4 ms·

150+ million USD is spent per year by the organization while most of the work is done by volunteers. Quite a serious money-making engine.

• zamadatix 6y ago
  You're a bit off on the number (maybe you were thinking net assets?). For those curious of the breakdown https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Statistical_analysis_of_Wikimedia_Foundation_financial_reports https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Statistical_analysis_of_Wiki...
  • inimino 6y ago
    112 million in 2020. So... not that far off?
    • zamadatix 6y ago
      Taken at the absolute minimum interpretation that would still make "error" the second largest expense category of the foundation.
• superasn 6y ago
  Speaking as someone who has absolutely no knowledge of how Wikipedia is run.. what is the biggest expense? Is it the hosting, bandwidth, or maybe HR.. I mean the stuff that takes the lion's share of this $150M?
  • h_anna_h 6y ago
    "Hosting wikipedia accounts for roughly 2% of their total expenses" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26056276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26056276 The links in the post explain where the stuff is spent.
    • superasn 6y ago
      That was super informative.. thanks! Only 2% is insane - I was thinking a lot lot more!
      • ghaff 6y ago
        Well, that's internet hosting. The biggest expense (almost half) is people, at least some of which is doubtless related to operating that internet hosting. They also give out a fair bit in grants/awards.
• nearbuy 6y ago
  For the employees and contractors? It's a bit strange to describe a non-profit as a money-making engine.