.
24. 380 Private Islands
Luxury private islands typically sell for between $10 million and $75 million, depending on location and development. At an average of $50 million each, $19 billion would net you 380 private islands — enough for Zuckerberg and every person at Facebook headquarters to have their own retreat.
—
Internal Innovation and R&D
25. Fund 100,000 Top Engineers for an Entire Year
The average total compensation for a senior software engineer at a top tech company in 2014 ran close to $200,000 annually. For $19 billion, Facebook could have employed 95,000 elite engineers for a full year, building new products, improving existing ones, and potentially inventing the next generation of social technology entirely in-house.
Alternatively, that same $19 billion could have fully funded ten years of ambitious Metaverse R&D — the exact project Meta is now spending billions on annually — potentially giving Zuckerberg’s VR ambitions a decade-long head start.
—
Retrospective: Was WhatsApp Worth It?
In hindsight, the acquisition looks far more defensible than it did in 2014. WhatsApp’s growth from 450 million users to over 2 billion made it one of the most-used communication platforms on Earth. It’s now central to how billions of people — particularly in India, Brazil, and across Europe — communicate daily.
Critics pointed out for years that WhatsApp generated almost no revenue, but Meta has increasingly monetized the platform through WhatsApp Business and integrated payments. Whether the $22 billion price was the right price remains debatable, but the strategic value of owning the world’s dominant messaging platform outside of China is hard to argue with.
That said, the list above illustrates something important: $19 to $22 billion is not just a lot of money — it’s a genuinely civilization-scale sum. It’s the kind of number that could reshape infrastructure, eradicate diseases, or transform entire entertainment industries. The fact that it went to 55 people and a messaging app in 2014 still catches people off guard a decade later.
—
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Facebook actually pay for WhatsApp?
Facebook announced the acquisition in February 2014 at a price of $19 billion — broken down into $4 billion cash, $12 billion in stock, and $3 billion in restricted stock units. By the time the deal closed in October 2014, Facebook’s rising stock value had pushed the total to approximately $22 billion.
Was the WhatsApp acquisition worth $19 billion?
It depends on who you ask. WhatsApp now has over 2 billion users and is central to Meta’s global communication strategy, particularly in markets outside North America. The acquisition eliminated a major competitor and gave Facebook extraordinary international reach, but it took years before any meaningful monetization materialized.
What was WhatsApp’s revenue at the time of acquisition?
Almost nothing. WhatsApp’s model was free for the first year, then $1 per year — making it one of the most modestly monetized apps relative to its valuation in tech history.
Who got the most money from the WhatsApp acquisition?
Co-founder Jan Koum received approximately $6.8 billion and a seat on Facebook’s board. Co-founder Brian Acton received approximately $3.5 billion. The remainder went to early employees and investors.
Could Facebook have bought another major tech company for $19 billion?
Absolutely. In 2014, companies like Uber (valued at ~$17 billion), Dropbox (~$10 billion), and SpaceX (~$12 billion) were all within the price range. Snapchat was valued at roughly $10 billion, meaning Facebook could have purchased it outright after Evan Spiegel rejected a $3 billion offer in 2013.
Is $19 billion the most expensive tech acquisition ever?
At the time, it was one of the largest in history. It has since been surpassed by acquisitions like Microsoft’s $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023 and Dell’s $67 billion acquisition of EMC in 2016.
—
The Bottom Line
The WhatsApp deal will go down as one of tech’s most polarizing acquisitions — a bet that many called reckless in 2014 and that many now consider shrewd. But the 25 comparisons above drive home just how enormous the sum truly was.
From buying eight NFL franchises to vaccinating hundreds of millions of children to commissioning a fleet of superyachts, $19 billion isn’t just a price tag — it’s a window into the extraordinary scale at which the world’s largest tech companies operate. Lists like this one help contextualize those numbers in ways that raw figures simply can’t.
Whether Zuckerberg made the deal of the decade or overpaid by billions may never have a definitive answer. What’s certain is that $19 billion — in any universe — is a staggering amount of money, and the opportunity cost of how it’s spent is always worth understanding.