They said he is like "Richie Rich" rich, but he is a gynecologist. I know a good doctor can do well, but billions?
Really?
It doesnt always have to be about working-for-your-moneycan also be about making-your-money-work-for-you.
An ex-coworker talked about how jealous her mother was of her sister. Her aunt had married a doctor who
had the foresight
to get in on the ground floor of the MRI boom. It was a rather expensive endeavor; so he'd hooked up with some of his colleague, and in addition to their regular practice, they had set up their own MRI facility. Not only other private doctors, BUT AT THAT TIME, even some hospitals also referred their patients out.
(not a direct quote) But, but according to her, her mother said, It was like they were printing their own money!
So Raj's dad being a billionaire (if he is one) may have less to do with
how much
money he madeand more to do with
how he managed
what he made.
Enduring commercials is the price you pay for free television.

dma007
wrote:
it is revealed that his parents are actually billionaires,
Ah, yes, but the question is whether they are billionaires in dollars or in rupees. Paul-heyes raised that question above.
as Sheldon claims that Raj's family's estimated wealth is 'halfway between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge McDuck',
Please remember that it is Sheldon's job as a notary to certify Raj's signature. He has nothing to do with the contents of the document and probably should not even be looking at it.
It makes a lot of sense that the figures he saw were in rupees as there is no indication in the series that Raj's parents are superrich. Rs.1 billion translates into about $15 million. Even Rs.2 billion. Certainly rich, but not superrich.

" In "The Wiggly Finger Catalyst", it is revealed that his parents are actually billionaires, as Sheldon claims that Raj's family's estimated wealth is 'halfway between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge McDuck', a reference to Forbes: The Fictional 15.[This quote is seen in "The Wiggly Finger Catalyst"."
http://bigbangtheory.wikia.com/wiki/Rajesh_Koothrappali

'Oh, I agree about quotes as well.'
Actually, what I was complaining about is what I did right here. Quoting another poster but not making it really obvious.

His pappy made a gynechology claw; called the "Indian Trum Grabber".

'I agree that sometimes you cant tell whats what.'
That is quite true.
[Imagine an ambiguous but probably generally insulting signature here.]

Oh, I agree about quotes as well. If I was ever to use a quote as a signature I would make sure that A) it was apparent that it was in fact a quote, B) the source was clearly stated and C) the quote made sense without the reader having previous knowledge of the source and context. So many helpless, clueless people keep using quotes that contain neither wit, information nor any sort of entertainment value outside of their context (sometimes not even inside).
Please don't hate on Signatures.
Whether: funny/poignant/silly/combative/throw-away/political/patriotic/whateveroriginal OR quote
They are like fingerprints
Since a Signature is ALWAYS a personal choice; it is the ONLY true, unedited peak-behind-the-curtain we get at the person that chose it.
As for content, when I read someones signature and cant quite put it in context, Im not above asking. After all, it may NOT be the signaturebut, me (same thing when I want to know the source).
Signatures on Boards are some of my favorite things (wish EVERY poster had one).

THAT BEING SAID
I agree that sometimes you cant tell whats what. That is, where the post ends and the Signature beginswish folks would do a better job of
clearly
setting them apart so readers can
easily
pick out one from the other.
Enduring commercials is the price you pay for free television.

Oh, I agree about quotes as well. If I was ever to use a quote as a signature I would make sure that A) it was apparent that it was in fact a quote, B) the source was clearly stated and C) the quote made sense without the reader having previous knowledge of the source and context. So many helpless, clueless people keep using quotes that contain neither wit, information nor any sort of entertainment value outside of their context (sometimes not even inside).
IMDb-boards would be less confusing if people would mark their signatures clearly.

gilknut
wrote:
And while he could be lying,
No, he is not lying. His father is not a billionaire except maybe in rupees.
IMDb-boards would be less confusing if people would mark their signatures clearly.
I agree, and people do not always mark when they are quoting clearly. There are a lot of ways to do that, but single quotes is not one of them.

