How Wealthy is Father Christmas?
“There are three stages of life: you believe in Santa Claus; you do not believe in Santa Claus; you are Santa Claus” ― Bob Phillips
3 min read
How Wealthy is Father Christmas?
“There are three stages of life: you believe in Santa Claus; you do not believe in Santa Claus; you are Santa Claus” ― Bob Phillips
3 min read
Father Christmas embodies the spirit of generosity and merriment, known for his global gift-giving on Christmas Eve. Yet, beyond his red suit and reindeer-powered sleigh, a curious question arises: just how prosperous would this mythical figure be if he was running it as a real business? Let’s find out what his finances would look like if he charged a fee for his present deliveries.
What are Father Christmas' Operating Costs?
Based on what we can find out, let’s assume his operating costs include the following:
- Elf Labour Costs: Let’s assume there are around 1’000 highly skilled elves working year-round. With a wage of 70’000 annually per elf, that would sum up to 70 million before any state or workplace / occupational pension contributions and health insurance or other benefits. For simplicity, we will leave out these additional benefits!
- Reindeer Feed and Care: Given the magical nature of the reindeer, their maintenance might be lower than conventional animals, but estimating their mystical needs is tricky. Let’s approximate this at around 10 million.
- Infrastructure and Overhead: Maintaining the North Pole workshop, utilities, and other operational expenses could be quite substantial. A rough estimate might range from 10 million to 50 million. Let’s go with the higher figure of 50 million.
- Transportation: Costs associated with the magical sleigh, its maintenance, and logistics could be in the range of 1 million to 10 million. Again, let’s go with the higher figure, in this case of 10 million.
- Tax: What taxes will be paid in the North Pole? Whilst it may be a mythical place in reference to Father Christmas, let’s go with 20%.
What are Father Christmas' Earnings?
With around 2 billion children (aged under 18) in the world, let’s assume Father Christmas would likely charge for each present delivered. What would the cost be? How much would he charge?
Well, it should be enough to turn a profit each year, so we know that Father Christmas requires at least 141 million in earnings. Hence, with 2 billion presents to deliver, he would need to charge at least 0.07 per gift.
However, occasionally he would like to take his family on a nice holiday and so he needs to charge 0.09 per gift to have an extra 39 million in earnings, taking his total to 180 million a year.
Now we know, after 140 million in operating costs, Father Christmas is earning 40 million each year and paying 20% tax on that (equating to 8 million) which means he will take home 32 million.
If we presume Father Christmas dates back as far as the 16th century (1501 AD or later), he has been earning this salary for approximately 520 years.
The Final Countdown
We now know that Father Christmas has been earning 32 million a year for 520 years, equating to a whopping 16.704 billion. Of course, this is a rough figure and does not take into account his living or holiday costs.
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Please note that all information within this article has been prepared for informational purposes only. This article does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Always ensure you speak to a regulated Financial Adviser before making any financial decisions.
