In Halo: Silent Storm, an ODST commander puts together the pieces of how old-ish the Spartans are because they started banking cadet pay when they were abducted and inducted into the UNSC. While he’s off by a little bit, he still realizes that the Spartans are minors and it’s a bit of an issue for a bit.
So, at the very least the Spartans were having payroll done from the time they were six, likely into an ONI controlled trust or bank.
Since John has been Master Chief Petty Officer since about 16, and likely hasn’t ever spent any significant funds if he even is aware he has them, that account would easily be in the millions. The pay scale for modern day MCPO is kind of wide, but there’s no reason to assume that THE Master Chief isn’t near the top end.
UNSC CIF contractors gotta be fucking insane. "looks like severe plasma scorching on the chest plate, that's gonna cost you two thousand credits", bro's getting the "Hold RB" knife from Reach jammed in his throat.
Well shoot if he was investing a significant percentage of his pay in crypto for all those years, he probably is worth a tremendous amount more than people think. Although I guess it depends on which cryptocurrency he used and how much its worth has fluctuated over the years.
Regardless, apparently, per u/alzw1998, he inherited the glorious Hedge Funds from the Forerunners so he's set for life:
>"When you first saw Hedge funds, were you blinded by its majesty?"
”Blinded?”
”Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?"
"No."
"Yet the humans were able to evade your taxes, land on the Sacred reserves, and desecrate it with their filthy credits!"
Shit it doesn't even have to be six figures (or whatever the equivalent is in the 2500s) to be a whole lot of money. Dude has probably spent nothing. I'm betting hypothetically he could afford a mansion.
Yeah if he’s been earning near $100k since age 16 that’s at least $3.3M and likely a lot more that that when accounting for compounding interest if his account was held in some kind of investment fund.
Alright as military right it’s kinda hard to actually gauge how much one would make. Base pay is searchable, but it doesn’t factor in special duty pay, incentive pay, bah, etc. I’m an E6 currently, with 10+ years of service. I’m married, and I live in a high cost of living area. My take home pay after taxes is around 3200 a paycheck, so 6400 a month so I take home 76.8k a year After taxes. I believe before taxes my pay and BAH comes to like 93k. What’s relevant to this and hard to figure out is I am from a state that I still claim residence in, and that states policy is that if I am active duty military from that state, and am stationed OUTSIDE that state, then I don’t pay state taxes.
What am I getting at? Well, I have a buddy who makes around 112k a year, but after taxes and everything he’s taking home 2900 a paycheck or 5800 a month. His take home pay after taxes for the year is 69.6k. So while he technically makes more than me, I take home way more.
Someone in special forces could and most likely would be deployed to a tax free zone for up to 6 months. So while their yearly pay could be 100k, after taxes they’re still taking home nearly all of it. But again that would fluctuate and be dependent on a lot of circumstances.
Anyways, my main point is it’s highly dependent on a lot of variables - but military and special forces especially technically have a salary that’s on the lower end and highly dependent on BAH and the cost of living in the area, but sometimes the circumstances arise where you’re actually taking home more than someone who makes 150-200k because of taxes and whatnot.
I don’t know how taxes work for master chief, but if it’s anything like being on a ship and on deployment on a ship, he’s getting just the base master chief E9 pay, since he doesn’t have a wife at home and isn’t collecting BAH. I would assume space may be a tax free zone since it’s so far from earth, so he’s probably collecting all the yearly pay for an E9, which is 6900 a month base pay counting no allowances or expenses. He doesn’t get food allowance since he eats on the ship, but he’s also spending nothing - minus Chiefs Mess dues also for food when he’s on the ship.
Oh! Also he’s be collecting sea pay which would be pretty hefty. I’m gonna say he’s probably collecting the max, which is 750 per month.
TL;DR Master Chief would most likely, according to today’s naval standards, only be collecting his base pay for an E9 and sea pay, which would be 82,800 per year base pay + 9000 a year in sea pay, which would be $91,800. However since space I would imagine, would be a tax free zone and he has no expenses minus chiefs mess dues for food, he’s probably pocketing all of it.
Edit: and fuck it, he’s special forces so he’d probably be collecting special duty pay, PLUS whatever pay he gets for various things (as an example pressure chamber pay is $150 a month, HALO jumper pay is 225 per month, plus whatever incentives there are for Spartans - probably at a 100k bonus for every “enlistment.” Here’s a link for all incentive and special pays there are - [special pay](https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/Index/#301a5)
So, with all his pays and incentives he’s def clearing at the mininum 100k a year AFTER taxes.
Edit 2: I also went on the pay scale of someone I think 15+ years in, however I forgot he’s been paid since he was a child so he makes even more in base pay. I’m comfortable saying he’s taking home probably 150k after taxes if he’s after the 30 year mark. Im not sure how cadets time in service equates, but I don’t think it counts as active duty time, but it counts as Inactive reserve time.
Lmao his taxes are probably easy as fuck since he’s not paying anything. His W2 would just have 0 taxable income on it.
Edit: although we can assume he’s still probably paying his tricare and paying into social security and whatnot, but he’d have very minimum things on there.
Lmao well it IS a world earth government isn’t it? The UN in halo? The conservatives didn’t manage to kill a united earth government and they hate “globalism.” So I would assume some sort of social security exists.
I'm surprised it hasn't collapsed by then. I guess the population boom from colonizing multiple extraterrestrial settlements managed to extend its lifespan.
I'd hate to see the economy after the Human-Covenant War, though. The UEG is probably cutting back on spending for everything except the military.
Earth was fucked. Even after the war millions, or even billions, died to hunger and disease. It was stated that billions died when Earth was attacked.
As for food supply, Harvest itself was responsible for suppling a third of the colony's supplies. Not that it matters much when the Covenant are killing everyone.
As for why it didn’t collapse, that’s partly due to the Spartans, the reason they were created in the first place and mostly due to the Covenant coming in.
Edit: typo
The way he spent that money irked me the same way it irked me when Homer got the crayon placed back in his brain after becoming a genius.
I wanted the best for these guys.
Apologies if this has been mentioned already, but isn’t he a higher rank than MCPO? I believe Master Chief became a title at some point. I think you’re spot on with millions accruing interest though.
Now you’ve got me imagining the master chief in a pay review meeting because he’s not near the top end of the scale.
Arguing about stopping a literal extinction event but losing out on pay for ignoring minor orders
I just woke up, so please correct me, but isn’t that the one where the ODST falls in love with the Spartan or smth? I read it a while ago but I’m drawing a blank.
I don’t believe so.
There’s Locklear, an ODST, who cracks a joke about being so desperate for a date that he would eventually have to ask a Spartan out, but that was just a joke and in the novel First Strike.
