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The 7 Most Expensive and Luxurious Gifts Throughout History

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Published
02/02/2021

Gifts are the most common way to express love, gratitude, care, and even offer an apology. In some events like weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries, gifts are also crucial as they help create a happy and memorable experience for your loved ones. Fortunately, gifts can come in many forms, ranging from the opportunity to wager in US online casinos and to enjoy a great variety of online games, to anything chosen to suit the recipient's taste. After all, it's the thought behind the gift that matters, although that can translate to millions of dollars for some people.

Here are the seven most expensive gifts that the rich and famous have given their loved ones throughout history. 

1. The Queen's Crown Jewel

In 1849, the Sikh Empire Maharaja, Duleep Singh, gifted Queen Victoria a 186-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond. The diamond was later cut down by queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, who considered the gem a little dull for loyalty. Today, the brilliant 105.6-carat gem sits in the Queen mother's crown and is considered the highlight for Britain's Crown Jewels. 

2. Pearl Appeal

In 1917, Morton Plank sold his six-story mansion in Fifth avenue for a $1 million pearl necklace from Cartier. The New York banker gave the necklace to his young wife before Mikimoto's cultured pearls invention crashed the market several years later. Unfortunately, the necklace was sold for only $150,000 following Morton's wife's death in 1956. 

3. Highly Curated

Cosmetic billionaire Leonard Lauder made history in 2003 when he donated the New York Metropolitan Art Museum's largest art collection. This collection of cubist masterpieces had an estimated $1.1 billion worth, including works by Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, and Juan Gris. 

4. Diamonds Are Not Forever

While competing against Aristotle Onassis, the Sultan of Brunei, and others, Richard Burton lost the chance to buy a 68-carat diamond auctioned in 1969. Burton bought the diamond from the winner the following day, paying $1 million for it and making history for the highest price paid for a publicly sold jewel at the time.  Burton gave the jewel to his wife Elizabeth Taylor, who sold it after their divorce in 1978 and used the proceeds to fund a Botswana hospital.

5. Whatever Floats Your Boat

After Mukesh Ambani gave his wife Nina an Airbus A319 corporate jet worth $60 million, his brother Anil Ambani gifted his wife, Tina, an $80 million superyacht named Tian. The 34-meter superyacht is worth more than double the normal million per meter cost that most yachts offer, suggesting that the Italian-assembled custom vessel is rather kitted out. 

6. Wedded Bliss

In 2016, billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev organized a $1 billion wedding for his son Said. The Russian billionaire organized the wedding as a lavish multi-city and multi-day affair that welcomed star artists like Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, and Sting. 

7. The Taj Mahal

Arguably the world's most expensive gift ever recorded, the Taj Mahal was created by Shah Jahan in honor of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This magnificent architecture cost Jahan around 32 million Indian rupees, making it a wonderful symbol of love.

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