So i guess Ben must be rich if he has acess to 3.2 million in cash! How did he get all this money?

I was hoping Miles would give a little bit away, but he didn't. I think Miles said something about knowing what Ben can do, or is capable of? Odd. Doesn't seem like Ben can get all the cash he wants/needs.

To me, this was the biggest part of the episode. How does Ben have access to all this money? Is he killing for money? I can't wait to see!

Yeah, they've really begun to expand on Ben's character. Just who IS this guy? Sure we've always known him as this in control, manipulative dude, but now he's apparently rich and even more powerful that we'd imagined. A true super villain; Benjamin Linus...or is that even your real name?

A thought on my own question: We know Dharma was still doing supply drops when the losties originally arrived on the island. So the higher ups were still providing support thinking the project was still on track. So maybe they were also providing monetary assitance to the project in some sort of secret account which Ben gained acess to. That would explain how he was abel to finance trips for his people to recruit other people (like Juliet) off island and explain how he was able to obtain all his info on eveyone. That kind of stuff doesn't come cheap.

I'm with Benmanrocky. Sounds like it could be somebody's slush fund $ for experiments.

random, but do we think ben's money is keeping kate taken care of post-island somehow? cause that house was reaaaallll nice. and she had a nanny.

I'm wondering if all the supply drops were made decades ago. Perhaps they had a firm understanding of the time difference and could use that to drop things into the future. So basically, they just do all the supply drops over a week, like back in 1965 or whenever, but each pallet lands in a different time. I really can't see the Dharma initiative being fooled for this long, let alone still making and packaging all these supplies. I guess a 3rd party could have been contracted to make the drops, and not know or care what was going on with the island. Regardless, I think Ben's money comes from something he can do, or something he knows. It would be kind of lame just to think he was embezzling .

random, but do we think ben's money is keeping kate taken care of post-island somehow? cause that house was reaaaallll nice. and she had a nanny.

That's from her settlement money from Oceanic.

Perhaps the Others (Ben, Richard, etc) have been financed by a rival of Widmore's, hence the purge. (Note: I said "perhaps". It's just an idea.)

Or... Ben can reach into his (metaphorical) box, and grab a handful of cash.

Remember Ben's dad asked for another 30 thousand or something like that? Assuming he got paid tens of thousands per year, and didn't spend it, Ben could have quite the nest-egg.

Any ideas as to why Miles wants 3.2 mil ?

Remember Ben's dad asked for another 30 thousand or something like that? Assuming he got paid tens of thousands per year, and didn't spend it, Ben could have quite the nest-egg.

How would that relate to Miles' comments about "I know what you are capable of." (or something like that). An inheritance doesn't sound very sinister.

random, but do we think ben's money is keeping kate taken care of post-island somehow? cause that house was reaaaallll nice. and she had a nanny.


Probably spent some of her insurance settlement fund on the house

How would that relate to Miles' comments about "I know what you are capable of." (or something like that). An inheritance doesn't sound very sinister.

It does if you got it from killing your father.

In the ep where Ben gasses Dad, do we get any info as to what Ben's job or position is at that time ? His dad is still a lowly workman, shuttling beer around the island, but perhaps Ben has risen to an executive spot where he is involved with Dharma's off-island backers & support teams. How Miles came to be aware of Ben's fortune or reputation, I'm still pondering - since his FB scene with the Grandmother makes him seem like a bit of a petty con-man despite his apparent psychic gift, and Abbadon didn't seem like he was sharing all the info with Naomi's team.

I took it to mean the box. He could imagine it up.

I took it to mean the box. He could imagine it up.

I'm thinking it might be along those lines. Maybe Ben can counterfeit money, or teleport it out of a bank vault, or duplicate (twin) existing money in a matter generator, or something.

In the ep where Ben gasses Dad, do we get any info as to what Ben's job or position is at that time ?


I'm pretty sure Ben's uniform said "Ben Workman" (maybe Hugo was right after all & it really was their last name :biggrin: )

& yeah, Ben may work with other (rich) people, but I've always thought he saw himself as not having a 'boss' (including Jacob, assuming Jacob is 'real').

If time is really skewed on the island, one could exploit this ability to play the lottery, stocks, etc. to gain just about everything you'd want (money, foreign currency, information, etc.) in the real world.

Heck, even Hugo benefited from the numbers that apparently were written and broadcast from the island.

If time is really skewed on the island, one could exploit this ability to play the lottery, stocks, etc. to gain just about everything you'd want (money, foreign currency, information, etc.) in the real world.

Heck, even Hugo benefited from the numbers that apparently were written and broadcast from the island.

Bingo! Ben is clearly capable of time travel off the island. While he might not have $3.2M sitting around, one quick trip to Vegas in 1978 and he's golden.