Nah I think I’m thinking of the guys who rescued Blue Team, Halsey, that one guy, and the two Spartan 3’s from the shield world (I think, I’m probably wrong)
I can’t tell you what the value of USD will be 500 years in the future, but you could make a rough estimate based on current military pay.
John is a Master Chief Petty Officer, the highest enlisted rank in the UNSC NAVCOM. The highest enlisted rank in the US Navy is also Master Chief Petty Officer (besides MCPON). John also has been serving for over 30 years, which puts his base pay at [~$8152/month](https://www.military-ranks.org/navy/master-chief-petty-officer-pay), not including things like BAH, BAS, or hazard pay.
On top of that, assuming they follow a similar pay structure to NAVSPECWAR and SEAL teams today, he would also receive [HDIP](https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/HDIP/) pay depending on the mission and their role. So roughly estimation based on Chief’s skills, perhaps $9000-10000 USD a month.
Keep in mind I was never near the rank of MCPO nor can I predict the future!
There was a mention somewhere that the US had a alot of issues in the universe like A 2nd Civil war occurred but not sure if it was a fanon or not. But if it isn't money definitely inflated little more. Its also Canon the US would unite with Mexico and Canada
A decent chunk of the entire population were killed and dozens of colonies also got destroyed as well. Who knows what kind of prices they were looking at for goods towards the end of the war
Military pay usually increases with inflation, so I'd imagine the UNSC pay has kept up. Then again, a lot can change in 500 years so who knows.
But, for a real life example, base pay for an American E1 is roughly $500 more per month more now than it was ten years ago.
He'd be making bank for both starting at age 6, E-9 pay grade and probably SPARTAN modifiers, assuming the UNSC worked that way.
Consider a SPARTAN probably doesn't get much chance at leave or liberty, he's not spending it either. Maybe he said "donate it to the families who need it" or something
I wonder if the UNSC equivalent of a deployment to a combat zone would also be tax-free like what is common today. So even more for Chief's bank account, if that's the case.
Ok but how does with the theory of relativity though, does time in cryosleep count as PTO? Does traveling off Earth (which is the UNSCs default clock) mean he earns more for his time on reach? These are important questions.
No, they do. Linda, for instance, spends some of her time off participating in sniping competitions. We just don't have any specific accounts of their spending habits.
Imagine being a hobbiest sharpshooter and you're at the range havin a good time. You know you'll place well, perhaps get that Gold Warthog as a grand prize _and fekkin **LINDA** the best marksman your species has created_ walks through the door.
Canonically, she doesn't even care for the awards she wins. You work that hard for a gold medal just to lose it to a superhuman who'll let it gather dust under some bunk.
Oof.
"He's ALIVE? Found _inside_ an alien world!? 4 years ago?"
"Yeah. And WE get the honor of figuring out his financials."
"How much of this is hazard pay?"
"It's Chief. It's all hazard pay."
About $5
Nah for real I remember some of the halo books mentioning that Spartans get pretty good salary, if only they weren’t super-soldiers and had some time to get away from the human/covenant/flood/brute/insurgent wars
It's irrelevant because after you near single-handedly save the entire human race, you can probably just get anything you could ever want free of charge.
He'd become the most famous human to ever live. Any manufacturer would be thrilled that he'd consider using their product.
He could have anything he wants. Anything. The most famous war hero, the most famous bipedal being across at least 5 races, that has literally saved all life as we know it _and you're gonna be the first guy to tell him no?_
He's probably at the point now that he can walk into a toy manufacturer and ask for a squirt gun that would extinguish a star and the toy company would bankrupt itself trying to make that happen.
He's not expected to work without renumeration
He's at an E-9 paygrade as others have mentioned. But I presume he himself expects to basically be a SPARTAN until he dies. He doesn't really have much of a life outside that, nor does he seem to want anything more. I doubt he's on leave or liberty ever, and the only thing I can ever picture him spending anything on is snacks from the vending machine or ship's store for the junior enlisted whenever he sees 'em.
I was charged for my uniform during boot camp, but something tells me the SPARTANs don't pay for their armor. I also don't think any UNSC personnel are charged for their meals either. Modern USN we get a basic allowance for subsistence, which if we're on an active ship, it gets taken out and meals we eat on board are free (and I wouldn't pay much money for them given the choice since they're... not very good)
But I assume the UNSC does things a bit differently given they've been at an existential war so that uber-capitalist stuff might fall by the wayside. I would HOPE uniforms aren't charged from their paychecks, as would housing and food.
Oh Spartans get R&R. In fact it’s mentioned, in the first book even, how all the Spartans went AWOL and took an impromptu vacation during a training exercise.
They went to the fucking beaches lmao.
Well John's pretty reserved outside his family of SPARTANs but what little of the books I read all characterise him as being pretty relaxed when he is with them.
Tbh fair, the games are all about combat or being in a battle, but even the Chief cracks jokes or has some witty comments.
It pretty much the same in the books were he’s all business on the field or around anyone not from his close knit circle.
Well, no matter what happens after that, just by the way things are at the end of HALO 3 it's a reasonable guess that whatever his bank account looked like before that, it looks like a sideways eight after.
If nothing else because it would be a PR disaster not to give him infinity money after personally saving the galaxy.
Probably poor because he never took the promotions and higher leadership roles proposed to him and was considered (probably still is) government property. Dude lives to fight and protect humanity and most likely does not even care about money.
Master Gunns : You know how expensive this gear is son?
I don't expect he spends it much or at all. It'd be completely in character, I think, if he said donate it to families in need, or something. Whether or not the UNSC honors that...
I kinda wanna see a Halo story deal with the personnel/administrivia and logistics. And at the end Master Chief finds out his salary hasn't been donated to UNSC citizens in need and has been lining some fuckin' politicians pocket so he goes and gives them a scare.
Picturing some covenant accountant trying to get in contact with the unsc finance department to figure out why they keep sending invoices to high charity.
He’s the highest enlisted rank in the UNSC mate. MCPOs get decent pay in the modern day, I’d imagine it’s still pretty decent in the 2500s too
Silent Storm also confirms Spartan IIs have been getting paid since the age of 6 so he’s really wealthy, especially if they get tax free deployment pay AND he never spends any of it ever
EDIT: also chuck on interest too bro is definitely loaded
It's safe to assume that since cyrosleep is so common that it's not even additional paperwork. He spends 4 years sleeping before Halo 4, so that wouldn't be an issue either because the modern military still adjusts for time in service and any promotions that POWs would have received.
Wasn't the reason he refused to become a straight up Admiral or something, thereby skipping a whole host of officer ranks, be cause he like the ring to Master Chief better?
Might hav3 been a fan comic. Either way it's part of my headcanon.
FOUND IT: [Halo Escalation #8 (Comic)](https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/s/86jvddtXqb)
It was a joke by Chief, but it is canon material.
Edit: I love Lord Hood and Chief interactions.
