‘Google Now Has $50 Billion in Cash for Acquisitions and Investments’ – ‘Mashable’

Seth Fiegerman says, “Next time you wonder how Google can afford to buy dozens of startups every year, consider just how much money it has on hand.

The search giant’s cash pile grew to just more than $50 billion in the March quarter, up from $48.1 billion at the end of 2012, the company revealed in its first quarter earnings report on Thursday. That’s still less than half as much cash as Apple has, but it will likely serve as a powerful resource for Google to continue buying up technology and top talent from companies, as well as investing in so-called “moonshot” projects”.