Beal Conjecture Worth $1 Million: Billionaire Offers Prize for Math Problem's Solution
The Beal Conjecture's solution could make someone into a millionaire, if he or she is able to solve the difficult math problem. The challenge, created by billionaire Texas banker and mathematician D. Andrew Beal, will give the solver $1,000,000 to finally put to rest the problem he found in 1993.
The Beal Conjecture first came about when the self-taught mathematician was studying Fermat's Last Theorem, which states that Ax + By = Cz. After realizing that the solution to the 350-year-old problem could only happen with a common numerical factor, he realized he had stumbled upon a new problem.
"Others have looked at closely related problems, but I believe Beal was the first to express it in that way," Don McClure, executive director of the American Math Society, told ABC News. They first announced the $1 million price that Beal offered.
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When Andy Beal was unable to solve the problem, he took it to math professor R. Daniel Mauldin from the University of North Texas, who suggested he offer a price. The prize offered in 1997 was $5,000.
Over time both Beal's fortune and the prize grew. Now he is worth $8 billion, ranking 43rd on the Forbes list of richest billionaires, but is still seeking an answer to the conjecture, which could revolutionize mathematics.
"Any solution to this problem would signal a real new idea and not minor progress," Jordan Ellenberg, a mathematician at the University of Wisconsin, told ABC News.
Proof or a counterexample to Beal's Conjecture has to be approved by the AMS and got into a journal. The stipulation was added once the prize was increased to stimulate only serious attempts.
"I'd like to inspire young people to pursue math and science. Increasing the prize is a good way to draw attention to mathematics generally. … I hope many more young people will find themselves drawn into the wonderful world of mathematics," Beal said in a statement.