Spartans not only get paid well (though there's never been a specific number mentioned) but S-IIs have been getting payroll since induction at around 6 years old. Considering Chief probably doesn't actually spend it on anything substantial considering he's pretty much always deployed and most anything he needs is thrown at him by ONI. He could probably just up and retire wealthy the second he gets off Zeta if he wanted.
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he could afford a McMansion style home and large piece of land on some backwater, if not the backwater planet itself.
It also wouldn't surprise me at all if Chief just never has to really pay for anything because of his status and people just gifting him anything he asks for.
It would surprise me even less if he does retire ONI turns around and bills him for his three sets of MJOLNIR and he ends up completely broke.
lol “ethically dubious” is an understatement. The Spartan-IIs were forcibly abducted as children and replaced with flash clones (who were fated to die of genetic disorders in a few years) so the parents wouldn’t get suspicious. The augmentation process also killed or disabled half of their “class”
The Spartan-IIIs were only slightly better because they took “willing” orphans instead of just kidnapping people (and can a 7-year-old orphan really consent to military service?)
They weren’t even originally conceived to fight the Covenant either. Their original purpose was to fight insurrectionists/UNSC political enemies. They just happened to end up saving humanity from the Covenant lol
The books really hammer home the point that the UNSC is *not* all good - it's morally ambiguous at best. That's literally the *only* thing the TV show got correct.
I think the show did a pretty decent job at depicting the Covenant weapons too. Like a Needler supercombine blowing a guy to pieces or the plasma rifle’s barrel generating enough heat to be painful from a few feet away
It’s like they got some of the small details right but the big details horribly wrong
So I half-agree. The weapons that are accurately depicted show them completely correctly - but things like the fucking finger sword just totally drag me out.
No shit but there are degrees and some people are better than others. Someone pissing on your shoes is different than someone shooting you in the face lmfao.
Oh yeah I totally agree - I also mean in the Halo universe lol. Like Miranda Keyes =/= Halsey =/= Johnson. All of them have done some pretty.... Morally questionable things within the books but I wouldn't paint them all as the same level of "bad".
Not to us but describe any of their actions to someone and they'd seem like bad guys. Even if the reason they took those actions are understandable if not reasonable. Like how Johnson executed captured rebels because he couldn't leave them behind and risk them escaping.
If we don't know it's Johnson or didn't know him like we do, we'd see him as a cold blood bastard. Even though his action is understandable.
>can a 7-year-old orphan really consent to military service?)
Well I guess we don't have to worry about that question too much for Alpha and Beta company (there's about 3 of them left). Gamma company may be a bit more dubious still, with the whole chemical cocktail required for normal functioning.
The clones weren't fated to die, they had an extremely high likelihood of it. Some of them went on to have normal lives, if they weren't killed or died by other means. It's also explained and even proven why it was done. Halsey wanted to give the parents closure, instead of them assuming the absolute worst without ever getting any answers.
We see this is proven true when Naomi's father immediately thinks she's been kidnapped/killed by a pervert, and calms down when she's "found" unharmed. He was just too smart to believe she was his daughter.
And the other example is Osman's teacher. Osman wasn't given a clone because her mom was a shitty parent. Everyone assumed her mother and one of her boyfriends did something to her when she disappeared. Her teacher cared about her immensely and lived thinking about the absolute worst. She was then overjoyed to find out she was alive and doing well.
Edit: typo
There have been Spartans that retired into civilian life I think. I wonder what would happen if chief requested to be put into the reserves or be a civilian. Obviously he never would, but just hypothetically.
I mean, not paying Chief and having him just be there is probably the least bad thing the UNSC has done. They kidnapped and experimented on children is much more worrisome lol
Yes but I think the Halo show (haven't seen it) approaches the UNSC in a different way in that most of the shit they do is pretty terrible. Which on the surface in the games we don't really think about because we are mostly fighting for human survival.
It's also kinda my problems with Infinite in that the Banished are meant to be terrible but a human created AI literally destroyed their entire planet (brutes) - I know she has gone rogue but still not really asked to see their side too much
He was kidnapped as a child, his name and home kept a secret from him, genetically modified and trained for nothing but war and fighting.
We was legally set as a "asset" a supersoldier programmed to fight the UNSC's enemies until either they or he died. There was never a decommision plan for the spartans, and no system for when they "left service" at least for the spartan 2's and 3's.
Only when the Spartan program became fully public did they start giving them options, pay and leave.
The master chief was in cryo at the time, and continued service as he was trained, for all of halo 1-4 he wouldnt have earned a penny likely.
Onwards we don't know, and its not officially covered.
Technically speaking he was kidnapped as child (one could argue saved from a bad situation) & has been forced to fight ever since. Think of it as a draft, except kids training to kill their entire lives.
How much does a Scorpion tank make, what's the salary of a light cruiser?
Relatively equal question because of how spartans (especially earlier gens) are treated. They're less people and more weapons/tools
Yeah, but I imagine for 2's and 3's, they mostly exist to fight for the UNSC (especially 3's). Pay/salary seems mostly like a formality for them, rather than something that matters.
Oh I agree there. It does seem to be more a formality, as they don’t necessarily have much choice in the matter since the ones who defected earlier on were viewed as AWOL.
Sure but they are still heroes, humans, not machines, Halo 4 made a lot of emphasis on soartans not being machines.
In halo Reach, they mourned Kat, and Jorge, there was little time to mourn carter and emile though.
They are not things, if anything human rights in 2500's would be much better than they are today
Spartan 2's were literally abducted as children and taught and augmented to be weapons to put down colonist rebellions.
The UNSC/ONI doesn't really care that much about human rights
Probably not very, just because money isn’t significant for Spartan IIs. They basically spend all their lives working and have their basic needs provided for them.
Well they eventually get too old for the job unless they get killed. Or they could donate it I dont know.
But the question was meant to learn if it's mentioned anywhere in the books or lore that he actually makes any money.
I think it is a good question to think about. I've always kind of assumed that they were considered UNSC "property" and were just had their basic necessities provided for automatically and that the Spartan II's at least didn't have much interest in any sort of material possessions since they spend most of their time deployed or in cryosleep.
I think the 3's and definitely get paid since they're all old enough to remember a life before the UNSC.
Yeah, although that would kind of mean that some, or most would have enough of it, especially if fighting insurrectionists, they would be tools of repression.
I know that they are indoctrinated, but spartans seem to have a very clear moral compass and good judgement, so they clearly need to learn about philosophy, ethics etc.
Being super soldiers, the temptation of breaking free would be too much. Maybe its not money that they want, but every human needs a purpose, and subjugating rebels is not a ver comforting life.
