The Most Expensive Useless Things Billionaires Spend Their Money On

You’d think that in order to become a billionaire, you’d need to be pretty smart. But it turns out, being good at making money doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at spending it. From million-dollar pigeons to designer garbage bags, you won’t believe the weird, wacky, and downright useless ways billionaires have found to splash their cash.

Titanic II

For billionaires, shelling out for a luxury yacht is understandable. But spending $500 million to build a replica of a ship that’s famous for sinking? Not so much. But that hasn’t stopped Clive Palmer.

The Australian billionaire, businessman and politician is currently spending millions on a replica of the RMS Titanic. He’s calling his boat Titanic II, and once it’s complete, he intends to sail it from Southampton, England to New York; the route taken by the original Titanic because that went so well the first time.

Clive Palmer unveils Titanic II design | 9 News Australia by 9 News Australia

To capture the authentic feel of the original 1912 ship, Titanic II won’t have internet access, and the third-class compartments will feature narrow bunkbeds and washbasins. Unlike the original Titanic, though, the billionaire has promised that his boat will possess modern safety equipment, including enough lifeboats for all 2,435 passengers.

However, the project has hit a few icebergs. Titanic II was originally scheduled to set sail way back in 2016, but that deadline was pushed to 2022 due to financial disputes. The latest update is that the ship has been scheduled to set sail in June of 2027. However, skeptical commentators have already pointed out that Clive Palmer has a history of announcing then abandoning eccentric projects.

Back in 2012 he purchased a resort in Queensland for $50 million and filled it with 160 state-of-the-art animatronic dinosaurs, only to close it in 2015, leaving his prehistoric robots to the elements. Let’s hope Clive Palmer doesn’t abandon Titanic II to sink without a trace.

26-Carat Black Diamond iPhone Case

Where would you keep a precious jewel? Most would lock it away in a safe. But when one Hong Kong businessman inherited a 26-carat black diamond, he decided he wanted to keep it with him at all times. His solution? To attach the rare jewel to his iPhone.

The anonymous businessman commissioned luxury craftsman Stuart Hughes to make him a custom iPhone 5, and had his black diamond mounted on the home button.

The body of the phone is coated in 24-carat gold, while the sides and the apple logo are inlaid with 653 flawless white diamonds. The screen, meanwhile, is sapphire glass, an incredibly hard and scratchproof material made from real sapphires. Thanks to these precious embellishments, the glittering smartphone is valued at a jaw-dropping $15 million. It might be an outdated model now, but you still wouldn’t want to drop it down the toilet!

Cloud Seeding

It seems as though with enough money, you can do pretty much anything, even control the weather! For a hefty $100,000 fee, the super-rich can hire companies to disperse clouds and banish rain, guaranteeing blue skies for their weddings.

An American chemist called Vincent Schaefer was the first to experiment with the technique known as cloud seeding. He discovered that by pumping dry ice and silver iodide into clouds, he could cause the water particles within to freeze, before falling as snow or rain. In theory, this could also be used to induce rain in one area to reduce it elsewhere.

Over the years, the technique has been put to many uses. Some ski resorts use cloud seeding to induce snowfall, while China reportedly used the technique to prevent rain in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. More recently, UK-based events company Oliver’s Travels came up with the bright idea of selling sunshine to wealthy clients.

For $100,000, they’ll hire a plane, a pilot, and a trained meteorologist to fire small rockets of silver iodide into any clouds, changing water vapor into rain which will fall in advance of your big day.

The catch? There’s still debate over whether cloud seeding actually works. In 2003 the US National Research Council claimed there’s insufficient scientifically-acceptable proof of successful cloud seeding, while a 2010 study by Tel Aviv University found the technique isn’t particularly effective at producing rainfall. So, you’re probably better off spending your $100,000 on emergency umbrellas.

Cloning Dogs

Did you know animal-loving billionaires have discovered a way to keep their pets alive forever? Obviously, the mega-rich can’t actually beat death yet. But they can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on genetically-identical replicas of their beloved animals to replace them when they die!

Scientists have known that it’s possible to clone mammals since 1996, when a group of Edinburgh scientists cloned a sheep. The first successful experiment in dog cloning took place 9 years later, in 2005, when South Korean scientists cloned two dogs using cells from the ear of an Afghan Hound.

In 2009, billionaire businessman John Sperling paid the same lab to clone his girlfriend’s dog, giving rise to the phenomenon of commercial pet cloning. Now there are cloning companies all over the world willing to replicate your fur-baby for a hefty fee. US-based company ViaGen charges $50,000 to clone a dog, $35,000 for a cat, and a whopping $85,000 for a horse.

Here’s how it’s done. Scientists remove a cell, such as a skin cell, from your pet. They then take an unfertilized egg from another animal of the same species and suck out the nucleus with a pipette. They transfer the DNA from the skin cell into the unfertilized egg, and use an electric pulse to fuse the egg and the DNA together.

The egg is then implanted into a surrogate, which carries and gives birth to the clone. The process has proved a hit with the rich and famous. Barbara Streisand has revealed that two of her three dogs are clones.

Simon Cowell has publicized his plans to clone his three Yorkshire Terriers; and media billionaire Barry Diller has cloned his Jack Russell terrier into two new pups. But pet cloning has a dark side. The DNA of cloned pets is replicated from an adult animal, meaning they may be born with DNA strands that are already shorter than normal, which can lead to premature ageing and early death.

