The Vatican owns more than 5,000 church and investment properties around the world, a central office at the Catholic Church revealed for the first time.
It was revealed due to the ongoing trial of a London investment deal gone wrong.
Some of the charges the group of 10 face include embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion, and abuse of office.
I have always known that the Vatican is wealthy.
What I didn’t expect is just how far-reaching and vast their portfolio really is.
The Vatican has big investments in banking, insurance, chemicals, steel, construction, real estate, valued at anywhere between $10–15 Billion.
That is not including the vast treasures and indeterminable artefacts it has in its churches and archives.
I love it.
I love that they are so prudent with their money.
So salient with preserving their assets.
Carefully recording and registering their history and maintaining a pristine archive.
Distributing and investing intelligently their wealth.
It is no mean feat to preserve and grow wealth steadily over time.
History will tell you not many businesses and even religion survives that well.
The Vatican has done so for centuries, quietly and gradually.
I respect that.
Startups should think like the Vatican.
Invest what you have intelligently and do your research voraciously.
In the case of startups, founders have time and skills at their disposal.
Learn to learn quickly, adapt to changes, iterate constantly, aim for revenue not valuation and preserve wealth over time.
Oh and I found out that the Pope has no salary.
“As an absolute monarch, he has everything at his disposal and nothing at his disposal. He doesn’t need an income, because he has everything that he needs.”
I am not quite sure what to feel about that.
But it is surely a very peculiar situation to be in.
To have everything at your disposal and nothing at your disposal.
Go think about it.
When I was at Vatican City, the architecture and history really made me feel inspired and awe-struck.
It was a place rich in history and a temple for which billions have profited from spiritually and mentally.
Few things in life can achieve that effect, for so many generations.
How many of you actually walked the hallowed grounds of Vatican City personally before?
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