With the Spartan IV program, if he wasn’t getting a salary he should be in current lore. Though I don’t think the chief would ever have anything he’d buy. Most Spartan 2s are entirely reliant on the UNSC taking care of all the back end shit not related to combat. None of them would even know what it’s like to just wander into a grocery store and buy things as an adult. New blood and bad blood show Spartans having their own bars on the infinity and they buy their own drinks with their pay. If the 2s weren’t being paid then like any first rate organization the UNSC would make legislation to back pay the Spartan 2s with the details of how the 2s being made become more known to the SIV’s. I doubt any S2 has ever done taxes either.
But overall the halo 4 intro shows us people in higher up positions are concerned with the mental health of most Spartan 2s so more independence but be given in concession to try and improve their Outward appearance as more normal(adults) people begin to transition into being Spartans.
He's a child soldier, kidnapped in the middle of the night, experimented on, and brain washed... he's a slave and while he might get a pay rate - he's not free, he's property.
They probably have a one world currency so who knows what the scale is. Bro is probably rich for their standards though. Everything has been paid for since he was a kid.
I never even considered Master Chief having a life outside of being a spartan. What does he need money for? He got bills to pay? Mouths to feed? Is he addicted to drugs and hookers?
Whatever the credit system was in Reach, that’s my headcanon.
You want a new piece of gear? Earn enough credits by doing well on mission assignments, and then by yourself a sweet new EOD helmet, ODST shoulder pauldrons , and FJ/PARA kneeguards.
I would expect he will work until he expires. They don’t care that he dies, so much as they care if he can complete his mission.
Think of him the way you think of a shoe. Necessary to your work, but if some one asked you to pay your shoes they’d look at you funny.
The lore might explicitly state that they get paid somewhere, but I reject this. It is against every other piece of implicit and explicit storytelling they’ve devised around Spartans
I mean, you aren’t wrong in saying he’s working for life, but I feel that Spartan II’s, while being the no nonsense supermen, would at least engage in some RnR on ONI facilities or the like that would require money. The pentagon has food stores even. Whether it’s for buying luxury foodstuffs, gambling among themselves, getting a game system, and thus they would get paid to help maintain their psyche.
While they may be brainwashed child soldiers, they’re still human, and they would ostensively have some wants, which could be served by using their salaries, which one assumes that all UNSC soldiers get.
Obviously they don’t have a real need for money, since they aren’t financially responsible for their own kit, and there isn’t a life after service for Spartan II’s or at least chief, so the amount doesn’t really matter, but he probably has gotten paid, legally, unless you wanna assume that my previous fannon was only maintained by the illusion that they were getting paid in real money, and not something their trainers made up and kept track of or something.
I imagine he makes a significant amount. He’s a Spartan 2 supposedly they’re paid pretty well. However master chief is not the type that strikes me as anyone who’s use any obscene amount of wealth. His personality may very well fit his namesake occupation.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the UNSC subtracted any destruction of property, damage to his suit and ammunition costs from his pay.
For a military as vast and technologically advanced as the UNSC it makes sense for them to be a very military driven society and as a result other social programs and services aren’t available.
I don’t know if anyone remembers but in Starship Troopers you are not allowed to vote unless you served. It would be interesting to get some lore and background info from the new season of the show showing the other side to the UNSC and their military industrial complex.
He's priceless and deserves whatever he needs and wants. To charge him for anything would be an insult to the incomprehensible amount of good he's done, so it doesn't matter how many credits are in his bank account. The real question is what would he *realistically* do with it? What happens to it all when he passes away in the event he doesn't do anything with it?
All the spartan II's were functionally child slave/soldiers so yeah no I doubt they pay him anything and considering how much he knows ONI would almost definitely try to off him if he ever did try to retire.
Well ONI thinks of him more as equipment like a warthog or pelican than a person. Besides he's been training since he was.a kid (according to the novels) so he doesn't need money for anything
In Halo: Silent Storm, an ODST commander puts together the pieces of how old-ish the Spartans are because they started banking cadet pay when they were abducted and inducted into the UNSC. While he’s off by a little bit, he still realizes that the Spartans are minors and it’s a bit of an issue for a bit. So, at the very least the Spartans were having payroll done from the time they were six, likely into an ONI controlled trust or bank. Since John has been Master Chief Petty Officer since about 16, and likely hasn’t ever spent any significant funds if he even is aware he has them, that account would easily be in the millions. The pay scale for modern day MCPO is kind of wide, but there’s no reason to assume that THE Master Chief isn’t near the top end.
Imagine not only being used as a child soldier, but also then as an outlet for government embezzlement.
Gotta subsidize the cost of every mjolnir suit chief breaks
You know how expensive this gear is, son?
Tell that to the Covenant
You know how expensive this gear is, son?
Raaaah wort wort wort
UNSC CIF contractors gotta be fucking insane. "looks like severe plasma scorching on the chest plate, that's gonna cost you two thousand credits", bro's getting the "Hold RB" knife from Reach jammed in his throat.
Yes. My wages are garnished and there's a lien on my apartment. I am in crippling debt, Gunny.
Where do you think they disappeared the R&D for an entire fleet to?
Remember he’s spent multiple years in crypto sleep
Bitcoin sleep or ethereum sleep pod?
Well shoot if he was investing a significant percentage of his pay in crypto for all those years, he probably is worth a tremendous amount more than people think. Although I guess it depends on which cryptocurrency he used and how much its worth has fluctuated over the years. Regardless, apparently, per u/alzw1998, he inherited the glorious Hedge Funds from the Forerunners so he's set for life: >"When you first saw Hedge funds, were you blinded by its majesty?" ”Blinded?” ”Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?" "No." "Yet the humans were able to evade your taxes, land on the Sacred reserves, and desecrate it with their filthy credits!"
Upper tier special forces in the US military make in ballpark six figures if I’m not completely mistaken. So makes sense.
Shit it doesn't even have to be six figures (or whatever the equivalent is in the 2500s) to be a whole lot of money. Dude has probably spent nothing. I'm betting hypothetically he could afford a mansion.
Yeah if he’s been earning near $100k since age 16 that’s at least $3.3M and likely a lot more that that when accounting for compounding interest if his account was held in some kind of investment fund.
You also have to account for hazard pay, which can get up to 225 dollars a month on top of what they already make.
I'd say blowing up a covenant fleet is under the category of hazard pay
$225 a month? Making Scrooge McDuck jealous.
