Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
325,000
dollars
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
He gains 14 inches, so he is standing on a 14 inch stack. How many bills make an inch? They are thin, call it 250.
- Height gain
- 14 in
- Bills in an inch
- ≈ 250
- Bills in the stack
- 14 × 250 = 3,500 bills
- 3,500 × $100
- ≈ $350,000
He gains 35 centimeters, so he is standing on a 35 centimeter stack. How many bills make a centimeter? A bill is about a tenth of a millimeter thick, so 100.
- Height gain
- 35 cm
- Bills in a centimeter
- ≈ 100
- Bills in the stack
- 35 × 100 = 3,500 bills
- 3,500 × $100
- ≈ $350,000
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Height gain (6'6" minus 5'4")
- 14 in
- Thickness of one bill (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
- 0.0043 in
- Bills per stack (14 ÷ 0.0043)
- ≈ 3,250
- 3,250 bills × $100
- ≈ $325,000
Reference cited by Fermi: U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing currency specifications (0.0043 in per note); the line is from Lil Uzi Vert's 'Sanguine Paradise'
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