There’s no doubt there’s plenty of cash in Silicon Valley and its biggest companies have been splashing frivolously for years. But what have they been spending all their pocket money on and why?

The big four (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook) all go about their acquisitions a little differently. Some blast open the boardroom doors and drop a wedge of cash, while others are a bit more clandestine in their approach.

Financesonline compiled a tidy infographic detailing these companies and their top purchases including how much they spent, why they decided to invest and what they hope will happen.

Thought $19 billion was a lot? It’s chump change compared to what some other companies splurged this year.

The biggest came from American television network Comcast, which gobbled up cable television operator Time Warner Cable in a mammoth buyout.

Google

Dropping billions all over the place, Google has been labelled the Big Spender as it made some savvy purchases — particularly with Android, which it snapped up for a relatively small $50 million. Android is now the world’s most-used mobile OS.

Microsoft

In the 90s, no one would have called Microsoft confused. But as it moved into the 21st century, rivals gained ground and it bought companies to stay in the race.

Hotmail took on AOL and Yahoo mail, and did a good job until Gmail came along and now it has been phased out in favour of Outlook.

It bought flagging mobile brand Nokia for $7.2 billion and also, in 2007, bought an online advertising platform to compete with Google. That was written off as a loss. Skype too, it’s most expensive purchase, was seen as a confusing buy with the VOIP software not making net profits at the time.

Apple

In typical Apple style, they have been dubbed the small and secret buyer, which conducts hush-hush business. They haven’t gone go for broke on any acquisitions, instead opting for smaller companies that can easily integrate into their current projects. A tactic, it seems, that hasn’t done them any harm.

Facebook

With an eye for developing technologies and entrepreneurial zeal, Facebook has been making headlines of late by opening up the wallet for WhatsApp at a staggering $19 billion, and $2 billion for virtual reality headset creator Oculus VR.

Thanks to its success, Facebook has freed up funds to keep it from being another MySpace or Bebo and has been investing in the next market trends. In 2012, sensing the trend for photo sharing, it savvily bagged Instagram for $1 billion — something of a bargain next to the WhatsApp price.