Word.
And actually, in Ep4, Season 2, Raj insists (with conviction) that his father's Bentley is a lease. That doesn't exactly smell of billionaire. And while he could be lying, it doesn't really seem that way from the conversation.
IMDb-boards would be less confusing if people would mark their signatures clearly.

They said he is like "Richie Rich" rich, but he is a gynecologist. I know a good doctor can do well, but billions? Really?
I don't think the Richie Rich comment is meant to indicate a specific level of money, such as "billions". It's a comic book relatable example used by Sheldon - ONCE - while talking to the guys and telling them Raj's family is very very wealthy.
I think we should just take it at face value that Raj's family is loaded. I really don't think we need to rehash this again like was done before with some clown asking me to prove Raj's dad's Bentley wasn't a used car.

Was it ever stated that they are billionaires? All I remember is Sheldon said they are vastly wealthy.
They could be high end millionaires, like maybe around 500 million. I would consider that to be vastly wealth. And there is a big difference between that number and a billion. I personally think it's max 200-500 million because Sheldon didn't say just say wealthy, he added vastly, which makes it seem more than you think.
I don't think it's low end millionaire's because Raj's parents don't get mad about the amount of money he's spending, just that he's spending it on toys. They want him to grow up.

Nobody is really thinking this through.<<<
But they do seem capable of understanding that it's a sitcom, not a reality TV show.

Nobody is really thinking this through. Children of billionaires do not walk around major US cities without bodyguards I don't care who it is. The threat of abduction would have to be worse in India. I would think that there would have to be better hobbies for billionaires than being gynecologists. In the context of the series Raj makes a big deal out of 15,000 dollars in "The Precious Fragmentation." If he were part of a family worth billions I doubt he would do that with friends even if he is somewhat a douche. Would you really let Sheldon be the judge given his preoccupation with fictional characters?

When Sheldon researched Raj and said his family was loaded, I assumed his dad inherited a lot of that money, and I assume his wife was also from a rich family, which explains why she can send Raj as much money as she likes.

paul-heyes
wrote:
it's just conceivable possible, though unlikely, that Sheldon didn't realise he was working in rupees instead of dollars
The more that I think about this, the more I like it. A notary authenticates the signature on a document. He doesn't have anything to do with the contents of the document.
Sheldon would've had no reason to examine the document in detail. He glanced at it, and he saw some eye-popping numbers.
If Raj's family is worth 3 billion rupees, that would be about $45 million. Certainly wealthy but not anywhere near as wealthy as Sheldon thought.

paul-heyes
wrote:
it's just conceivable possible, though unlikely, that Sheldon didn't realise he was working in rupees instead of dollars
Now that is an intriguing idea. It would not be the first time that Sheldon has screwed up the units that he is dealing it.
It would also explain an anomaly in this. If Sheldon understood from the papers that he notarized that Raj's parents are
vastly
wealthy, surely Raj also understands that. When Raj is asking his parents for money, he is sure that they can afford it, but he doesn't act as if they are being ridiculous because in terms of their fortune the amount is less than trivial.

At least one medical doctor in England patented (and made hundreds of millions from) some medical doodadwhatnot invention, but continues to practice medicine. The same could have applied here; it could be inherited wealth; it's just conceivable possible, though unlikely, that Sheldon didn't realise he was working in rupees instead of dollars

he said the Koothrappali 's are vastly wealthy .
Halfway between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge Mcduck
I'm sure halfway between a billionaire and another billionaire is still a 'billionaire'
Life is a joke, but atleast its a good one.

