The 18 Most Expensive Thing In The World Ever Recorded: What Money Can Buy

It may be no new model, but the flashy vintage style and limited production have earned the Ferrari 250 GTO the title of the world’s most expensive car. This legend from the early ’60s is exceedingly rare, with only 36 cars having ever been manufactured over the 2 year production period. At its release, the Ferrari 250 GTO was worth an impressive $18,000 new. Inflation and nostalgia have continued to raise this price tag though, and in 2018, a 1963 model sold for a record $70 million. Forget carpe diem – for serious car collectors, the real challenge is to car-pe Ferrari!

In this day and age, almost no one leaves home without a smartphone in their hand. Our phones have become our lifelines – so how much would you pay for yours? Next time a friend comments on the price of the latest smartphone, be sure to mention the real king of costly cells: the $48.5 million Falcon iPhone 6 with an embedded pink diamond. Will such an exaggerated display of wealth make your phone a target for thieves? Perhaps. But hey, at least it’s not an Android.

If you thought Dorothy’s sparkling red slippers were a bit understated, then these luxurious shoes are the footwear of your dreams. Forget rubies – in 2020, it’s all about diamonds! The Passion Diamond Shoes pride themselves on being “The most expensive shoes in the world,” and at a sweet $17 million, it’s fair to say that title has been well-earned. Between the shiny gold finish and the diamond features, every inch of these shoes screams extravagance and luxury.

Imagine how difficult advertising this yacht must be. The yacht is already a nightmare to spell at the best of the times, but then being tasked with keeping track of all those zeroes in the price tag as well? Yikes! The History Supreme is an extraordinary yacht with an even more extraordinary price tag. For only $4.8 billion, you get a 100-foot beast that incorporates over 200,000 pounds of solid gold and platinum. Pirates, don’t bother searching for buried treasure any longer; as it turns out, the real treasure is this mighty vessel.

The president is arguably the most powerful individual in all of the United States. With that said, imagine the value of gathering 5 of these past politicians for a single rare photograph. Now imagine the value of that rare photograph once it has been printed in color and signed by each of the subjects. As it turns out, you don’t need to imagine at all, because we know the value of this exclusive item: $10,800 (not including shipping). History buffs, get your checkbooks ready! Everyone else… Maybe we can just settle for the image provided on Amazon.com.

Obviously, a jet is no minor investment, but in the midst of the Cold War with Russia, the US developed a state of the art model that blew previous price tags out of the water. The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit hasn’t gained the title of “most expensive jet” for nothing – each jet cost a sky-high price of $737 million just to manufacture. Figure in operational costs and each Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit cost an average $2.1 billion each. So even if peace and global cooperation aren’t important concerns in your mind, it’s still probably for the best that the Cold War came to an end when it did.

While many of us rely upon a cell phone to tell us the time, there is still a thriving market for watches among the well-to-do. Case and point: in 2019, the most expensive watch ever made headlines when it was sold at a record $31.19 million. Patek Philippe, the watch’s designer, was also the force behind the world’s most expensive pocket watch ever sold (for a mere $23.98 million). As much as times may change, it seems that Patek Philippe will always be around to remind us of the value of an extraordinarily crafted watch – and, of course, a respectable brand name.

With the popularity and growing costs of the iPhone, it’s no surprise that the world’s most expensive building belongs to Apple Inc. themselves. Apple Park is not a typical office headquarters, though; Apple Park functions as a research facility. a development laboratory, and a residence for 12,000 Apple employees. The whole facility is essentially a community built by Apple to house their most valued staff and carry out their most vital operations, all at the cost of $5 billion. However, given their continued success, perhaps this hasn’t been such an outrageous expense after all…

A domain, or a company’s website link, is essential for developing a recognizable brand. A growing company can shell out impressive sums in order to own a notable domain name; after all, pages like google.com, facebook.com, or geartry.com are familiar to millions of consumers globally. Yet surprisingly, the most expensive domain is not necessarily one of the business world’s major players. In fact, that distinct honor goes to Cars.com, a company involved with auto sales that recently sold its domain for $872 million.

