Investing
Zoe Team
6 min read
Dragons are valued by comparing their utility to real-world military technology.
The F-22 Raptor is used as a proxy due to its air superiority and rarity.
Calculations are theoretical and based on defense spending, not actual market data.
It is estimated by comparing the F-22 Raptor’s development costs and rarity to the limited number of dragons in the show.
No, the article is a fun thought experiment and not intended as professional investment or financial advice.
The author chose the F-22 for its unmatched speed, agility, and lethal weaponry, which mirror the combat advantages of a dragon.
Here’s a question we would like to propose… How much is a dragon worth? Let’s break down just how valuable a Game of Thrones dragon would be.
My guess, $9.75 BILLION!
This past Sunday I woke up with the biggest smile on my face. After months of trading theories with friends and watching trailers on YouTube, the new season of Game of Thrones was finally here. I prepared myself by buying a plethora of junk food and watching old episodes.
And I can say with some certainty that I’m not the only one that did this.
With a number of potential wars on the horizon, I started to wonder how much of an advantage Khaleesi’s dragons are. I mean she basically has air support when no one else does, which got me thinking, how much are her dragons worth?
Since we live in a free-market society and generally something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it, I had to figure out how much a dragon would sell for. Of course, Game of Thrones dragons aren’t real (unfortunately) so the most similar living thing I could find was the cost of a Komodo dragon, which, if you’re curious will cost you around $30,000 - not counting the hefty fines you’ll end up paying if caught with one.
Since Komodo dragons can’t fly or spitfire I had to find something a little more comparable. This article talks about how the dragons in season 7 are about the size of a Boeing 747. We’re getting close but again, a 747 doesn’t have the destructive capabilities or our beloved dragons.
My guess is a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor!
According to Lockheed Martin, the F-22 Raptor “defines air dominance. It’s unique combination of speed, agility and lethal weaponry, make it the best air fighter in the world”. Sounds a lot like a dragon if you ask me.
So how did I come up with $9.75 billion per dragon? Well, as precise as it may sound, I simply took the cost of each F-22 ($150 million) and multiplied it by the number of F-22s ever made (195) for a total of ~$29 billion. Since there are only 3 dragons in Game of Thrones, their value must be higher than the F-22 as they are even rarer. So $29 billion divided by 3 left me with a price tag of almost $10 billion for a single dragon.
One thing to keep in mind is that I didn’t account for the conversion from US Dollars to Gold Dragon coins, so I’m sure my calculations are off a bit. Another thing I didn’t add to the cost of a dragon was the massive anxiety this shows causes me and the amount of junk food I consumed whilst coming up with this arbitrary calculation.
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