The 15 Most Outrageous Purchases by Billionaires
What do you do when your bank account has more zeros than you can count? If you’re a billionaire, apparently, you splurge on things the rest of us didn’t even know existed. Consider this: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West once spent $750,000 on gold-plated toilets. That’s right—going to the bathroom, but make it luxury. Or Elon Musk, who looked at a $1 million James Bond submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me and thought, “This belongs in my driveway.” And then there’s all the people who wake up one day and decide to spend millions of dollars on their own island (or islands).
From gold-coated absurdities to movie-inspired fantasies, billionaires have a talent for turning ordinary ideas into outrageously extravagant buys. While the rest of us are busy comparing prices at the grocery store, they’re turning whims into financial statements. This list dives into 15 of the most jaw-dropping, borderline ridiculous purchases that money can buy. Prepare to roll your eyes and maybe even wonder what kind of gold-plated nonsense you’d buy if money were no object.
Jay-Z (A $55 Million Horse)
Race horses are serious business and cost serious money. Just ask Jay-Z, who spent a staggering $55 million to purchase California Chrome, a Kentucky Derby-winning horse.
A racehorse with a good track record can be a good investment, but $55 million is pushing. For that kind of money, the horse better talk…and fly.
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West ($750,000 Toilets)
There’s not even any need to criticize this purchase–gold-plated toilets make fun of themselves. And how apt that they would be purchased by America’s favorite human toilets.
Gold toilets might look dazzling (depending on who you ask), but one thing is for sure–those things are ice cold when you have to sit down on them.
David Copperfield ($90 Million Bahamian Islands)
When David Copperfield isn’t making the Statue of Liberty disappear, he’s apparently vanishing stacks of cash. For $50 million, he bought Musha Cay and its surrounding islands, because who needs just one private island when you can own eleven?
But owning paradise wasn’t enough—Copperfield poured another $40 million into turning Musha Cay into a luxury resort. Think of it as your average getaway, except exclusive, absurdly expensive, and sprinkled with just enough magic to justify the price tag.
Beyonce ($100,000 Leggings)
This is one pair of leggings that you don’t want to get a hole in. For the 2007 BET Awards, Beyonce dropped a cool $100k for a pair of gold Balenciaga leggings.
For some people, $100,000 would pay of their mortgage. But for the ultra rich, $100k will barely get you enough fabric to cover your butt.
Steven Spielberg (A $60,000 Sled)
Is Steven Spielberg simply a huge fan of the snow? It would seem like that, considering he bought a $60,000 sled. But this story is actually a little more complicated than that.
He didn’t buy just any sled–he bought one of the prop sleds from the iconic movie Citizen Kane. That makes a little more sense for a filmmaker, and honestly, $60,000 doesn’t seem like much for a piece of film history.
Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (A 21-Foot-Tall Jeep)
Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan woke up one day and thought, “Why not a 21-foot-tall World War II Willys replica?” Because, apparently, when you’re a billionaire, rational decisions are optional and subtlety is overrated.
The exact price tag? A mystery. But with everything custom and hand-built, you can bet it wasn’t cheap. The giant Jeep actually runs and drives, but it’s not something we’d want to see coming at us on the road any time soon.
Ralph Lauren ($600 Million Vintage Car Collection)
Apparently, the fashion business pays well enough for Ralph Lauren to have a $600 million vintage car collection. With rare Ferraris, Bugattis, and vintage jewels on four wheels, it’s basically a museum. He says the cars serve as his creative must, so he seems to be getting his money’s worth.
Lauren’s Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic has to be one of his most valuable pieces, as only four were ever produced. Experts estimate its worth between $100 million to $150 million. He says the cars serve as his creative must, so he seems to be getting his money’s worth.
Michael Jackson ($47.5 Million Beatles' Catalog)
Oh for the days when the weirdest thing Michael Jackson did was spend millions securing the rights to the Beatles discography…
It didn’t end up being the thing that would ultimately define the King of Pop, but when he purchased the rights in 1985, it definitely made waves. The really bizarre thing is that he and Paul McCartney were close before he stabbed him in the back.
Floyd Mayweather (A $18 Million Watch)
Floyd Mayweather doesn’t just tell time—he flexes it with an $18 million Jacob & Co. Billionaire III watch. Adorned with 260 carats of emerald-cut diamonds, it’s less about punctuality and more about blinding everyone in the room.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Mayweather’s entire watch collection is valued at over $30 million. From diamond-encrusted showpieces to timepieces worth more than luxury mansions, “Money” Mayweather clearly prefers his clock ticks to come with some serious bling.
LeBron James (A $100,000 Bar Tab)
At least if you go out and waste your money on a gold toilet or a dead horse you have something to show for it. LeBron James wasn’t as lucky with his $100k purchase.
Apparently during a trip to Las Vegas, the basketball star managed to rack up a $100,000 bar tab–mostly thanks to the 33 bottles of Cristal he just “had” to have.
Blue Ivy Carter (An $80,000 Barbie Doll)
There’s no amount a parent won’t spend to make their child happy. If you’re lucky enough for your parents to be Beyonce and Jay-Z, they actually have the cash to put their money where their mouth is.
To celebrate her first birthday, the supercouple bought their daughter, Blue Ivy, a diamond-encrusted Barbie doll for $80,000. At least save the extravagant gifts for when kids are old enough to actually enjoy them!
Bill Gates (A $31 Million Dollar Journal)
I was under the assumption that the only good reason to read someone’s diary is for all the juicy dirt. But I guess I would make an exception for da Vinci’s journal–and apparently Bill Gates agreed. The billionaire philanthropist paid a whopping $31 million to take possession of it.
Ever the nice guy, though, Gates quickly got to work digitizing the document and sharing it with the rest of humanity for a much more reasonable $30.
Roman Abramovich (A $1 Billion Yacht)
Roman Abramovich spent around $1 billion to build his yacht “Eclipse,” with every luxury and safety feature known to man. The yacht even has its own missile defense system, because apparently enjoying ocean breezes requires military-grade protection.
“Eclipse” also has nine decks, with the top one including a helipad and garage. Abramovich has an armored master suite, and the entire ship comes decked out with bulletproof windows and anti-paparazzi lasers. It has everything a cartoon supervillain would need.
Larry Ellison ($300 Million Hawaiian Island)
Larry Ellison didn’t just buy a mansion or a yacht—he bought most of Hawaii’s Lanai Island for $300 million. Now he basically owns the zip code and everyone in it.
As the island’s boss/landlord, Ellison oversees most residents like a tech billionaire-turned-tropical king. From developing sustainable living projects to managing pineapple fields, he’s running Lanai like his personal experiment in paradise ownership. Talk about taking “control freak” to a whole new level.
Elon Musk ($1 Million "James Bond" Submarine Car)
For a cool $997,000, Elon Musk snagged the iconic Lotus Esprit, aka “Wet Nelly,” from The Spy Who Loved Me. Why settle for a luxury sedan when you can have a semi-functional, submarine-ish relic from 1977?
He said he wanted to turn “Wet Nelly” into a real aquatic car, but in 2017, he said on Twitter that he was giving up on this dream. However, the design of the Tesla Cybertruck was inspired by the car.
