It was another big year for big money. Across the worlds of politics, business, sports and entertainment, some of the top stories of the year revolved around or hinged on dollars and cents.
The sweeping Republican victories in the midterm elections — the most expensive ever — were helped in part by the GOP’s fundraising edge, even as fewer donors made contributions and outside groups, including ones that don’t disclose where their money comes from, picked up a larger share of the tab.
The stock market may not have performed as well as in 2013, but it repeatedly reached new milestones, as the S&P 500 passed 2,000 for the first time and the Dow Jones Industrial Average popped above 18,000. Alibaba made history with its initial public offering. With a strong year on Wall Street, wealthy Americans had plenty of money to spend on political campaigns, fast cars, fine art and even vintage comic books. Taylor Swift made waves and set records in the music industry. Baseball’s Giancarlo Stanton, accustomed to crushing baseballs, also crushed a new contract.
As 2014 comes to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most staggering figures of the year:
$21.8 billion: Alibaba raised that sum in its initial public offering, the largest ever. The stock has done well since it started trading in September, rising 17.42 percent as of Dec. 18.
$80 million: Size of the golden parachute paid out to Rob Marcus, who was CEO of Time Warner for only a couple of months at the beginning of the year — an almost eightfold increase over his compensation in 2012, when he was COO of Time Warner. Roughly a fourth of his severance package was in cash.
$84 million: Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, made that much during the fiscal year ended June 30, although most of it was in the form of grants of restricted stock that won’t vest before 2019.
$147 million: Hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein paid close to $150 million for a 16-acre property on Further Lane in East Hampton, making it the most expensive residential sale ever in the U.S.
$3.2 million: Most expensive comic book sold at auction (Action Comic No.1)
$332 million: Biggest box office movie: Guardians of the Galaxy
$325 million: Giancarlo Stanton’s 13-year contract with the Miami Marlins
$100 million: potential loss for Sony on The Interview
$34.65 million: Most expensive car sold at auction (1962 Ferrari GTO)
5 million: number of concert tickets sold this year, grossing $500 million (biggest money making tour was One Direction with $290 million)
23 Percent: increase in commercial property sales activity (according to CoStar)
