Young Sheldon Explains How Sheldon Is Secretly Rich On Big Bang Theory

Warning! Spoiler ahead for Young Sheldon season 5, episode 16.

An episode of Young Sheldon could potentially explain why Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is secretly rich on The Big Bang Theory. The socially-inept genius lived a pretty modest life in Pasadena, working as a theoretical physicist at Caltech on the geek-centric sitcom. Despite this, however, it appeared as if he was never in dire need of money; in fact, in certain instances, it seemed as if he had a lot of money lying around the apartment. The Big Bang Theory never got to properly tackle this mystery, but Young Sheldon may have just provided an answer for those still wondering. 

In 2019, The Big Bang Theory ended after 12 seasons; the cancelation came as a surprise considering how popular the show still was. It boiled down to Parsons’ decision to exit the series, believing they’d done everything they could for his character. Past the initial shock from his co-stars, who wanted to continue, they all decided that it was best to cap things off with a complete cast. Now, Sheldon’s story continues through Young Sheldon, and while it’s a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, it’s able to creatively fill narrative gaps regarding certain aspects of the character’s life. 

Since The Big Bang Theory was essentially an ensemble sitcom, it couldn’t solely focus on one character. Granted that it had noticeably put a lot of interest in Sheldon in its later seasons, the show still left some unanswered questions about him, and a couple of those are being tackled by its prequel. In Young Sheldon season 5, episode 16, titled “A Suitcase Full of Cash and a Yellow Clown Car,” Meemaw’s (Annie Potts) laundromat/gambling den thrives, so she gave Sheldon (Iain Armitage) and Missy (Raegan Revord) $100 each. The pair is skeptical at first, but Missy asks if this means that their grandmother is also planning on leaving them with an inheritance. Meemaw is coy with her answer, but considering the fact that Sheldon is her favorite, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that she actually leaves him with a large sum of money. That would explain why Sheldon had a lot of loose cash on The Big Bang Theory. 

For what it’s worth, it was established that Meemaw was still alive during the events of The Big Bang Theory. In fact, the character even appeared once, played by June Squibb, visiting Sheldon in Pasadena. After that, she didn’t have any more appearances, not even attending Sheldon and Amy’s wedding. But, if her business was still thriving at that point, it’s possible that instead of an inheritance, she was just regularly sending her grandson allowance. Georgie (Montana Jordan) may not be part of the scheme anymore, considering that he will have been busy with Mr. Tire by then, but perhaps he and Meemaw found someone else to oversee the day-to-day operations of their venture while they focus on other things. Maybe Georgie even got his capital to kick off his tire chain from his earnings in the laundromat/gambling den.

Interestingly, when The Big Bang Theory started, Sheldon and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) had to resort to a sperm bank to get some money. Since then, however, Sheldon, in particular, never had personal financial problems, aside from that one time he wanted to fund his lofty study. At one point, he was even able to easily lend Penny (Kaley Cuoco) some cash with no pressure from him on her to pay right away. Assuming that Meemaw’s venture on Young Sheldon continues moving forward, it seems like the perfect way to explain why Sheldon has a lot of money. 

Young Sheldon season 5 airs Thursdays on CBS.

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