‘Breaking Bad’ has provided us with one perfect closure, although it wasn’t the most shocking TV finale in Hollywood. However, there’s one question that the finale did not seem to answer satisfactorily. Where did Walt’s money go at the end of ‘Breaking Bad’? Keep reading to find out.
It has been long since the last bullet was fired in the money-driven world of ‘Breaking Bad’. Walter White is dead and Jesse Pinkman has strode off (although for a short while) into the unknown. ‘Breaking Bad’ finale gave the Hollywood industry one of its perfect endings with a concrete and full-proof closure. However, there’s one question that has been left open to interpretation by the ‘Breaking Bad’ ending: What happened to Walt’s money?
Highlights —
- How much money did Walter White make?
- What did Walt plan to do with his money?
- What happened to Walt’s money?
How much money did Walter White make?
When Walter White and Jesse Pinkman partnered up to create a storm in the drug business, it was not because they had fun cooking meth and discussing life. They started with a crystal clear goal – making enough dollars to last for a lifetime and more. It was their shortcut to living like kings, or in the case of Walter White, dying like kings.
Walt and Jesse started their business in a worn-out caravan in the middle of the desert, just hoping to make enough to meet their goals of the time – Jesse upgrading his lifestyle and Walt leaving enough money for his family to live upon after his death by cancer. Soon, the duo started getting involved in bigger deals with cartels and secret drug trading chains, thanks to Walt’s flawless chemistry knowledge which resulted in the cooking of an almost purest form of meth. The result: inflow of a huge amount of money.
By the end of ‘Breaking Bad’ Season 5, an approximate estimate of Walt’s total money amounted up around $80 million. However, show-runner Vince Gilligan says that $80 million could be a bit high than what Walt’s money should amount to realistically. He said,
“I asked prop master Mark Hansen, and he and his guys had tried, just for their own edification, to figure out how much that would be if it was roughly a half-and-half mix of the twenties and fifties, and he guessed somewhere in the vicinity of eighty million dollars —eighty, eighty-five, ninety — that’s a lotta dough. I don’t know, we may have erred on the side of showmanship there instead of reality, I don’t know if [Walt] could’ve made that much that quickly”.
What did Walt plan to do with his money?
Across the five seasons, we have seen Walt trying to multiply his worth even after he had reached his initial goal. He wanted to make enough money to support his family after his death and he took the shortcut to make a huge amount in very little time. However, by the end of the show, Walt admits to Skyler that all this time when he thought that he was doing it for his family, he was really doing it for himself. He craved for a recognition which he received as Heisenberg.
That, however, might not be entirely true. Walt might have come to believe that he had done it all for himself, but he did chalk out an elaborate plan to get about 9 million dollars to his son, Walt Jr. through Elliot and Gretchen’s charity program. That being said, he ultimately waived his right to the credit for the money that would reach his son. As for the rest of the money, he just didn’t seem to care about it, which is odd given the lengths he had gone to in order to make that much amount.
What happened to Walt’s money?
Even after repeated calculations, ‘Breaking Bad’ keeps up hanging for answers regarding the status of Walt’s money. Out of the $80 million, Walt gave $9 million to his family, when initially he had set out to make $737,000. With $9 million down, the rest of the money was at first stolen by Jack and the Nazis in the desert. However, the ‘Breaking Bad’ finale saw Uncle Jack and company dead, which means that the rest of Walt’s money is unaccounted for. So, what must have happened to it?
Our best bet is that the government confiscated it. After having taken control of the meth lab, it only makes sense that the government would also seize what’s left of Walt’s $80 million. As for the $9 million that Walt had secured for his children via the Schwartzes, that too should be drowned deep in taxes as per the IRS rules.
What do you think might have happened to Walt’s money? Hit the comments section with your views!