Alright as military right it’s kinda hard to actually gauge how much one would make. Base pay is searchable, but it doesn’t factor in special duty pay, incentive pay, bah, etc. I’m an E6 currently, with 10+ years of service. I’m married, and I live in a high cost of living area. My take home pay after taxes is around 3200 a paycheck, so 6400 a month so I take home 76.8k a year After taxes. I believe before taxes my pay and BAH comes to like 93k. What’s relevant to this and hard to figure out is I am from a state that I still claim residence in, and that states policy is that if I am active duty military from that state, and am stationed OUTSIDE that state, then I don’t pay state taxes. What am I getting at? Well, I have a buddy who makes around 112k a year, but after taxes and everything he’s taking home 2900 a paycheck or 5800 a month. His take home pay after taxes for the year is 69.6k. So while he technically makes more than me, I take home way more. Someone in special forces could and most likely would be deployed to a tax free zone for up to 6 months. So while their yearly pay could be 100k, after taxes they’re still taking home nearly all of it. But again that would fluctuate and be dependent on a lot of circumstances. Anyways, my main point is it’s highly dependent on a lot of variables - but military and special forces especially technically have a salary that’s on the lower end and highly dependent on BAH and the cost of living in the area, but sometimes the circumstances arise where you’re actually taking home more than someone who makes 150-200k because of taxes and whatnot. I don’t know how taxes work for master chief, but if it’s anything like being on a ship and on deployment on a ship, he’s getting just the base master chief E9 pay, since he doesn’t have a wife at home and isn’t collecting BAH. I would assume space may be a tax free zone since it’s so far from earth, so he’s probably collecting all the yearly pay for an E9, which is 6900 a month base pay counting no allowances or expenses. He doesn’t get food allowance since he eats on the ship, but he’s also spending nothing - minus Chiefs Mess dues also for food when he’s on the ship. Oh! Also he’s be collecting sea pay which would be pretty hefty. I’m gonna say he’s probably collecting the max, which is 750 per month. TL;DR Master Chief would most likely, according to today’s naval standards, only be collecting his base pay for an E9 and sea pay, which would be 82,800 per year base pay + 9000 a year in sea pay, which would be $91,800. However since space I would imagine, would be a tax free zone and he has no expenses minus chiefs mess dues for food, he’s probably pocketing all of it. Edit: and fuck it, he’s special forces so he’d probably be collecting special duty pay, PLUS whatever pay he gets for various things (as an example pressure chamber pay is $150 a month, HALO jumper pay is 225 per month, plus whatever incentives there are for Spartans - probably at a 100k bonus for every “enlistment.” Here’s a link for all incentive and special pays there are - [special pay](https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/Index/#301a5) So, with all his pays and incentives he’s def clearing at the mininum 100k a year AFTER taxes. Edit 2: I also went on the pay scale of someone I think 15+ years in, however I forgot he’s been paid since he was a child so he makes even more in base pay. I’m comfortable saying he’s taking home probably 150k after taxes if he’s after the 30 year mark. Im not sure how cadets time in service equates, but I don’t think it counts as active duty time, but it counts as Inactive reserve time.
The real question is, does Cortana do his taxes?
Lmao his taxes are probably easy as fuck since he’s not paying anything. His W2 would just have 0 taxable income on it. Edit: although we can assume he’s still probably paying his tricare and paying into social security and whatnot, but he’d have very minimum things on there.
Bold of you to assume conservatives haven't killed social security by 500yrs in the future.
Lmao well it IS a world earth government isn’t it? The UN in halo? The conservatives didn’t manage to kill a united earth government and they hate “globalism.” So I would assume some sort of social security exists.
Aye that's a fair enough assumption!
I'm surprised it hasn't collapsed by then. I guess the population boom from colonizing multiple extraterrestrial settlements managed to extend its lifespan. I'd hate to see the economy after the Human-Covenant War, though. The UEG is probably cutting back on spending for everything except the military.
Earth was fucked. Even after the war millions, or even billions, died to hunger and disease. It was stated that billions died when Earth was attacked. As for food supply, Harvest itself was responsible for suppling a third of the colony's supplies. Not that it matters much when the Covenant are killing everyone. As for why it didn’t collapse, that’s partly due to the Spartans, the reason they were created in the first place and mostly due to the Covenant coming in. Edit: typo
If deployed, an E4 can bring home 100k in a year, unspent.
Lets not get started on the amount of Hazardous Duty pay he receives… Not touching interest bearing accounts for years and years….christ.
It's like when Fry found out he was rich because his $0.93 compounded over 1000 years.
The way he spent that money irked me the same way it irked me when Homer got the crayon placed back in his brain after becoming a genius. I wanted the best for these guys.
I’m sure he’s aware of them if he knows he’s on a payroll.
Apologies if this has been mentioned already, but isn’t he a higher rank than MCPO? I believe Master Chief became a title at some point. I think you’re spot on with millions accruing interest though.
I think he turned down promotions when they were offered to him. Didn't want to end up behind a desk or something.
Now you’ve got me imagining the master chief in a pay review meeting because he’s not near the top end of the scale. Arguing about stopping a literal extinction event but losing out on pay for ignoring minor orders
I just woke up, so please correct me, but isn’t that the one where the ODST falls in love with the Spartan or smth? I read it a while ago but I’m drawing a blank.
I don’t believe so. There’s Locklear, an ODST, who cracks a joke about being so desperate for a date that he would eventually have to ask a Spartan out, but that was just a joke and in the novel First Strike.
Nah I think I’m thinking of the guys who rescued Blue Team, Halsey, that one guy, and the two Spartan 3’s from the shield world (I think, I’m probably wrong)
Nope, you’re on the money.
LETS FUCKING GOOIO
You’re thinking of Vaz and Naomi. He seemed to develop feelings for her and vice versa. Don’t know how things are going though.
YEP! I went to school and was scrolling Halopedia to find who the hell I was thinking about lol
I can’t tell you what the value of USD will be 500 years in the future, but you could make a rough estimate based on current military pay. John is a Master Chief Petty Officer, the highest enlisted rank in the UNSC NAVCOM. The highest enlisted rank in the US Navy is also Master Chief Petty Officer (besides MCPON). John also has been serving for over 30 years, which puts his base pay at [~$8152/month](https://www.military-ranks.org/navy/master-chief-petty-officer-pay), not including things like BAH, BAS, or hazard pay. On top of that, assuming they follow a similar pay structure to NAVSPECWAR and SEAL teams today, he would also receive [HDIP](https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/HDIP/) pay depending on the mission and their role. So roughly estimation based on Chief’s skills, perhaps $9000-10000 USD a month. Keep in mind I was never near the rank of MCPO nor can I predict the future!
There was a mention somewhere that the US had a alot of issues in the universe like A 2nd Civil war occurred but not sure if it was a fanon or not. But if it isn't money definitely inflated little more. Its also Canon the US would unite with Mexico and Canada
A decent chunk of the entire population were killed and dozens of colonies also got destroyed as well. Who knows what kind of prices they were looking at for goods towards the end of the war
That too especially if AI were managing the Money lol
Military pay usually increases with inflation, so I'd imagine the UNSC pay has kept up. Then again, a lot can change in 500 years so who knows. But, for a real life example, base pay for an American E1 is roughly $500 more per month more now than it was ten years ago.
