Buzz
While Earth is undeniably our most valuable place, it does come with a price. The planet’s resources and the benefits they provide to humanity add up to a massive, tangible value. Although humanity may never have to buy or sell the Earth, contemplating its worth in numerical terms helps us appreciate its true significance. According to reports from Treehugger, a scientist has even devised a formula to estimate this cost.
In 2020, Dr. Greg Laughlin, now a professor of astronomy at Yale University, calculated that Earth is worth approximately $5 quadrillion ($5,000,000,000,000,000). He arrived at this valuation by considering factors like the planet’s mass, temperature, age, and other elements crucial to sustaining life.
To highlight Earth's extraordinary value, Laughlin also estimated the worth of other planets in our solar system based on their potential to support life. For example, Mars is valued at $16,000—far less than the cost of an average used car, but still significantly more than Venus, which is valued at just one cent. Perhaps this is due to Venus's thick atmosphere of 96 percent carbon dioxide and winds reaching up to 224 mph.
Laughlin doesn’t believe these figures have practical real-world use. Instead, he hopes they will encourage people to reflect on and value the only home they have. He’s not the first to assign a colossal, hypothetical price to something just for fun. For instance, the cost of the Death Star from Star Wars has been estimated at a staggering $852 quadrillion—far exceeding Laughlin's valuation of Earth.
