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Infographic Timeline: 10 Years of Tinder

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10 years of tinder

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Infographic Timeline: Ten Years of Tinder

A decade of swiping and over half a billion downloads later, Tinder still leads the market share of online dating apps in the United States at 32%.

What started as a “hook-up” app 10 years ago for college students, is now a mainstream hit that is globally used in 190 countries and 45 languages.

The graphic above highlights key moments that have shaped the app’s success, using data from Match Group’s investor presentations and news reports.

From Hatch to Match: The Early Days of Tinder

The concept of the app emerged when the original founding partners, Sean Rad and Joe Munoz, won a hackathon in 2012. Their collaboration lead to the development of Tinder (originally named Matchbox).

Marketing the app to college students was a strategic decision that quickly gained the interest of millennials. This young demographic had been traditionally underserved in the online dating world, and with the global adoption of smartphones, a mobile-only dating app hit the right spot at the right time.

Monetization began in 2015 when premium features became exclusively available for paid users. Annual revenue that year was $47 million and by 2021 that grew to $1.7 billion.

Match Group acquired Tinder in 2017, with a $3 billion valuation. But at the time, very few could predict the stellar run Tinder would have, having risen to become the top dating app in the world and one of the most popular apps overall.

This surge in popularity is also reflected in the financials — Tinder is just one of the 30 dating apps that Match Group owns, but it represents over 50% of their overall revenues. In addition, Tinder is closing in on generating $2 billion per year.

Tinder's Revenue Breakdown from Match Group

Today, Match Group is worth roughly $17 billion, and by some estimates Tinder is worth around $9 billion, over triple the price of the original acquisition.

Note: Tinder’s value is based on the valuation multiples for online dating companies as well as Tinder’s revenues as a portion of Match Group’s total.

Tinder and Technology

The swipe feature was an integral part of Tinder’s design, and it revolutionized the dating world. Gamifying dating was a novel concept when the feature was introduced back in 2012.

From the 1998 film “You’ve Got Mail” to today’s dopamine-inducing hit of “It’s a Match!,” it’s easy to see the influence technology has on the way we date and mate.

Below is a snapshot of app features that have been driven by technology and culture:

Year Technological FeatureKey Business Focus
2012 The “Swipe” Gamification is the hook
2014Tinder Plus App monetization driven by user experience
2015 Instagram Integration & Facebook “Common Connections”  Network effects
2017 Tinder Gold Power to the user - “Insight to who has liked me”
2019 Traveler AlertPutting user safety first
2020 Panic Button / “Are You Sure?”Putting user safety first
2021 Plus One The pursuit of connections post-covid
2023?Virtual Exploration - It’s a “Swipe Party”Understanding the changing demographic 

The Tinder Algorithm

Rating people’s attractiveness can be a controversial subject. Websites like Hot or Not and Mark Zuckerberg’s Facemash are cringe-worthy reminders of the internet’s past.

During the app’s early development, the discovery of a new match relied partially on the “Elo” rating system to score desirability. Attractiveness was evaluated by how often people swiped. The more selective you were with swiping, the higher your attractiveness was rated within the algorithm.

But now according to Tinder’s pressroom:

“Elo is old news at Tinder.”

Instead, Tinder’s algorithmic criteria for profile discovery depends on the users:

  • Recent activity – members who are sending likes and nopes
  • Profile elements such as the user’s interests
  • Location

Tinder now says that proximity is a key factor in how people match on the app.

The Future of Tinder: A Changing Demographic

Today, as the company attempts to target Gen Z, the company’s revenue growth expectations are more lukewarm thanks to shifting cultural preferences,

And keeping the app relevant to a young demographic requires thoughtful consideration that goes beyond just adding new technological features. According to research organization YouthSight, more than 90% of Gen Z’ers report having frustrations with dating apps.

Only time will tell if technological incentives such as features for the metaverse, or virtual coins that further gamify the dating app, are attractive enough for Tinder to compete against the allures of meeting people IRL.

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Markets

Ranked: The Highest Paid CEOs in the S&P 500

This graphic reveals the top 20 highest paid CEOs in the S&P 500 from Sundar Pichai to Jamie Dimon.

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Ranked: The Highest Paid CEOs in the S&P 500

Many of the world’s most valuable companies are listed on the S&P 500, the benchmark index for the U.S. stock market.

For this reason, it is no surprise to see that CEOs of these key companies have multi-million dollar compensation packages. But what do these pay packages comprise? And do these CEOs always receive the compensation they are awarded? Or does it increase and decrease with stock market fluctuations?

In today’s infographic, we use data published by The Wall Street Journal to show the highest paid CEOs of S&P 500 companies in 2022, and delve into what their compensation includes.

