2025 By the Numbers

It is once again that most joyous time of year where we step back to take time with our families, reflect on the accomplishments of the year that has passed and we, the authors, have the pleasure of writing another “By the Numbers” article.

This year we saw the impact of tariffs, attempted and actual assassinations, hostage releases, space rescues, a Chicago Pope, airplane crashes, wildfires, wild swings in the market, a government shutdown, deportations, protests, and the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence that made 2025 one for the books.  Here are some numbers that help to tell that story:

$18.81 Trillion – Dollars invested in ETFs globally. Assets have increased 26.7% year-to-date.¹

$878 Billion – Dollar value of Elon Musk’s pay package at Tesla, approved by shareholders in November.  In order for Musk to realize the full amount, Tesla market capitalization must rise in value from $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion over the next 10 years.² 

$588.8 Billion – Record single-day market capitalization loss in dollars by Nvidia after Chinese A.I. model DeepSeek launched in January.³ This being said, Nvidia’s market cap is still $4.7 trillion, which makes it more valuable than the annual GDP of Japan.⁴

1.7 Billion – Streams of “Die with a Smile,” Spotify’s most played song of the year by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.⁵

400 Million – Pilgrims from around the globe that bathed in and around the Ganges during the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela earlier this year. A spiritual convergence on a scale that dwarfs most global events, the festival only occurs every 12 years.⁶

$197 Million – The amount of money Taylor Swift reported as having been distributed in bonuses to her crew throughout her Eras Tour, which grossed more than $2 billion, making it the highest-grossing music tour in history.⁷

127.7 Million – Worldwide audience for Super Bowl LIX (Eagles 40, Chiefs 22), which became the most-watched live network telecast in U.S. history. The halftime show featured Kendrick Lamar.⁸

$119 Million – Total dollars grossed by Hamilton the Musical on Broadway.  This represents 6.6% of Broadway’s $1.8 billion intake this year.⁹

$102 Million – Dollar value of jewelry, including a diamond and emerald necklace given by Napoleon to Empress Marie-Louise in 1810, stolen from the Louvre by four thieves in less than eight minutes.¹⁰

6.1 Million – Viewers of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in November, which dominated F1 streaming platforms.  Lando Norris led the race while Max Verstappen started from the pit lane.¹¹

7,159 – Languages that are spoken in the world today.¹² This compares to over 31,000 that we know to have existed in history.¹³

6,837 – Structures, commercial and residential, that were destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire in January. To date, just one home has been rebuilt, making it the first in the Palisades to receive a certificate of occupancy.¹⁴

5,000 – Words and counting that have been added to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate dictionary.¹⁵ Among them are popular additions like “rizz,” “dad bod,” and “6-7.”¹⁶ The latter, which also earned Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year, and rose to prominence through the viral “6-7” trend on TikTok and music charts, was fueled by Skrilla’s hit song Doot Doot (6-7).¹⁷

306 – Number of rocket launches worldwide in 2025.  SpaceX accounted for 160 of those (52%).¹⁸ 2025 also saw a record high launch success rate of 96.6% overall.¹⁹

286 – Days astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent in space on their one-week mission after their Boeing return vessel failed.²⁰ This reminds the authors of a certain three-hour tour that turned into a 15-year adventure.²¹

176 – Terawatts of electricity used by data centers (4.4% of U.S. total) in 2023 projected to rise to 325–580 TWh (6.7%–12%) by 2028 with the A.I. boom a major driver.²²

110+ – Number of armed conflicts ongoing worldwide, as of August 2025.²³

54.6% – Of U.S. adults (18–64) using generative A.I. by August 2025; work usage rose from 33.3% to 37.4%, and personal usage from 36.0% to 48.7% over the prior 12 months.²⁴

43 – Days’ duration of the 2025 U.S. government shutdown – the longest in U.S. history, beating the prior record of 35 days during the 2018-2019 shutdown.²⁵ But who’s counting.

38% – Of 18–35-year-olds who rely on social media for financial news, compared to only 4.5 percent of those 56 and older. These platforms include YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.²⁶

35% – S&P 500’s point gain from 2025 trough (April 8^th) to peak (October 29^th). 

10% – Of partnered adults (those who are married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship) who met their current significant other through a dating site or app.²⁷

7 – Number of companies making up the “Magnificent Seven,” whose collective market capitalization now sits above the $22.2 trillion-dollar mark (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, and Meta). This means that a tiny handful of firms are currently worth more on paper than the GDP of most countries on Earth and together now carry a combined value higher than China’s entire economy.²⁸

1(?) – Babies reported being born in a Waymo, a subsidiary robotaxi company of Google parent Alphabet Inc. However, Waymo claims this isn’t the first incident. The San Francsico woman who gave birth in the back seat subsequently arrived safely at the hospital.²⁹

0.000000118 – Size of the transistors in inches on the newest 3-nanometer chips being deployed by companies like Intel, Samsung, Apple, and Nvidia.  Each of these chips allows for 40 billion transistors, and is roughly the size of a fingernail.  By comparison, Intel’s first microprocessor created in 1971 had 2,300 transistors in the same amount of space.

0 – The number of major hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.³⁰

As we turn the page on 2025, these numbers remind us that progress and disruption often share the same stage. Markets surged and stumbled, technology dazzled and unnerved, and culture continued to redefine itself in real time. Through it all, one truth endures: clarity and conviction remain the most valuable assets. May the year ahead bring peace, prosperity, and opportunities worthy of your ambition, and may we continue to navigate complexity together with insight and purpose.

Disclosures

This content is provided solely for informational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. The information contained herein is believed to be accurate by the authors; however, its accuracy is not guaranteed, and figures reflect reported measurements as of a specific point in time. Nothing herein should be construed as a promotion for MCM or its services.