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How much would Jabba the Hutt's palace cost you?

The fictional desert palace that belonged to the famed "slimy piece of worm-ridden filth" is worth millions, according to real estate site Movoto. The real question is, why would you buy it?

Michael Franco
Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for CNET and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael.
Michael Franco
2 min read

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Crime pays! Jabba's not-so-humble hut would be worth big bucks in today's market. Video screenshot by Michael Franco/CNET

You know how realtors write really good descriptions of homes for listings, turning miniscule rooms into "cozy nooks" and postage-stamp-size lawns into "low maintenance yards"? Well, we're not so sure this description of Jabba the Hutt's Palace from StarWars.com would get many people excited about purchasing the home of Tatooine's notorious gangster:

"An immense curving building of sandblasted metal and pitted stone. Inside, the dregs of the galaxy congregated to do all manner of illicit business, to curry favor with the grotesque crime lord, or to avoid his fickle wrath. Jabba reclined atop a stone dais within the throne room of his palace, a bustling chamber that overlooked a secret pit that contained his favorite beast, the vicious rancor monster."

Still, that didn't stop our friends over at real estate site Movoto from trying to figure out how much the lair of Star Wars' "slimy piece of worm-ridden filth" would cost in today's currency.

After discovering that the palace was once a monastery that had been taken over and expanded by Jabba (and a criminal who came before him named Alkhara), Movoto writer Randy Nelson set to figuring out how big the den of ne'er-do-wells was.

To do so, Nelson used a cutaway drawing of the desert dwelling from the book "Inside The Worlds Of Star Wars Trilogy," which also contained a scale drawing of Jabba's sail barge, the Khetanna. After he found out that the size of the Khetanna measured 98 feet long, he was able to use it as a sort of ruler to measure the different areas of Jabba's joint. This led him to conclude that the palace clocked in at a massive 774,425 square feet.

To put a value to all that space, Nelson discovered that the fictional Tatooine was inspired by the real city of Tataouine in Tunisia, where the average price of real estate is $60 per square foot. Then, it's a simple equation that leads to the estimate that it would cost $44,655,500 (or about 72,041,129 in Galactic Credits) to buy Jabba's home. Although, considering its location on what Luke once described as the farthest planet from the bright center of the universe, and the hangers-on that come with it, I suppose the real question is, why would you?

For that kind of money, I'd much rather buy the Avenger's Mansion in New York City. How about you?

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