They said he is like "Richie Rich" rich, but he is a gynecologist. I know a good doctor can do well, but billions? Really?
Batman's dad was a doctor , but he was also a billionaire as well.
The doctor job is just a Hobby for Billionaire .
And Sheldon never said Raj's father is a billionaire , he said the Koothrappalis are vastly wealthy .
Halfway between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge Mcduck .
It is family money , depends on the size of the family like 4 to 400 member .
Or the money maybe from his mother side of the Family .
Sheldon never said Raj's father is a billionaire

My Guess, inheritance..indians who were millionaires during the early 1900's are billionaires nowadays (Family name ofcourse, they all died lol)we can assume raj's grandfather was a businessman, left everything to his son, Raj's father (and his brother), one of raj's cousin is a lawyer, raj has 5 siblings so a big family and a few of them are lawyers including priya
the joke though, raj is in the US earning around USD$100-120k a year, which currency wise is huge in india but for a son of a billionaire, peanuts lol..him being in US has more to do with being away from his family than moneyhis father probably left him a few 100 million in his Will .one thing i like about this show, they never act like these ppl with masters and PHD's are 'poor' which is actually quite true..Sheldon is probably a millionaire, maybe leonard too but they don't flaunt it..
Life is a joke, but atleast its a good one.

His daddy is probably a gangster too. Gangster doctor. Same as it may or may not be in America.
Even Peggy Bundy for example, she pays cash I means for tons that she can't get on credit. Well think of everything they buy on credit that she can hawk to family. That's why she's rich.
I'm not saying he's super messed up but probably into some form of money laundering or some scheme on the side or something like that. Because they're not talking about it.
There are other ways but Raj is not a normal person so who knows whether or not he developed defense mechanisms to deal with this gangsterism. But you see how his interactions in some ways are different than the others, even Howard. Like he knows how to be someone's best friend in a day, make that connection quick maybe he had to meet a lot of people and be a socialite to potential form G relationships in the future, and then maybe one day we'll wonder why Raj is independently wealthy Because he is not normal. He is not bad but is the kind of guy that if he wasn't born into drama he would find it as his darma over his life time. He's your best friend right away, he has a desire to create highly emotional situations which may or may not put him in a position of advantage, but he feels guilty about it, etc.
He's probably G related but not really pursuing it but it could all change in a day and that mentality is still a part of his mindset in his daily affairs.
Here's another example of Raj's gangsterism. In the recent episodes Howard dislikes being spied upon and with his background and service, especially with NASA, he chooses conscientious dissent. Because if it's some guys in NASA that are responsible it's not going to be him so he will say it any way he can. When Howard and Raj are being spied upon, Raj takes a more political attitude. "I love America and America's enemies". That political attitude, that's why he is probably from a G background stuff like that before we get into the obvious issues. And he is not G now but not willing to let go, planning to be a certain way that he could literally choose 'G' any day and end up a totally different person compared to the other guys. That's how he holds on. Now I'm not saying he's doing anything too dangerous (other than the obvious central problem) like riding motorcycles up in Mumbai, but that political attitude and other stuff like the money hints at a gangster background. BG Raj not sure if he wants his kid growing up subjected like that indecisive as to the world he is going to create and that is the crux of his divisive indecisiveness.
Or since he is Indian there is a potentiality for an arranged marriage, especially as he gets older, he may want it more and that's another thing he unsure about. So being groomed for that environment for his background, if it gets to that point he is well suited to go either way, and it's like he's preparing for that too because if he waits too long, he doesn't know what his options are so he really may have to go that route too if he doesn't make up his mind but the way he's acting, he doesn't know what he wants and that is the crux of his issue. He is like Howard if Howard started off on the same level as the other two guys. But Howard makes him appear so much higher functioning even though he can't even talk to woman without alcohol. Howie made that guy appear relatively normal and clear headed.

dma007
wrote:
but billions?
The source of that information is rather questionable. It is hard for me to imagine what Sheldon would have notarized for Raj that would've detailed and thus revealed the extent of the family's wealth. I take it with a grain of salt, but whatever.
I agree that it's probably inherited money. Raj's parents say they married for love, but that does not preclude one of them bringing serious wealth with them.

Was that a racial joke because of the population? I'd imagine a good gynecologist gets a lot of work in India.
I expect the majority of people in India can't afford to see a gynecologist regardless.
Remember, as has been mentioned in other threads, 70% of homes in India still don't have inside bathrooms/plumbing.