What If the Chocolate Factory was a real place?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, an iconic book with an even more iconic factory at its forefront. We’ve all fantasized about the factory being a real place, right? But as practical-minded adults, the real question is how much would it cost to run that place? Well, you’re in luck because we did the math.

As you may have guessed, it’s quite an expensive feat to bring the Chocolate Factory to real life. From our estimations, simply keeping on the lights for an entire year would be upwards of $2 Million. That number quickly becomes a nonfactor when you find out how much a chocolate river or flying elevator would set you back! We’re talking over $30 Million for the river and $109 Million for an elevator strapped with a state-of-the-art rocket. And we haven’t even talked about the Oompa Loompas! Assuming they’re getting paid and receiving healthcare, we’re looking at another $81 Million for their labor!

For the rest of the estimates, check out the infographic below. In total, it looks like Mr. Wonka is looking at a grand total of $224.6 million to keep the factory running each year. These costs may be exorbitant, and we can think of a few ways to pare down, but what fun would that be?