In 2010, Google earned $29.3 billion in revenue. According to the International Monetary Fund, this is more than the Gross Domestic Product of the 28 poorest countries in the world combined. Although Google offers a wide variety of services, 97% of this comes from advertising. That makes a total of $2.5 billion from advertising in 2010.
Much of this comes from AdWords purchases from companies that are often shady, such as payday loans and insurance companies. Other clients include mortgage companies, attorneys, and credit cards. In September 2010, Google took a fine of $500 million for allowing Canadian pharmacies to advertise to US residents. Because of this and other fines, Google’s profit was $8.505 billion in 2010.
Google’s site receives over 1 billion unique visitors per month. They spend, collectively, 200 billion minutes a year. To make this possible, Google used 2 billion Kilowatt-hours of energy in 2010. That is 50% of what the Hoover dam produces in a year.
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