Not having read this enitre thread, but wanting to put my 2 million in....I agree with those who think Ben gained access to DHARMA stuff after the purge and has been tapping into those accounts.

I disagree that the discovery of Ben having millions as the most important discovery in the show. The most important was the opening scene with the close up of Locke's eye opening. That signals a major change for him and the show.

One last thing...how long before Sawyer refers to Locke as "Rambo?" :)

I'm wondering if all the supply drops were made decades ago. Perhaps they had a firm understanding of the time difference and could use that to drop things into the future. So basically, they just do all the supply drops over a week, like back in 1965 or whenever, but each pallet lands in a different time. .

Now that is a good thought. I think Dharma knew about the time bending zone around the island. Now they told the scientists that there would be food drops to the island "in perpetuity" but I've always been puzzled why they kept using the Dharma logo years after they had stopped hearing from Dharma. They could very well have determined which bearing to send each pallet to ensure food drops twice a year (or whatever they were). Then they just send a 100 year supply of food out to the island, each set of pallets by a different bearing. The food wouldn't be old since it had just been in transit a matter of minutes. It just arrived at different times in different years. I like that theory.

I really can't see the Dharma initiative being fooled for this long, let alone still making and packaging all these supplies. I guess a 3rd party could have been contracted to make the drops, and not know or care what was going on with the island.

I agree. Except I don't think there was anyone left of the Dharma Initiative. I think they were all on island. From the Lost Experience we know that Hanso cut funding for Dharma and wrote it off as a failure. Then they turned to some other way to achieve changing the numbers (the core values of the Valenzetti equation). I think Dharma is long gone. I think any former Dharma scientists not on the island assumed those on the island perished during "the incident" and, knowing the types of deadly forces they were playing around with, were not surprised. That's why no more reliefs were sent for the Swan station; no one left in Dharma to send them. Remember Dharma was just a group of scientists contracted by Hanso. Hanso might be looking for the island or behind stuff but not Dharma.

Regardless, I think Ben's money comes from something he can do, or something he knows. It would be kind of lame just to think he was embezzling .

I agree again. The theory I have mentioned several times on the board is that Dharma or Hanso was mining gems on the island. Maybe that's why the Black Rock with its mining equipment ended up there. Also one of the women who greets young Ben has "gemologist" written on her uniform. It would account for all the money the natives have at their disposal. If the natives exchanged gems for guns and ammunition, it would explain how they financed the Purge. Then Ben has a lot of paperwork he is always doing. He had an office with lots of paperwork at the Hydra and was even building a runway. We saw more paperwork in Ben's tent when the Others were camping. If food drops from the sky, how much paperwork would Ben have to do? He must have been involved in some type of off-island activity.
I think Ben is protecting the island from without and in the process is the head of some kind of multinational organization that sells precious gems. Hence all the money. TPTB have hinted that the Others are involved in a number of activities around the world. I think the island contains a power that could extinguish mankind. This means John Locke is so far in over his head it's scary. He knows nothing about what is happening. He has taken over Ben's house, is sleeping in Ben's bed and identifies himself as the caretaker of the island. "My house" he calls it as if he can just step into Ben's shoes. Loved the season 2 replays last night. Ben and Locke replaying their little scene from the Swan. Sayid replaying his affair with Shannon.

Hope Miles doesn't fall asleep before we get more info about Ben! I'm afraid we are going to see the boathouse go boom! The new Locke has rules and he's not afraid to enforce them. Now that would make Hurley regret he went with Locke.

I don't think that's Ben's money, but somebodye else's he works for OFF the island. Also, has it occured to anybody that Ben might be 'blackmailing' somebody else himself?;)
100%

agree again. The theory I have mentioned several times on the board is that Dharma or Hanso was mining gems on the island. Maybe that's why the Black Rock with its mining equipment ended up there


Is Ben exporting 'gems' from the island? That would explain a couple of things. But I wonder what kind of gems we are talking about?

I have this idea that the natural unique EM of the island comes from an element that doesn't exist on Earth. It might have been brought to it by a meteorite that impacted near the island several millions of years ago. The Smoke Monster might be a 'creature' that was brought on it also. After some millions of years, some kind of terraforming process was done in order to turn the island into a nice habitat or ecosystem for Cerberus.

There is one thing I just NEED to mention, and I think it might be VERY important for this thread and Ben's purpose- remember when Sayid found his secret room??? It was full of, not only random money, but passports and, important, suits!!! I mean, if Ben was *just* this usual clever guy who likes the Island and has inheritance, or this manipulative guy who likes the Island and knows its secrets, like the magic box, he certainly wouldn't need a doZen fake passports and twenty suits for that...He is definitely involved with the REAL real world, and maybe not illegally, but merely as a secret...