Which is More Valuable, Apple or Wales?

Generali

Thomas_Moore wrote: »

Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world — but for Wales?

https://medium.com/bull-market/which-is-more-valuable-apple-or-wales-8fd2315d9120

A noble sentiment, of course. But those of us who put a slightly lower valuation on our immortal souls might be forgiven for asking … how much is Wales worth, exactly? For example, if you had the choice between owning one hundred per cent of Apple Inc, the most valuable corporation in the history of capitalism, or owning Wales, the third most valuable entity in the United Kingdom, which would you choose?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Wales

Wales.

As the article notes, States are always more powerful than Corporations....

vivatifosi

Wales

Even if states weren't more powerful, at least I wouldn't have to chuck Wales away when it flexed too far or the built in battery died.

Jonbvn

Wales

A consumer electronic company that could go out of fashion tomorrow and go the way of Nokia or Blackberry or a country?

Oh and Apple can't knock England out of the RWC

the_flying_pig

Apple

I dunno. The thing about Wales is that as it stands it's entirely dependent on UK government subsidy. In pure economic terms the UK would be better off without it (the tax calculation in the article is plain daft because it doesn't reflect the impact on the tax/benefit equation that you'd get from stripping the entire population of all its assets, as is apparently assumed here), suggesting a value that's, er, negative. It goes without saying that welsh houses and land would be worth an order of magnitude less if it weren't for UK subsidy. The real value of Wales to an 'owner', in terms of profiting from its fishing rights and so on, would be realisable if you were able to tax it without being obliged to maintain health infrastructure, welfare, and so on to the same standard as England. But what this value might be I can't think.

Generali

Wales

the_flying_pig wrote: »

I dunno. The thing about Wales is that as it stands it's entirely dependent on UK government subsidy. In pure economic terms the UK would be better off without it, suggesting a value that's, er, negative. It goes without saying that welsh houses and land would be worth an order of magnitude less if it weren't for UK subsidy. The real value of Wales to an 'owner', in terms of profiting from its fishing rights and so on, would be realisable if you were able to tax it without being obliged to maintain health infrastructure, welfare, and so on to the same standard as England. But what this value might be I can't think.

The Government of Wales has negative cash flow as do Google Glass or Google Zombie Robot Apocalypse car division.

That's not the same thing as saying Google has nil value, it's just a part of it does. The same can be said for Wales. Overall it makes a profit.

chewmylegoff

Apple

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Wales.

As the article notes, States are always more powerful than Corporations....

Really? Someone should try telling HMRC that then...

System

It's a totally meaningless comparison. If you owned Apple you would actually have legal title to every single bit of it, and could either run it as a company, for a profit, or sack all the staff and sell off everything and then put the balance in the bank and it would be yours.

But you can't own the entire unencumbered freehold of a country, as you can of an estate, because there are inhabitants who have enforceable rights.
It would be a bit like owning a road which was a public right of way. In theory you would "own" it. But in practice you could do nothing with it, and it would be worthless.

The last person to actually own an entire country was probably Leopold II, who owned the Belgian Congo as his personal estate. The inhabitants had no rights at all, and he was free to abuse them as much as he liked to make them work for him.
Some of the inhabitants of even the worst modern dictatorships have had some rights, so effectively limiting the "ownership" of the ruler.

IronWolf

I don't think Apple is the most valuable company in history, what about Standard oil?

It depends entirely on that value of Wales' land, as the taxes don't seem to raise enough to cover its costs atm.

PasturesNew

Whichever I owned I'd sell it immediately and spend the rest of my life on cruises and eating pies and doing stuff and seeing things........

antrobus

Apple

Generali wrote: »

...For example, if you had the choice between owning one hundred per cent of Apple Inc, the most valuable corporation in the history of capitalism, or owning Wales, the third most valuable entity in the United Kingdom, which would you choose? ...

Apple.

Much more liquid investment.