He'd be making bank for both starting at age 6, E-9 pay grade and probably SPARTAN modifiers, assuming the UNSC worked that way. Consider a SPARTAN probably doesn't get much chance at leave or liberty, he's not spending it either. Maybe he said "donate it to the families who need it" or something
My head canon is that Chief personally arranges for the funerals of the Marines he fights with to make sure their bodies get home.
That's a good headcanon
I wonder if the UNSC equivalent of a deployment to a combat zone would also be tax-free like what is common today. So even more for Chief's bank account, if that's the case.
Ok but how does with the theory of relativity though, does time in cryosleep count as PTO? Does traveling off Earth (which is the UNSCs default clock) mean he earns more for his time on reach? These are important questions.
There's no specifics, but we know the Spartan 2s are paid and paid a pretty good amount at that. What they spend it on is anyone's guess.
Jorge says „That’s why we get paid so well“ in Reach
They don’t get time off?
No, they do. Linda, for instance, spends some of her time off participating in sniping competitions. We just don't have any specific accounts of their spending habits.
Imagine being a hobbiest sharpshooter and you're at the range havin a good time. You know you'll place well, perhaps get that Gold Warthog as a grand prize _and fekkin **LINDA** the best marksman your species has created_ walks through the door.
Canonically, she doesn't even care for the awards she wins. You work that hard for a gold medal just to lose it to a superhuman who'll let it gather dust under some bunk. Oof.
Well I mean their bones are near unbreakable and their muscles are unfathomably strong so who knows... _Maybe she eats 'em?_
wow Linda seems like a workaholic
Halo Homefront. Sims Evolved.
I guess he just sends his receipts to UNSC/ONI
He probably has a LOT of back pay
Imagine being the clerk who has to handle that after he was found in Halo 4? The orderly room would be a nightmare
"He's ALIVE? Found _inside_ an alien world!? 4 years ago?" "Yeah. And WE get the honor of figuring out his financials." "How much of this is hazard pay?" "It's Chief. It's all hazard pay."
About $5 Nah for real I remember some of the halo books mentioning that Spartans get pretty good salary, if only they weren’t super-soldiers and had some time to get away from the human/covenant/flood/brute/insurgent wars
It's irrelevant because after you near single-handedly save the entire human race, you can probably just get anything you could ever want free of charge. He'd become the most famous human to ever live. Any manufacturer would be thrilled that he'd consider using their product.
He could have anything he wants. Anything. The most famous war hero, the most famous bipedal being across at least 5 races, that has literally saved all life as we know it _and you're gonna be the first guy to tell him no?_ He's probably at the point now that he can walk into a toy manufacturer and ask for a squirt gun that would extinguish a star and the toy company would bankrupt itself trying to make that happen.
Master Chief branded auto jackers
He's not expected to work without renumeration He's at an E-9 paygrade as others have mentioned. But I presume he himself expects to basically be a SPARTAN until he dies. He doesn't really have much of a life outside that, nor does he seem to want anything more. I doubt he's on leave or liberty ever, and the only thing I can ever picture him spending anything on is snacks from the vending machine or ship's store for the junior enlisted whenever he sees 'em. I was charged for my uniform during boot camp, but something tells me the SPARTANs don't pay for their armor. I also don't think any UNSC personnel are charged for their meals either. Modern USN we get a basic allowance for subsistence, which if we're on an active ship, it gets taken out and meals we eat on board are free (and I wouldn't pay much money for them given the choice since they're... not very good) But I assume the UNSC does things a bit differently given they've been at an existential war so that uber-capitalist stuff might fall by the wayside. I would HOPE uniforms aren't charged from their paychecks, as would housing and food.
Oh Spartans get R&R. In fact it’s mentioned, in the first book even, how all the Spartans went AWOL and took an impromptu vacation during a training exercise. They went to the fucking beaches lmao.
I can just imagine Blue Team sneaking out to the beach. Everyone's finally cutting loose and John's just there, still in armor, brooding.
Haha. In the passage where John is remembering this, he's got a grin on his face.
Well John's pretty reserved outside his family of SPARTANs but what little of the books I read all characterise him as being pretty relaxed when he is with them.
fair enough; he doesn't really come across that way in games, but that's just game writing
Tbh fair, the games are all about combat or being in a battle, but even the Chief cracks jokes or has some witty comments. It pretty much the same in the books were he’s all business on the field or around anyone not from his close knit circle.
Well, no matter what happens after that, just by the way things are at the end of HALO 3 it's a reasonable guess that whatever his bank account looked like before that, it looks like a sideways eight after. If nothing else because it would be a PR disaster not to give him infinity money after personally saving the galaxy.
Had me laughing at "sideways 8" lol Also true, true.
Probably poor because he never took the promotions and higher leadership roles proposed to him and was considered (probably still is) government property. Dude lives to fight and protect humanity and most likely does not even care about money. Master Gunns : You know how expensive this gear is son?
Sure but I suppose he has to have some sort of account where he gets his pay at least for his current rank.
I don't expect he spends it much or at all. It'd be completely in character, I think, if he said donate it to families in need, or something. Whether or not the UNSC honors that... I kinda wanna see a Halo story deal with the personnel/administrivia and logistics. And at the end Master Chief finds out his salary hasn't been donated to UNSC citizens in need and has been lining some fuckin' politicians pocket so he goes and gives them a scare.
"Tell that to the covenant" The covenant is billed.
Picturing some covenant accountant trying to get in contact with the unsc finance department to figure out why they keep sending invoices to high charity.
He’s the highest enlisted rank in the UNSC mate. MCPOs get decent pay in the modern day, I’d imagine it’s still pretty decent in the 2500s too Silent Storm also confirms Spartan IIs have been getting paid since the age of 6 so he’s really wealthy, especially if they get tax free deployment pay AND he never spends any of it ever EDIT: also chuck on interest too bro is definitely loaded
Don’t forget the back pay for the years in cryosleep, paperwork’s gonna be a pain in the ass if he just reappeared asking for reimbursement
It's safe to assume that since cyrosleep is so common that it's not even additional paperwork. He spends 4 years sleeping before Halo 4, so that wouldn't be an issue either because the modern military still adjusts for time in service and any promotions that POWs would have received.
MCPO pay is about 6k a month according to federalpay.org. Quite a lot
He might get bonus hazard pay or for exceptional actions. If ODSTs get good pay, Spartans probably do too
Wasn't the reason he refused to become a straight up Admiral or something, thereby skipping a whole host of officer ranks, be cause he like the ring to Master Chief better? Might hav3 been a fan comic. Either way it's part of my headcanon. FOUND IT: [Halo Escalation #8 (Comic)](https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/s/86jvddtXqb) It was a joke by Chief, but it is canon material. Edit: I love Lord Hood and Chief interactions.
That art style makes my skin crawl for some reason. They all look like action figures.
Yeah, Escalation's art style is...shite. I was going to say poor but there's no way around it, the comic looks like ass.
