We think of Kris Kringle as a benevolent toy-giver one special night each year. But every other day of the year, what’s he doing? He’s running one of the biggest toy factories in the world. That’s no small chore. So how much does it cost to keep the Workshop working? And how does Santa pay for it all? What is Santa Claus’ net worth?
Some data, like the sleigh and Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, are easy to figure out — assuming he owns everything outright and has no debt. Can you imagine charging Santa interest?
Still, our best guesses are based on the limited data we have — after all, St. Nick’s whole gig is based on mystique. But to avoid any quibbles with Mr. Claus’ legal team, please keep in mind that the below data is entirely speculative.
How does Santa Claus make his income?
There are a few theories about Santa’s salary. The first is purely historical — St. Nicholas was a monk in what is now Turkey who was known for giving all of his inherited wealth to the less fortunate. Legends tend to speak in absolutes — but this theory simply poses the idea that he gave away most of his wealth — and invested the rest.
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I’m no antiquities expert, but just one everyday artifact from Patara (in modern-day Turkey) from AD 280 is probably worth a lot of money.
The second theory poses that Father Christmas, one of the most recognizable figures across the world, collects royalties on his iconic image. This year, the classic holiday poem “‘Twas Night Before Christmas” turns 200 years old. It marks the popularization of Santa Claus, the kindly spirit that brings presents on Christmas Eve.
If we assume that Mr. Claus has been collecting on his image for two centuries, those royalty payments would certainly stack up. Between movie likenesses, an international network of mall Santas, and radio jingles like “Santa, Baby” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” St. Nick’s brand is very visible.
If Mariah Carey makes an estimated $3 million each year on “All I Want for Christmas is You”, Santa Claus himself could net at least twice that much. For argument’s sake, let’s say he makes $6 million for the use of his likeness each December.
Santa Claus’ net worth: His assets
Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole and a cozy cottage for two
In 2022, property listing site Zillow clocked ol’ St. Nick’s home worth a warm-and-cozy $1.15 million. This year, the value of his property (where it is) has gone up to $1.18 million.
Check out the site for a 3D tour of the two-bedroom, two-bath cottage nestled on 25 acres of winter wonderland. The property includes a separate garage for storing the famous sleigh, a stable for his reindeer, and Santa’s workshop — where all the toys are made.
Santa’s sleigh
Let’s assume that Santa, whose home sits on one of our biggest ice caps, is very into electric energy. And he’s going to need a whole lot of it if he’s going to make it all the way around the world in one night. Ol’ St. Nick’s trusty Elves could likely teach Tesla (TSLA) – Get Free Report a thing or two about building EVs.
But for now, Kris Kringle is keeping his secret. As such, it’s hard to guess the value of a flying sleigh carrying 325,000 tons (or more) all across the world (more than 99,400 miles) in about 10 hours. The closest thing we have to compare it to would be the Tesla Semi, which reportedly can go for 500 miles on a charge and is valued at around $250,000.
By those numbers, it would take a fleet of 200 Tesla Semis to make it around the world on Santa’s sleigh’s charge. Never mind that it would take almost 7,500 trucks to handle the weight. Also, never mind the speed limit.
By this estimation, Santa’s sleigh, on today’s auto market, would be worth a whopping $50 billion. This doesn’t account for all the damage the sleigh takes on each yearly outing. Your average Tesla car will depreciate to 45% of its original value over a decade. Santa’s been at this game far longer than that, but let’s give those mechanical engineering Elves at the workshop their dues — accounting for depreciation, Santa’s sleigh could be worth as much as $22.5 billion.
For leftover change, add on the sale value of nine domesticated adult reindeer for $36,000. That’s not even speculating about how much value Rudolph’s rare, bioluminescent nose would add.
Antiquities
In November 2022, several stolen artifacts were repatriated to Turkey. The trafficked artifacts included a life-size bronze statue of Roman Emperor Lucius Verus, estimated to have been sculpted sometime between AD 100-200. The statue is valued at $15 million.
