Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a large enough bank account to buy anything you wanted without first checking it? You might wish to purchase the most expensive item available. What, though, would that be? How would you answer, “what are the most expensive things in the world? Well, it is “smile” of course, but it is free. The most expensive things in the world are not only rare but they are exclusive
List of the most expensive things in the world
10.Garçon à la pipe (Painting): $104 Million
Garçon à la pipe was painted in 1905 when Picasso was 24 years old, during his Rose Period. This was after he settled in the Montmartre section of Paris, France. The oil on canvas painting depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand and wearing a garland or wreath of flowers.
The painting was first bought by John Hay Whitney in 1950 for US$30,000.
On May 5, 2004 the painting was sold for US$104,168,000 at Sotheby’s auction in New York City. Sotheby’s did not name the buyer though sources say that it was Guido Barilla, owner of the Barilla Group. At the time, it broke the record for the amount paid for an auctioned painting (when inflation is ignored). The amount, US$104 million, includes the auction price of US$93 million plus the auction house’s commission of about US$11 million. This record is broken by the auctioned price of Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt. In 2006, the 1907 portrait, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was purchased for the Neue Galerie New York by Ronald Lauder reportedly for US$135 million, as the highest reported price ever paid for a painting up to that point.
The painting which ranks at number 10 in the list of the most expensive things in the world is the second priciest piece of art in the globe.
9. Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR: $143 Million
How many of you can identify with lottery winners? They surely have good luck because they make a lot of money. But, when compared to other expensive items in the world, their cost is unquestionably far higher than that of a jackpot winner.
Luxury automobiles, for instance, never fail to thrill. It’s difficult to resist the sensation of interest they evoke. Included among the most costly items in the world is a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR automobile, which sold for a significant sum of $143 million.
8. The Card Players painting: $275 million
How would you have felt throughout a period when you wished to indulge? We have all had moments that we craved at some point in our lives. Whether it’s choosing a seven-star hotel to stay at, booking business class tickets for an international flight, or giving your wife the most expensive jewelry. We have all experienced the same thing at some point. Yet, did you know that some people deserved to be on the list for going too far?
The “painting brush” is the tool that generates the most wealth when the pen is mightier than the sword. At least, this is what the popular French artist Paul Cezzane’s work conveys. The painting was bought in 2012 by the Qatari royal family for 275 million dollars.
7. Villa Leopolda: $506 Million
It was here that the filming of Alfred Hitchcock’s ” La Main au collet ” with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly was shot.
The villa of 2,700 m2 has 10 bedrooms and benefits from an 8-hectare park with more than 1,200 trees of various varieties.
6. The Dream Jet, BBJ 787: $300 Million
This 787-8 is the only Dreamliner in service that was built as a Boeing Business Jet, and the cost to charter this aircraft is about $70,000 USD per hour. The Dream Jet can accommodate up to 40 passengers, while an airline-configured 787-8 typically carries 242.
5. Koh-i-Noor diamond $591 million
The Koh-i-Noor diamond is one of the most important diamonds in the world and forms part of the United Kingdom’s Crown Jewels. The 186-carat super Koh-i-Noor diamond was found in India, but fell into Queen Victoria’s hands. She in turn had it cut into a stunning 109 carat brilliant. The Koh-i-Noor diamond has only been worn by queens and is currently set in King Charles’ crown.
The Koh-I-Noor’s value isn’t exactly known, but it is estimated to be worth €140 to €400 million. It is one of the most important diamonds in the world and is a part of the United Kingdom’s Crown Jewels. The Koh-I-Noor’s diamond has a total weight of 109 carats.
Originally, the Koh-I-Noor’s weighed 186 carats. The queen was dissatisfied with the stone’s luster and had it recut to in 1852 by renowned Coster Diamonds in Amsterdam. It is on display, along with the other British Crown Jewels, at the Tower of London, where the renowned Cullinan diamonds are also exhibited.
4. The Antilia Mansion: $2 Billion
The Antilia house, named after a mythical island, is located in the Indian city of Mumbai and is said to be the main residence of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s family. Mukesh is currently ranked at number 13 on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index with a net worth of $84.7 billion.
Having a magnificent structure and billions of rupees in worth, the skyscraper mansion is one of the world’s largest private homes.
Inspired by the concepts of the sun and the lotus, the high-rise is a 27-story building that was constructed over a period of seven years from 2004 to 2010 on an area of 400,000 square feet. It has three helipads on its rooftop, three floors of the building have a garden, and six are used as garages that can park 168 cars.
The Antilia house has a 50-seat theatre, yoga centre, fitness centre, swimming centre, spa, health centre, snow room, and nine lifts. Ambani has hired about 600 employees to maintain the building. It can also withstand an earthquake of 8 magnitudes.
3. Hubble Space Telescope: $2.1 Billion
Hubble, which was the world’s first space-based optical observatory, has made amazing discoveries in all aspects of astronomy, from flashes of aurora on planets and moons in our solar system to the evolution of galaxies billions of light years away.
Observations by Hubble helped determine the rate of expansion of the universe in a Nobel prize-winning study. We have witnessed stars being born in nurseries like the Eagle nebula and exploding as supernovae. Hubble has also captured a powerful jet emerging from a black hole at the centre of another galaxy.
These discoveries come at a price. The Hubble mission cost $1.5 billion at its launch in 1990 and the maintenance costs have also been sky-high.
2. History Supreme Yacht: $4.8 Billion
Although there are other luxurious boats, the 100-foot History Supreme takes the cake for its gold adornment. The $4.8 billion superyacht was built by British luxury goods dealer Stuart Hughes, who also works as an iPad alchemist. It is completely plated in platinum and gold.
According to Luxury Launches, History Supreme was purchased by an unnamed Malaysian businessman. It is the most expensive yacht ever sold. According to The Daily Mail, it took three years to build the magnificent vessel, which required an astounding 220,462 pounds of precious metals. Everything was decorated in gold and platinum, including the deck, dining room, rails, and anchor.
The extravagant master bedroom is decorated in platinum. It also has a wall feature made of meteoric stone and an actual T-Rex dinosaur bone. Rumor has it that Robert Kuok bought the superyacht. This is 10 times as much as what Roman Abramovich paid for the Eclipse megayacht.
According to Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, Kuok is one of just three Malaysians with a net worth of $5 billion or more.
1. International Space Station: $150 Billion
The International Space Station (ISS) is a multi-nation construction project that is the largest single structure humans ever put into space.
Its main construction was completed between 1998 and 2011, although the station continually evolves to include new missions and experiments. It has been continuously occupied since Nov. 2, 2000.
The ISS is not owned by one single nation. It is a “co-operative programme” between Europe, the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The International Space Station costs about $3 billion per year for NASA to operate. This is roughly a third of the human spaceflight budget, according to the agency’s Office of the inspector general.