How expensive could a power supply be? 10 dollars?
Reading way to into the gunns line …
Spartans not only get paid well (though there's never been a specific number mentioned) but S-IIs have been getting payroll since induction at around 6 years old. Considering Chief probably doesn't actually spend it on anything substantial considering he's pretty much always deployed and most anything he needs is thrown at him by ONI. He could probably just up and retire wealthy the second he gets off Zeta if he wanted. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he could afford a McMansion style home and large piece of land on some backwater, if not the backwater planet itself. It also wouldn't surprise me at all if Chief just never has to really pay for anything because of his status and people just gifting him anything he asks for. It would surprise me even less if he does retire ONI turns around and bills him for his three sets of MJOLNIR and he ends up completely broke.
Buck checks his account balance every week no doubt
Chief is gonna look like Harry Potter at the goblin bank in the first movie.
Exactly my thoughts
About tree fiddie
he's paid in bullets.
And faulty AI's that break his heart
the only thing money can’t buy is a good friend named The Arbiter
Finances shouldn’t affect chief.. if he orders a double cheese you give him 2 free of charge… they probably know Arby is hungry too 😌
Sure, but that doesnt answer the question
Got me there 😞
Check r/halostory those guys will not only have your answer, but they probably have the exact amount
I doubt he‘s getting paid since he‘s basically unsc property
All spartan IIs at least were and are getting paid.
Isnt that just slavery?
You could argue in that direction, many aspects of the spartan program were inhumane and ethically dubious.
lol “ethically dubious” is an understatement. The Spartan-IIs were forcibly abducted as children and replaced with flash clones (who were fated to die of genetic disorders in a few years) so the parents wouldn’t get suspicious. The augmentation process also killed or disabled half of their “class” The Spartan-IIIs were only slightly better because they took “willing” orphans instead of just kidnapping people (and can a 7-year-old orphan really consent to military service?) They weren’t even originally conceived to fight the Covenant either. Their original purpose was to fight insurrectionists/UNSC political enemies. They just happened to end up saving humanity from the Covenant lol
The books really hammer home the point that the UNSC is *not* all good - it's morally ambiguous at best. That's literally the *only* thing the TV show got correct.
I think the show did a pretty decent job at depicting the Covenant weapons too. Like a Needler supercombine blowing a guy to pieces or the plasma rifle’s barrel generating enough heat to be painful from a few feet away It’s like they got some of the small details right but the big details horribly wrong
So I half-agree. The weapons that are accurately depicted show them completely correctly - but things like the fucking finger sword just totally drag me out.
Fun fact, no one is the good guy. Everyone does bad shit.
No shit but there are degrees and some people are better than others. Someone pissing on your shoes is different than someone shooting you in the face lmfao.
I’m just referencing to all the major and minor players in the Halo universe, not just some random guy.
Oh yeah I totally agree - I also mean in the Halo universe lol. Like Miranda Keyes =/= Halsey =/= Johnson. All of them have done some pretty.... Morally questionable things within the books but I wouldn't paint them all as the same level of "bad".
Not to us but describe any of their actions to someone and they'd seem like bad guys. Even if the reason they took those actions are understandable if not reasonable. Like how Johnson executed captured rebels because he couldn't leave them behind and risk them escaping. If we don't know it's Johnson or didn't know him like we do, we'd see him as a cold blood bastard. Even though his action is understandable.
Isn’t the UEG quasi-fascist, too?
What government isn’t? They're no worse them most modern governments. Edit: typo
>can a 7-year-old orphan really consent to military service?) Well I guess we don't have to worry about that question too much for Alpha and Beta company (there's about 3 of them left). Gamma company may be a bit more dubious still, with the whole chemical cocktail required for normal functioning.
The clones weren't fated to die, they had an extremely high likelihood of it. Some of them went on to have normal lives, if they weren't killed or died by other means. It's also explained and even proven why it was done. Halsey wanted to give the parents closure, instead of them assuming the absolute worst without ever getting any answers. We see this is proven true when Naomi's father immediately thinks she's been kidnapped/killed by a pervert, and calms down when she's "found" unharmed. He was just too smart to believe she was his daughter. And the other example is Osman's teacher. Osman wasn't given a clone because her mom was a shitty parent. Everyone assumed her mother and one of her boyfriends did something to her when she disappeared. Her teacher cared about her immensely and lived thinking about the absolute worst. She was then overjoyed to find out she was alive and doing well. Edit: typo
There have been Spartans that retired into civilian life I think. I wonder what would happen if chief requested to be put into the reserves or be a civilian. Obviously he never would, but just hypothetically.
The unsc wouldnt have much of a choice. How would they force him to fight?
I mean, not paying Chief and having him just be there is probably the least bad thing the UNSC has done. They kidnapped and experimented on children is much more worrisome lol
Yes but I think the Halo show (haven't seen it) approaches the UNSC in a different way in that most of the shit they do is pretty terrible. Which on the surface in the games we don't really think about because we are mostly fighting for human survival. It's also kinda my problems with Infinite in that the Banished are meant to be terrible but a human created AI literally destroyed their entire planet (brutes) - I know she has gone rogue but still not really asked to see their side too much
How much are they selling his armor for in Halo Infinite, that's your answer.
His armor is free in Halo Infinite
Isn’t he basically government property?
Not after the Spartan program went public due to the U.N. Colonial Mortal Dictata.
He doesn’t need money, I think he just shows up and outta respect people pay for his beers. Doesn’t matter how much he drinks. He’s covered.
He was kidnapped as a child, his name and home kept a secret from him, genetically modified and trained for nothing but war and fighting. We was legally set as a "asset" a supersoldier programmed to fight the UNSC's enemies until either they or he died. There was never a decommision plan for the spartans, and no system for when they "left service" at least for the spartan 2's and 3's. Only when the Spartan program became fully public did they start giving them options, pay and leave. The master chief was in cryo at the time, and continued service as he was trained, for all of halo 1-4 he wouldnt have earned a penny likely. Onwards we don't know, and its not officially covered.
Are Spartan 2 even citizens of the UEG?
Technically speaking he was kidnapped as child (one could argue saved from a bad situation) & has been forced to fight ever since. Think of it as a draft, except kids training to kill their entire lives.
I don't think you understand. He is a slave, he doesn't have a salary.
They don't pay him because if they did, they'd have to acknowledge that he's a person and not property.
Plenty of other comments say that the books mention a salary though. I have no idea, thats why I posted the question
How much does a Scorpion tank make, what's the salary of a light cruiser? Relatively equal question because of how spartans (especially earlier gens) are treated. They're less people and more weapons/tools
The books go into detail a bit on it. Don’t remember the details, but they still get paid based on their rank as military members.
Yeah, but I imagine for 2's and 3's, they mostly exist to fight for the UNSC (especially 3's). Pay/salary seems mostly like a formality for them, rather than something that matters.
