What Children Own

Ernesto - Firenze, Italy

Gabriele Galimberti, an Italian photographer, traveled globally and photographed kids with their most prized possession. The text is taken from an interview with The Times Magazine.

Callum - Fairbanks, Alaska

Because I am so OCD and absolutely disgusted with the current state of affairs, I'm adding some stats. They are from a 1999 comparison so the discrepancy is greater.

Ragnar - Reykjavik, Iceland

I looked for more current data and oh honey, can I tell you stories but I'll save that for another time.

Fermina - Montevideo, Uruguay

With the exception of computer games, toys haven’t really changed over the past three decades or so. - The Times Magazine

Naya - Managua, Nicaragua

Amount of money needed each year (in addition to current expenditures) to provide reproductive health care for all women in developing countries: $12 billion

Amount of money spent annually on perfumes in Europe and the United States: $12 billion

Watcharapom - Bangkok, Thailand

At their age, they are pretty all much the same. They just want to play. - Galimberti

Maudy - Kalulushi, Zambia

Amount of money needed each year (in addition to current expenditures) to provide water and sanitation for all people in developing nations: $9 billion

Amount of money spent annually on cosmetics in the United States: $8 billion

Botlhe - Maun, Botswana

The richest children were more possessive. At the beginning, they wouldn’t want me to touch their toys. In poor countries, it was much easier. In Africa, the kids would mostly play with their friends outside. - Galimberti

Tangawizi - Keekorok, Kenya

Amount of money needed each year (in addition to current expenditures) to provide basic health an nutrition needs universally in the developing world: $13 billion

Amount of money spent each year on pet food in Europe and the United States: $17 billion

Abel - Nopaltepec, Mexico

The toys reflected the world each child was born into. The boy from an affluent Beijing family loves Monopoly, because he likes the idea of building houses and hotels, while the boy from rural Mexico loves trucks, because he sees them rumbling through his village to the nearby sugar plantation every day. - The Times Magazine

Pavel - Kiev, Ukraine

Amount of money needed each year (in addition to current expenditures) to provide basic education for all people in developing nations: $6 billion

Amount of money spent each year on militaries worldwide: $780 billion

Alessia - Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy

Doing this, I learnt more about the parents than I did about the kids. There was the Latvian mother who drove a taxi for a living, and who showered her son with miniature cars and the Italian farmer whose daughter proudly displayed her plastic rakes, hoes and spades. - Galimberti

Noel - Dallas, Texas

Combined wealth of the world's richest 225 people: $1 trillion

Combined annual income of the world's poorest 2.5 billion people: $1 trillion

Chiwa - Mchinji, Malawi

However, children worlds apart share similarities. . . a six-year-old boy in Texas and a four-year-old girl in Malawi both believed their plastic dinosaurs would protect them from dangers. - The Times Magazine