The 20 Highest Paid CEOs

The compensation packages of CEOs of S&P 500 companies comprise not just salaries, but bonuses, stock awards, and other incentives.

Here are the CEOs of S&P 500 companies that were awarded the highest pay packages last year, and the sectors they belong to.

CEOCompanySectorTotal Pay
Sundar PichaiAlphabetCommunication Services$226M
Michael RapinoLive Nation EntertainmentCommunication Services$139M
Tim CookAppleInfo Tech$99M
Peter ZaffinoAmerican International GroupFinancials$75M
Hock TanBroadcomInfo Tech$61M
Vicente ReynalIngersoll RandIndustrials$55M
Reed HastingsNetflix Communication Services$51M
Theodore SarandosNetflixCommunication Services$50M
Hamid MoghadamPrologis Real Estate$48M
Stephen SqueriAmerican Express Financials$48M
James GormanMorgan StanleyFinancials$39M
David ZaslavWarner Bros. DiscoveryCommunication Services$39M
William McDermottServiceNowInfo Tech$39M
Mark BegorEquifaxIndustrials$37M
Darren W. WoodsExxon MobilEnergy$36M
David SimonSimon Property GroupReal Estate$36M
James DimonJPMorgan ChaseFinancials$35M
Julie SweetAccentureInfo Tech$34M
Albert BourlaPfizerMedical$33M
Laurence FinkBlackRockFinancials$33M

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, topped the list with an awarded pay package valued at around $226 million, which was over 800 times Google’s median employee compensation. His pay package included his annual salary of $2 million, a sum of $6 million for his personal security and stock awards valued at $218 million.

Meanwhile, Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino’s awarded pay package shot up to $139 million in 2022 from almost $14 million the previous year. This included stock awards initially valued at $116 million. Tech companies Apple and Broadcom were not far behind. While Apple CEO Tim Cook’s compensation package was valued at $99 million in 2022, Broadcom’s president and CEO Hock Tan was awarded $61 million.

Other CEOs that made it to the list include global insurance giant AIG’s CEO, Peter Zaffino, and Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings. While Hastings received a $10 million hike last year, he stepped down from this role in January 2023.

Rising Median CEO Income Hits a Wall

Over the last decade, the median pay awarded to CEOs across S&P 500 companies has doubled.

YearMedian Total Compensation for S&P 500 CEOsChange (%)
2010$7.68Mn/a
2011$7.56M-2%
2012$6.96M-8%
2013$7.95M14%
2014$9.35M18%
2015$9.72M4%
2016$9.93M2%
2017$10.62M7%
2018$11.81M11%
2019$12.20M3%
2020$13.43M10%
2021$14.67M9%
2022$14.50M-1%

In 2021, this number hit a high of $14.7 million.

However, in 2022, the median CEO compensation package hit a wall for the first time in a decade as it slightly fell to $14.5 million.

Compensation Actually Paid

A compensation package dependent on market valuation means that these CEOs may receive more or less than the pay they are slated to receive.

This is because most stock awards aren’t granted when announced, but instead vest over time, becoming subject to changes in share prices.

In 2022, the SEC introduced new disclosure rules for companies to report this realized value for executive pay packages, appropriately called “compensation actually paid.”

CEOCompanyTotal PayCompensation Paid
Sundar PichaiAlphabet$226M$116M
Michael RapinoLive Nation Entertainment$139M$36M
Tim CookApple$99MN/A
Peter ZaffinoAmerican International Group$75M$91M
Hock TanBroadcom$61MN/A
Vicente ReynalIngersoll Rand$55M$51M
Reed HastingsNetflix$51M$50M
Theodore (Ted) SarandosNetflix$50M$50M
Hamid. MoghadamPrologis$48M-$8M
Stephen SqueriAmerican Express$48M$43M
James GormanMorgan Stanley$39M$31M
David ZaslavWarner Bros. Discovery$39M-$41M
William McDermottServiceNow$39M-$76M
Mark BegorEquifax$37M-$19M
Darren WoodsExxon Mobil$36M$90M
David SimonSimon Property Group$36M$30M
James DimonJPMorgan Chase$35M$37M
Julie SweetAccenture$34MN/A
Albert BourlaPfizer$33M$6M
Laurence FinkBlackRock$33M-$6M

The Wall Street Journal report revealed that many of the top-paid S&P 500 CEOs in 2022 received much smaller pay packages due to market fluctuations.

For example, Sundar Pichai ended up receiving about $116 million as the value of Alphabet’s stock dropped at the time that his grants vested. Similarly, Michael Rapino was paid almost $36 million, though his stock awards will continue vesting for another five years.

Barring Pichai, many of the names of the highest paid S&P 500 CEOs were eclipsed by CEOs of several energy companies, like Exxon Mobil and Chevron, whose stock prices shot up in 2022.

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