What if Santa charged for his services?

In the run up to the festive period, our team found themselves wondering just how much Father Christmas would be worth if his distribution operation was for profit. Many assumptions and calculations later, the results were very interestng…

Father Christmas’s global gift distribution enterprise would rival some of the world’s largest companies if he were to charge for his services, according to a team of financial experts.

Our wealth management specialists at Equilibrium Asset Management recently decided to calculate how much Santa would be worth if he were an entrepreneur, rather than the altruistic bringer of gifts that we know him as.

With some favours called in from the North Pole and a fair degree of creative licence, our team calculated that his business (Saint Nicholas Worldwide Gift Distribution Ltd) would turn over £83.6 billion ($120.2 billion) per year, amass annual profits of £12.5 billion ($18.9 billion) and be valued at £287.5 billion ($433.9 billion).

This would mean the company would have a market value higher than the top-rated business On Forbes’ Global 2000, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), which is valued at $311 billion.

The calculations also mean Santa’s distribution business would comfortably outperform other leading/distribution companies. For instance, FedEx, the largest enterprise of its kind on the Global 2000, is valued at $67.5 billion, with profits of $4.5 billion.

Ben Rogers, Financial Planner at Equilibrium Asset Management, said: “We have, of course, had to be very creative in working out how much Father Christmas might be worth if he were to charge for his services.

“However, it is clear that, if he had a little more entrepreneurial spirit, he’d easily be able to go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest companies in the world. After all, his proposition is completely unique and the speed at which he is able to work, thanks to his magic reindeer, is unrivalled.

“Since beginning his work in around 1842, he has weathered remarkable shifts in the business landscape and remains extraordinarily popular, despite never once changing his (purely seasonal) offering or method of delivery.

“However, with the growing adoption of automation in many businesses around the world, we’d be interested to see whether he’d be tempted to aim for increased profits by reducing his huge full-time and seasonal elf workforce in the coming decades. As the biggest employer in Lapland, though, we’d hope not.”