It’s hard not to love the magical world that Roald Dahl created in his iconic children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Most of us have daydreamed about what it would have been like to win a golden ticket and go on a tour of Willy Wonka’s factory.
But how much exactly would that world cost? How much would the Wonka company be worth? How much would the Oompa Loompas get paid? We dissected every element of Mr. Dahl’s story to calculate the costs of bringing his world of pure imagination to life today. Here’s how things added up.
As you may have guessed, it’s quite an expensive feat to bring the Chocolate Factory to real life. From our estimations, simply keeping on the lights for an entire year would be upwards of $2 Million. That number quickly becomes a nonfactor when you find out how much a chocolate river or flying elevator would set you back! We’re talking over $30 Million for the river and $109 Million for an elevator strapped with a state-of-the-art rocket. And we haven’t even talked about the Oompa Loompas! Assuming they’re getting paid and receiving healthcare, we’re looking at another $81 Million for their labor.
For the rest of the estimates, check out the infographic below. In total, it looks like Mr. Wonka is looking at a grand total of $224.6 million to keep the factory running each year. These costs may be exorbitant, and we can think of a few ways to pare down, but what fun would that be?
What Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory Would Cost Today from Advanced Technology Services