Now it’s unlikely St. Nicolas would have stashed away a bunch of bronze tributes to royalty in his youth, what with all of the selfless giving. But other items like jewelry and coins would potentially have significant value today.
For argument’s sake, let’s say Santa Claus has a humble $5 million in antiquities that he keeps around for sentimental purposes.
Santa Claus’ investment portfolio
There are a number of ways Ol’ Kris Kringle could have invested his money over the years. International stock markets have been around since the 17th century, after all — he’s been around considerably longer.
Let’s choose one stock that we already associate with the image of Santa: Coca-Cola (KO) – Get Free Report. In 1931, Mr. Claus made arguably his most iconic appearance in a string of Coca-Cola ads drawn by Haddon Sundblom.
If Papa Noël got paid in shares, he’d be taking no losses on almost a century’s worth of market growth. Say he was paid with 100 shares of Coca-Cola stock. In 1931, his shares were worth $1,182. After ten stock splits over nearly a century, today Mr. Claus’ gains on his 460,800 shares of Coke would total out to $26.5 million.
That’s just rising prices and stock splits — let’s assume a guy who makes a list and checks it twice would reinvest his dividends. Say dividends worked out to 0.2% of the stock prices over the years. So let’s round it up and say Santa is worth nearly $30 million in Coca-Cola stock alone.
Now think of every single company that has used Santa Claus’ image in its ads: Kraft-Heinz (KHC) – Get Free Report, PepsiCo. (PEP) – Get Free Report, Apple (AAPL) – Get Free Report, General Motors (GM) – Get Free Report, and so many more. If stock options were Kringle’s preferred method of payment, his capital gains would make Warren Buffett weep.
How much is Santa Claus worth: His liabilities
Elf jobs at the North Pole: How much does Santa pay?
Of course, the St. Nicholas of old was known for his generosity, so we know that the Elves are being paid a very competitive rate. Toys for 800 million children don’t just make themselves! Assuming that each child gets two presents from ol’ Kris Kringle, that’s 1.6 billion toys in one calendar year!
The official Santa Tracker estimates that there are at least 110,000 Elves in Santa’s employ. Their salaries, however, are a topic of great mystery. Some lore states that the Elves don’t work for wages. That is, of course, not true. They’ve even got great insurance benefits — particularly dental.
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Unfortunately, unless there’s a leaked memo from the North Pole’s headquarters, it’s hard to know just how much the Elves are paid for their work. If we make a guess based on the average salary of someone working in a nearby country, say, Iceland, then the 110,000 Elves make an average of $56K annually which would cost the Workshop about $6.16 billion.
Feeding the reindeer
Reindeer eat a lot. We’re talking 9-18 pounds of vegetation per day — and the North Pole isn’t exactly known for its greenery.
Owners of domesticated reindeer can expect to pay about $2,000 annually per nose. This means that it costs $18,000 a year to feed Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and … you get the idea.
Santa and Mrs. Claus, too
The average cost of living in nearby Iceland is about $1,240 per month. For this cozy couple, $2,500 would cover it, or just about $30,000 annually.
Let’s also assume that Santa and Mrs. Claus will need a vacation once the gifting season is over. These two lovebirds deserve to thaw out their fingers and toes along a beach in Key West — which will cost them about $16,000.
Lawsuits
This time of year, rumors often circulate about Santa’s driving skills. While reports of Grandmas being “run over by a reindeer” have become a common urban legend, if the Big Guy has collided with anyone, the concerned parties settled out of court.
So what is Santa Claus’ net worth?
Assuming that jolly ol’ St. Nicholas is debt-free, Santa’s Workshop in total would need to gross at least $6.21 billion to keep the lights on at the North Pole.
One could estimate that Santa Claus’ net worth is somewhere between $2 to $5 billion — and that’s on the very low end. His face is one of the most recognizable figures across the world. His brand is worth at least $1 billion alone.
So, based on our admittedly very rough guesswork, Santa Claus might be worth as much as $16 billion. After 200 years, he’s never missed a delivery — a record that swells the goodwill in his balance sheet, adding to his net worth.
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