Marty Lagina FINALLY Reveals the REAL Cost of Oak Island Season 13!
Marty Lagina FINALLY Reveals the REAL Cost of Oak Island Season 13!
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Oak Island Season 13: The Most Expensive Gamble Yet
The multi-generational theory fits more dates than most people realize.
If a treasure truly exists in the Money Pit, the wealth may have been gathered from all over the world—over centuries.
But in Season 13, the mystery of Oak Island isn’t just what’s buried underground anymore.
It’s money.
Everyone talks about how expensive Oak Island is. Almost no one asks when that cost becomes dangerous.
By Season 13, this wasn’t a treasure hunt.
It was a ticking financial clock.
Because this time, Marty Lagina wasn’t paying for hope.
He was paying to avoid failure.
New drilling locations.
Deeper shafts.
Government permits.
Environmental shutdown risks.
Equipment that costs more per day than most people earn in a year.
And here’s what fans rarely hear:
Season 13 expenses began before the cameras ever rolled.
Long before the first dig, Marty already knew this would be the most expensive season in the show’s history—and backing out was no longer an option.
In this video, we’re not just breaking down the real cost of The Curse of Oak Island Season 13.
We’re exposing why Marty was forced to spend more than ever, what was at stake if he didn’t—and the one decision that quietly changed the budget forever.
Watch until the end, because once you understand the real cost of Season 13, you’ll never watch Oak Island the same way again.
The Budget No One Talks About
With an 18-episode season, production costs alone are estimated between $9 million and $13.5 million—and that’s just to get cameras rolling and lights turned on.
That number does not include every piece of heavy machinery tearing into the island.
This is why insiders have started calling Season 13 “the billion-dollar baby.”
In earlier seasons, they drilled a few holes and called it a day.
Now, they’re running a full-scale industrial operation on a tiny island off the coast of Nova Scotia.
And Marty Lagina knows exactly what he’s doing.
He’s a pragmatic engineer who made his fortune in energy, selling Terra Energy for hundreds of millions. He’s not throwing money blindly into a pit—he’s calculating burn rate versus potential return.
But even for a multi-millionaire, spending over $10 million in a single season is a heavy lift.
Where the Money Really Goes
The biggest expenses aren’t what most viewers think.
It’s not just diesel fuel.
It’s insurance liabilities.
Safety crews.
Specialized production teams filming in hazardous conditions.
Every time a shovel hits the ground, the meter starts running at a rate that would make most construction companies sweat.
And this season, the pressure is immense—because you can’t spend that kind of money without results.
The network demands it.
And frankly, so does Marty’s wallet.
He’s admitted before that millions have gone into the ground with very little gold to show for it. But Season 13 is different.
This year’s spending is focused on high-tech solutions designed to see through the earth itself.
The Machines Changing Everything
Look at the skyline of Oak Island.
Season 13 equipment isn’t rented from a local supplier.
We’re talking about massive, specialized rigs—like the Caesar, an oscillating caisson rig that costs a fortune just to transport.
Industry estimates suggest keeping a rig like that fully staffed and operational can exceed $2 million over the course of a project.
And that’s just one machine.
Then there’s the underground imaging tech.
They’ve deployed muography scanners—technology that uses cosmic rays to map density shifts underground. This is the same method used to study the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Transporting that equipment and paying the specialists who interpret the data adds hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
At this point, Oak Island isn’t a treasure hunt.
It’s a full-scale scientific mission.
The Swamp Problem
Then there’s the swamp.
Draining and excavating a protected wetland is a logistical nightmare. Pumps, containment systems, and environmental protections alone cost more than most people will earn in a lifetime.
Every move requires permits.
Every permit costs money.
And every delay burns cash.
Oak Island’s conditions don’t help. Salt water, thick mud, and freezing weather destroy hydraulic systems and sensitive electronics. Maintenance crews are on constant standby.
If a major rig goes down for even one day, thousands of dollars are lost instantly.
That’s why efficiency matters—and why Season 13 moves more earth than any season before it.
When you see that massive claw lift a bucket of mud, remember:
That single scoop likely costs more than a brand-new car.
The People Behind the Price Tag
Machines are expensive—but people cost even more.
Season 13 expanded the roster of specialists dramatically. High-level consultants like Dr. Ian Spooner don’t come cheap. Elite experts can earn $50,000 or more per season, not including travel and accommodations.
And that’s just the people you see.
Behind the scenes are archivists, researchers, and data analysts processing muography scans, studying water samples, and digging through European archives—often under strict confidentiality.
Then there’s government oversight.
Excavating a historically sensitive island in Canada means permits, inspections, and environmental monitoring—all of which cost serious money.
There is some relief: the Nova Scotia Film and Television Production Incentive Fund reportedly reimburses about 30% of local spending. But the cash still has to come out first.
Housing crews, transporting staff, feeding dozens of people for months—and providing round-the-clock security—pushes human-related costs into the millions.
Marty isn’t just funding a dig.
He’s funding an entire ecosystem built to solve a mystery that has already claimed six lives.
The Business Reality
Marty Lagina is a businessman first—and in Season 13, that reality is impossible to ignore.
In one episode, he holds up a single coin worth maybe $25,000 to $35,000, then compares it to the millions spent trying to find it.
On paper, it’s a terrible investment.
You don’t spend $10 million to uncover $30,000.
Any other CEO would have shut this down years ago.
But Marty measures return differently.
For him, the payoff is history, legacy, and storytelling.
And let’s be honest—the TV money matters.
With roughly 1.3 million viewers per episode, advertising revenue and syndication rights are massive. The Oak Island brand may now be worth more than any treasure buried beneath it.
Still, critics argue the budget fuels filler rather than answers. Marty calls it a calculated obsession.
His estimated $100+ million net worth gives him breathing room—but even he knows the real risk now is that costs may be rising faster than ratings.
And there’s the sunk-cost trap.
Fan estimates suggest over $100 million has been spent since 2014. Walking away would mean admitting it’s gone forever.
So they push forward—hoping one discovery changes everything.
Endgame
Season 13 isn’t about finding another coin or piece of wood.
At this level of spending, they need the vault.
They need the source.
The real villain this season isn’t the curse—it’s the budget.
Money is forcing them to move faster, dig deeper, and take bigger risks than ever before.
And that raises the final question:
Is Marty Lagina burning through his fortune?
Or have they already discovered that the show itself is the real treasure?
The numbers are terrifying.
But the mystery is impossible to resist.
What do you think?
Hit like if you believe they find the vault this season—and subscribe for more from The Dig.
