Neil deGrasse Tyson added to his scientific renown this year by hosting the relaunched “Cosmos,” but before he was breaking down the molecular makeup of space and time, the astrophysicist was giving lectures on the astronomical wealth of Bill Gates.
In a recently posted video from 2011, the well-known author and scientific communicator explains that based on his personal wealth, the lowest amount of money worth stopping to pick up off the street would be a quarter. He then compares his ratio with that of Bill Gates then-estimated wealth of $50 billion (it’s $75 billion now) to find the lowest amount of money worth stopping to pick up for the Microsoft founder.
“I don’t know if you know how much that is. I don’t believe you know. You don’t – in fact, I’m certain you don’t,” deGrasse says. “Because I’m going to tell you.”
Spoiler alert — it’s a lot.
WATCH: