I guess one of the unexpected side effects of being a billionaire is falling tragically out of touch with the value of a dollar. As Bill Gates recently proved, balling hard doesn’t necessarily make you bargain-savvy. The Microsoft mogul stopped by The Ellen Show, and Degeneres quizzed him on the average cost of grocery store items. Spoiler: it did not go well.
Admittedly, the last time the billionaire had been to a grocery store was a “long time ago.” Buying your own food is for us peasants, I guess. The quiz started off with a box of Rice-a-Roni, which Bill, to use tech billionaire speak, valuated at $5. Nah, man. The San Francisco treat only costs a buck. Next up: TidePods. Bill guessed the non-edible (I repeat, NON-EDIBLE) detergent pods cost $4, before upping his estimate to $10. In case you didn’t know, a container of TidePods actually costs about $20.
The one item Gates nailed was dental floss ($4), because the man takes care of his pearly whites. TBD if flossing increases your chances of becoming a billionaire, but I’m willing to give it a shot. If nothing else will get me to floss, the promise of a net worth of $94 billion just might. Overall, Gates tended to overshoot the prices of most items, but hey, it’s not like he doesn’t have any extra cash to spare.