This article contains spoilers for Andor episode six
The last three episodes of Andor have been centered on the vault full of credits secured deep in the Imperial base on Aldhani. These represent the payroll for the whole system, and add up to a grand total of 80 million credits. They appear to be in the form of some kind of bullion, with the logistics of getting so much heavy metal out of the base as difficult as breaking in there in the first place.
Ultimately, the Rebel cell succeeded in their heist, though not without some tragic casualties along the way. As of the close of the episode Vel has control of the dough, and Luthen is cackling with glee that everything has gone (mostly) to plan. But it’s worth setting in context just what 80 million credits will buy you in a galaxy, far, far away.
Resourceful fans are on the case in r/StarWars, revealing that 80 million credits are enough to fund practically the entire Rebellion:
But as Andor is set prior to A New Hope, popping $115 million into an inflation calculator to update to the 2022 value gives us a stonking $1.05 billion:
As one user says, maybe buying individual ships is missing the point:
Another fan calculates it to be even more than that, taking from a ridiculous amount of money into crazy megabucks territory:
Saner heads prevail, though, pointing out that Star Wars isn’t a series founded on coherent galactic economics:
However you calculate it, this Rebel mission was clearly a big deal, as at the end of the episode the entire ISB spy operation has been assembled to figure out a way to respond. It’s possible this money could fund the Rebels right up through Return of the Jedi, though in the wake of their success in A New Hope, many wealthy sympathizers began throwing in their money after the Rebel Alliance proved they could triumph against the odds.
But, before all that, Vel has to get this massive amount of hot money somewhere secure as soon as possible. We suspect that’ll be its own exciting adventure.