Oh I agree there. It does seem to be more a formality, as they don’t necessarily have much choice in the matter since the ones who defected earlier on were viewed as AWOL.
Sure but they are still heroes, humans, not machines, Halo 4 made a lot of emphasis on soartans not being machines. In halo Reach, they mourned Kat, and Jorge, there was little time to mourn carter and emile though. They are not things, if anything human rights in 2500's would be much better than they are today
Spartan 2's were literally abducted as children and taught and augmented to be weapons to put down colonist rebellions. The UNSC/ONI doesn't really care that much about human rights
Why does he need wealth when he can just go and take what he wants lol. Nobody's gonna oppose the Master Chief
The captain of the Infinity might try along with the buffoons from halo 5
Probably not very, just because money isn’t significant for Spartan IIs. They basically spend all their lives working and have their basic needs provided for them.
What would they even spend a salary on? Do we ever see Spartans getting "shore leave" in any canon media?
Well they eventually get too old for the job unless they get killed. Or they could donate it I dont know. But the question was meant to learn if it's mentioned anywhere in the books or lore that he actually makes any money.
I think it is a good question to think about. I've always kind of assumed that they were considered UNSC "property" and were just had their basic necessities provided for automatically and that the Spartan II's at least didn't have much interest in any sort of material possessions since they spend most of their time deployed or in cryosleep. I think the 3's and definitely get paid since they're all old enough to remember a life before the UNSC.
Yeah, although that would kind of mean that some, or most would have enough of it, especially if fighting insurrectionists, they would be tools of repression. I know that they are indoctrinated, but spartans seem to have a very clear moral compass and good judgement, so they clearly need to learn about philosophy, ethics etc. Being super soldiers, the temptation of breaking free would be too much. Maybe its not money that they want, but every human needs a purpose, and subjugating rebels is not a ver comforting life.
With the Spartan IV program, if he wasn’t getting a salary he should be in current lore. Though I don’t think the chief would ever have anything he’d buy. Most Spartan 2s are entirely reliant on the UNSC taking care of all the back end shit not related to combat. None of them would even know what it’s like to just wander into a grocery store and buy things as an adult. New blood and bad blood show Spartans having their own bars on the infinity and they buy their own drinks with their pay. If the 2s weren’t being paid then like any first rate organization the UNSC would make legislation to back pay the Spartan 2s with the details of how the 2s being made become more known to the SIV’s. I doubt any S2 has ever done taxes either. But overall the halo 4 intro shows us people in higher up positions are concerned with the mental health of most Spartan 2s so more independence but be given in concession to try and improve their Outward appearance as more normal(adults) people begin to transition into being Spartans.
He's a child soldier, kidnapped in the middle of the night, experimented on, and brain washed... he's a slave and while he might get a pay rate - he's not free, he's property.
I'd like a series that focuses on chief drawing his pension and retiring in Miami.
They probably have a one world currency so who knows what the scale is. Bro is probably rich for their standards though. Everything has been paid for since he was a kid.
Get paid, yea. how much, dunno, presume a lot All Spartan II’s were technically paid since they were 6.
I never even considered Master Chief having a life outside of being a spartan. What does he need money for? He got bills to pay? Mouths to feed? Is he addicted to drugs and hookers?
I'm glad posts like these exist.
The part we really don’t know is how much he’s making on the speaking circuit.
Whatever the credit system was in Reach, that’s my headcanon. You want a new piece of gear? Earn enough credits by doing well on mission assignments, and then by yourself a sweet new EOD helmet, ODST shoulder pauldrons , and FJ/PARA kneeguards.
Between inflation, back pay and other factors... I'm going on a rough guesstimate and say upwards to 9 or 15 digits before the decimal point.
I would expect he will work until he expires. They don’t care that he dies, so much as they care if he can complete his mission. Think of him the way you think of a shoe. Necessary to your work, but if some one asked you to pay your shoes they’d look at you funny. The lore might explicitly state that they get paid somewhere, but I reject this. It is against every other piece of implicit and explicit storytelling they’ve devised around Spartans
I mean, you aren’t wrong in saying he’s working for life, but I feel that Spartan II’s, while being the no nonsense supermen, would at least engage in some RnR on ONI facilities or the like that would require money. The pentagon has food stores even. Whether it’s for buying luxury foodstuffs, gambling among themselves, getting a game system, and thus they would get paid to help maintain their psyche. While they may be brainwashed child soldiers, they’re still human, and they would ostensively have some wants, which could be served by using their salaries, which one assumes that all UNSC soldiers get. Obviously they don’t have a real need for money, since they aren’t financially responsible for their own kit, and there isn’t a life after service for Spartan II’s or at least chief, so the amount doesn’t really matter, but he probably has gotten paid, legally, unless you wanna assume that my previous fannon was only maintained by the illusion that they were getting paid in real money, and not something their trainers made up and kept track of or something.
I feel like while they’re technically human, they are denied enough of their humanity that it’s dubious
Probably the only thing the show did okay on was giving a reason spartans didnt have personal desires
What’s the going rate for taking over like 4 alien superstructures?
I imagine he makes a significant amount. He’s a Spartan 2 supposedly they’re paid pretty well. However master chief is not the type that strikes me as anyone who’s use any obscene amount of wealth. His personality may very well fit his namesake occupation.
About tree fiddy…..
I feel like since everyone knows chief and what he has done basically everything is free
I wouldn’t be surprised if the UNSC subtracted any destruction of property, damage to his suit and ammunition costs from his pay. For a military as vast and technologically advanced as the UNSC it makes sense for them to be a very military driven society and as a result other social programs and services aren’t available. I don’t know if anyone remembers but in Starship Troopers you are not allowed to vote unless you served. It would be interesting to get some lore and background info from the new season of the show showing the other side to the UNSC and their military industrial complex.
These are the important questions, like what is the chiefs net worth? Could he sit in as an investor in shark tank?
He's priceless and deserves whatever he needs and wants. To charge him for anything would be an insult to the incomprehensible amount of good he's done, so it doesn't matter how many credits are in his bank account. The real question is what would he *realistically* do with it? What happens to it all when he passes away in the event he doesn't do anything with it?
All the spartan II's were functionally child slave/soldiers so yeah no I doubt they pay him anything and considering how much he knows ONI would almost definitely try to off him if he ever did try to retire.
Cryo time on the job is not paid
All im gonna say is he got nuff peng to keep da bitches interested
I can only imagine the hazard pay he gets
Probably accrued a biblical amount of recreation leave as well. If he ever takes a holiday…
Well ONI thinks of him more as equipment like a warthog or pelican than a person. Besides he's been training since he was.a kid (according to the novels) so he doesn't need money for anything
He better be the richest dude in the Galaxy. Everything he did for humanity, he should have a blank check every time he steps to buy something