Bridgerton: How much is £10,000 worth today and how rich is Penelope?

June 21, 2024, 9:38 p.m.

By Katie Louise Smith

Cressida’s £10,000 bribe would amount to a huge sum if that figure was adjusted to 2024 money.

I wonder how much Cressida Cowper’s £10,000 blackmail threat is. The Bridgerton Chronicles would cost in 2024? Here is your answer…

The Bridgerton Chronicles season 3 takes place in 1815, two years after the events of season 1 of the Netflix series which begins in 1813. £10,000 at the time would have been a small sum. huge amount of money, but for very wealthy families like the Bridgertons, it probably wouldn’t break the bank.

But with today’s money? The 2024 equivalent of Cressida’s blackmail demand of £10,000 would have been an absolutely astronomical sum of money.

How can you solve this problem? Well, the Bank of England has a inflation calculator this allows users to determine approximately how much things would have cost in Bridgerton’s time (i.e. the Regency era), compared to today. Here’s a rough look at how much Penelope would have hypothetically had to pay Cressida if they existed in 2024.

How much does £10,000 cost in The Bridgerton Chronicles?

How much is Queen Charlotte’s £5,000 reward in today’s money?

In a bid to unmask the real Lady Whistledown, Queen Charlotte is offering a reward of £5,000, which would be equivalent to approximately £373,172 ($472,027) in 2024.

How much does Cressida’s £10,000 blackmail demand cost in today’s money?

In episode 8, after discovering that Penelope is actually Lady Whistledown, Cressida tells Penelope that she will have to pay her double the Queen’s reward if she does not want her secret revealed to all of the tone.

In 2024, this figure would rise to £746,345 ($944,055). Three quarters of a million pounds? Cressida, babies… please! We are in a cost of living crisis!

How much does Cressida’s £20,000 blackmail demand cost in today’s money?

After Colin tries to quash Cressida’s blackmail attempt (and fails miserably), she doubles her demand to £20,000.

According to the inflation calculator, this kind of money is worth just under £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in today’s society.

How rich is Penelope Featherington?

Penelope is undoubtedly the richest member of her family. Since the creation of Lady Whistledown, Penelope has earned an incredibly tidy sum. But what is his net worth?

When Cressida asks for £10,000, Penelope offers to pay it and instead agrees to pay it herself. When a shocked Eloise asks her if she made that much money from her Whistledown business, Penelope replies, “A little more if we’re being honest…”

However, after Cressida doubles the blackmail threat to £20,000, Penelope reveals she “doesn’t have that amount”.

So, if Penelope’s income (over £10,000 but less than £20,000) was adjusted to today’s money, she would probably be a self-made millionaire.

In the final episode, Penelope also pays for Philippa and Prudence’s extravagant Butterfly Ball, telling her sisters that her mother paid for everything. So she has a lot of money hidden under her bedroom floor.

The Bridgertons, if you’re wondering, are incredibly wealthy and would be considered part of the 1% if they existed in today’s society. When Cressida dropped the £20,000 blackmail demand, Colin simply dismissed it as something the family could afford and simply dismissed it as a “major expense”.

Learn more about The Bridgerton Chronicles here:

Bridgerton Cast vs. “The Most Impossible Bridgerton Quiz”

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