Rare collector’s items will always sell for quite a sum, and perhaps no collection is as classic or ubiquitous as that of original baseball cards. Although originally printed as children’s amusements, rare cards have actually gained immense value among lifelong collectors. This value is best exemplified by the infamous T206 Honus Wagner card, a barely-produced card that has sold for millions throughout the years. One card sold for $2.8 million; another, an enormous $3.12 million. Evidentially, passionate card collectors are willing to pay nearly any price to get their coveted home run.

You may have heard of rich food, but this lunch with Warren Buffett takes the cake for expensive lunches! In 2019, a charity Glide auction broke records when winner Justin Sun paid a sum of $4.5 million to have a sit-down lunch with the famed investor Warren Buffett. As someone who debates splurging on a box of name-brand cereal, it’s hard to imagine what type of food was served at this pricy lunch or how it could be better than a bowl of soup from Panera (the ultimate luxury, if you ask me), but perhaps that’s destined to remain another secret of the rich and famous.

As with many of the products on this list, the Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Fighter isn’t valued just for its functionality, but for its limited availability. With only 45 bikes on the market, it’s not easy to acquire one of these sci-fi inspired motorcycles – prices start at $11 Million and have the potential to increase, so you’ll need some serious funds if you’re interested in one of these bad boys.

Art is often synonymous with luxury. The prized works of famous artists fill countless museums, palaces, and mansions around the world, so it goes without saying that a provocative sculpture can come at a great cost. The most expensive recorded sale was a piece by Alberto Giacometti named L’Homme au Doigt, which sold in 2015 for over $140 million, and numerous other pieces have also boasted price tags that soared into the millions.

Sports can be huge sources of revenue for investors and entrepreneurs (look no further than Super Bowl ads for evidence of that), so it shouldn’t be a shock that huge sums are often invested into designing modern, up-to-date stadiums. There is something alarming though about the fact that SoFi Stadium, home of the LA Rams and LA Chargers, is valued at a huge $4.9 billion. No one should have to suffer through a Chargers game just to experience the latest and greatest sports stadium in the world!

We all love that morning cup of coffee, a fact exhibited by the growth of companies such as Starbucks in recent years. However, the world’s most expensive coffee is not a taste most of us will experience in our lives – unless you have $700 to spend on a kilogram of Kopi luwak, of course. And perhaps that is for the best. This valuable coffee, though apparently quite tasty, has actually proven harmful to the Asian palm civets, who are intensively farmed to produce the exclusive blend. And anyway, the Kopi luwak is gathered from civet fecal matter, so maybe expensive doesn’t always mean better.

Video games boast a hefty price tag upon release, much to the bane of gamers everywhere. Still, after seeing the price of producing a modern game, perhaps the high cost is easier to defend. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the most expensive video game ever, cost a sum total of $298 million between both development and marketing, and this record is hardly noteworthy compared to the likes of Grand Theft Auto V ($291 million) and Star Citizen ($249 million). So maybe the latest video game seems a little pricey, but bear in mind the immense cost that goes into creating a vast digital world.

Despite the popularity of March Madness and the NBA, many of the world’s most expensive basketball transfers don’t involve the likes of the USA. The most expensive transfer, for instance, was actually that of Yao Ming when he went from one Chinese team (the Shanghai Sharks) to another (the CBA) for a sum equivalent to $14.33 million. If the NBA always felt too competitive to you, maybe check out the Chinese or high-spending Italian league for a taste of some intense competition.

Where do you think the most expensive hotel room in the world is located? Paris? Milan? New York? Try the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland. This location is actually the perfect spot for a luxurious hotel room: it’s close proximity to the UN building appeals to ambassadors and politicians, and scenic Alp views make for an unbeatable vista. The 12-bedroom hotel suite occupies an entire floor of the hotel, but we wouldn’t expect less from an $80,000/night room that caters to the world’s most important officials.