I do not dare to count all up, but 5K to 10K is more realistic as 1K. And then to think I got most gear for free. But I do not smoke, drink or go out.
My essentials would be a good multimeter and a good soldering station. All the kit I bought when I started was a waist of money on the long run. After three cheap soldering irons and one station ( together around 120 euro down the drain) i bought a Weller WSP81, all my el-cheapo multimeters I bought as a kid did not survive my experiments, but i still have a Fluke that is now over 30 years old.
( but i did not buy that new, a friend did and gave it to me some years go)
When I started again after about 20 years I bought a Voltcraft multimeter, you guessed right, dead. A Rigol scope, wish I had not, the old cheap teks outperformed it on all front and after 2 years and 2 defect probes, two defect switched I bought the Hameg. So again cash on "cheap" junk down the drain ( alltough 900 euro for a flimsy scope still is a lot of money)
So today I save a while and then buy quality and for the rest old GR, HP , Fluke or Teks. ( working or not because I like to repair)
Why so much talk about 50 dollar multimeters, let your car at home for a week nd take a bike and you can buy a Fluke? Or skip a going out for dinner or beernight or wathever and you can buy that Luke that gives you pleasure for decennia instead of a headace the next day