Gold-tonnage claims for the pagoda circulating in travel journalism range roughly tenfold, six to over sixty tons, and a widely repeated three billion dollar figure for the gem-crowned finial traces to no identifiable primary source or methodology.
What would resolve this A published inventory or valuation from the Board of Trustees of Shwedagon Pagoda itself, or an independent appraisal by a body with access to weigh and assess the gold and gems in place.
OpenCultural heritage appraisal and Myanmar religious-trust administration, and financial journalism with primary-source access.Cash Donations Rising for Myanmar Pagodas: Religion Minister (The Irrawaddy)