This is how much money Wikipedia really has...
Wikipedia is great. But it has become a cash cow and people are being used and tricked into donating.<p>People reading the fundraising banners (currently shown in India and Latin America) often think that Wikipedia must be struggling to keep Wikipedia online.<p>Yet the Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation that hosts Wikipedia (they don&#x27;t write it ... all the articles are written by unpaid volunteers like yours truly) and which is asking for these donations, is richer than ever.<p>Each year its revenue far exceeds its spending, and it&#x27;s asking for more money each year. Revenue has doubled every four or five years ( <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Wikimedia_Foundation#Financial_development" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Wikimedia_Foundation#Financial...</a> ). Internet hosting for example costs them just $2.4 million a year, and they have $230 million in net assets ... plus a $100+ million endowment.<p>If you want to know more or see the evidence, here are some links with further info.<p>1. 2020&#x2F;2021 audited financial statements for the Wikimedia Foundation:
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;upload.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wikipedia&#x2F;foundation&#x2F;1&#x2F;1e&#x2F;Wikimedia_Foundation_FY2020-2021_Audit_Report.pdf#page=5" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;upload.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wikipedia&#x2F;foundation&#x2F;1&#x2F;1e&#x2F;Wikim...</a><p>2. Wikimedia executives being paid salaries in excess of $300,000 (2020 Form 990):
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;upload.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wikipedia&#x2F;foundation&#x2F;e&#x2F;e4&#x2F;Wikimedia_Foundation_2020_Form_990.pdf#page=7" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;upload.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wikipedia&#x2F;foundation&#x2F;e&#x2F;e4&#x2F;Wikim...</a><p>3. Fact-checking an interview with a Wikimedia board member:
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lists.wikimedia.org&#x2F;hyperkitty&#x2F;list&#x2F;wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org&#x2F;thread&#x2F;OVT3MRNP6VELKPSJAMWB3SOCESKLOPX7&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lists.wikimedia.org&#x2F;hyperkitty&#x2F;list&#x2F;wikimedia-l@list...</a><p>4. Wikipedia is swimming in money—why is it begging people to donate? 
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dailydot.com&#x2F;debug&#x2F;wikipedia-endownemnt-fundraising&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dailydot.com&#x2F;debug&#x2F;wikipedia-endownemnt-fundraising&#x2F;</a><p>5. On the Wikimedia Endowment&#x27;s lack of transparency (it has never published audited financial statements):
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost&#x2F;2022-05-29&#x2F;Opinion" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost&#x2F;2...</a>