There’s also the fact that many cloned pregnancies don’t take hold in the surrogate uterus. In order to clone Snuppy the Afghan Hound, the South Korean scientists had to implant more than 1000 embryos into 123 dogs, which meant many animals underwent unsuccessful, invasive operations. With these factors considered, ethicists and animal rights organizations argue that cloning isn’t the best way to prolong your time with your pup.

Trouble, The Rich Maltese

How would you feel if I told you this dog has more money than you? Meet Trouble, the pet Maltese of billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley.

In her lifetime, Leona’s hard-hearted business practices earned her the nickname Queen of Mean. She was known to rage and storm at her employees, and even served 19 months in prison for tax evasion after claiming that only the little people pay taxes!

But puppy love can melt the iciest heart, and Helmsley certainly had a soft spot for her beloved Trouble. In fact, when she died in 2001, Helmsley’s family was horrified to learn that she’d cut two of her four grandchildren out of her will in order to leave her dog a $12 million fortune!

A judge immediately slashed Trouble’s inheritance by $10 million on the grounds that Helmsley must have been barking mad when she made the will, but that still left Trouble much richer than most people! The $2 million fortune was handled by a caretaker who spent $100,000 a year on the pampered pooch, including $8,000 for grooming and $1,200 for luxury dog dinners.

The pup also had a round-the-clock security team to protect her from death threats and kidnapping attempts, because even for dogs, Biggie Smalls’ words ring true: Mo Money, Mo Problems! So remember, people: the moral of this story is be nice to your elderly relatives. If not, your inheritance really could go to the dogs.

Fake Ambulance Taxis

Back in 2013, police in Moscow pulled over an ambulance that was driving erratically. When they peered inside, they were shocked to discover that instead of containing medical equipment and paramedics, the vehicle was fitted out like a luxury limousine. They’d stumbled upon a sneaky new scheme by Moscow’s mega-rich: hiring fake ambulances in order to glide through gridlocked traffic, delivering them to their boardrooms in plenty of time.

These taxi ambulances reportedly arose from Moscow’s notorious roads, which are home to some of the worst traffic jams in the world. According to a 2019 survey by Dutch tech company TomTom, the average Moscow driver spent 210 hours a year sitting in traffic, that’s almost 9 days!

You might think a wealthy commuter would be inspired to spend their cash funding research into how to solve this problem for everyone. But nope. Instead, rich businessmen spend $150 an hour on undercover ambulance taxis, blasting the siren in order to skip to the front of the queue. You don’t get rich for being nice!

Pampered Pups

While, admittedly, celebrity socialite Paris Hilton isn’t actually a billionaire, that hasn’t stopped her spending like one! Just take a look at the $325,000 mini mansion she had built for her beloved pet chihuahuas. The two-story villa is located in the grounds of Hilton’s Los Angeles home, and at 300-square-feet, it’s big enough for a fully-grown human to fit inside comfortably.

Sadly, you can doubt the dogs appreciate the design detail that went into this luxury pad. The walls are painted Barbie pink, and the custom leather furniture was created by French designer Philippe Starck. The mansion also boasts air conditioning, a sweeping staircase, a chandelier and a balcony, all of which puts a positive spin on being in the doghouse.

And while we’re on the topic of pampered pups, take a look at the most expensive dog collar in the world, sold by company ‘I Love Dogs’. This blingy piece of dog jewelry is handmade and bedazzled with 1,600 diamonds. The catch? It’ll set you back a cool $3.2 million!

i Love Dogs Diamonds' Amour, Amour on E!'s Most Expensive -- Diamond Dog Collar by iLoveDogsInc

Luxury Vehicles

Billionaires can afford to go wild when it comes to choosing a car, but they don’t always make the most practical choices. Just take a look at this sparkling Mercedes Benz, created as a showcase by US luxury car company Garson. It’s worth an estimated $1 million, and is encrusted with 300,000 Swarovski crystals.

After the pictures went viral online, an urban legend developed that Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal owned one, and that he charged his friends $1,000 just to touch it! However, the Prince’s private office released a statement denying any ownership of a diamond-encrusted Mercedes Benz.

Next up, check out this vintage ride owned by Elon Musk. The billionaire Tesla CEO spent nearly $1 million on this Lotus Espirit, which was featured in the 1976 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

Musk bought the car from a Long Island couple who’d found it in a locked storage unit in 1989. They paid just $100 for the car, and were stunned to sell it to the world’s richest man for a huge profit. But there’s a twist. Elon has modified the car with four battery-powered propellers, allowing it to run underwater and double as a submarine! It’s unclear whether Elon actually drives the car underwater, but he’s reportedly using it as inspiration for a brand-new sub-aquatic Tesla.

But we can’t talk about cars without mentioning the Sultan of Brunei, who owns the largest private car collection in the world. He’s estimated to own about 7,000 cars, including 300 Ferraris and 600 Rolls Royces, with a combined value of more than $5 billion.

That means that even if the Sultan decided to drive a new car every single day, it would still take him more than 19 years to try every car in his collection! However, collectors who’ve visited in recent years have reported that many of the cars have never been driven, with leather melting in the sun and seats covered in mold. It’s almost as if 7,000 cars is too much for one man!

Antilia Building

Imagine being so rich you could have a 27-story skyscraper all to yourself! One billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, is living that dream. His Mumbai home, known as the Antilia Building, is the most expensive private house in the world.

The gigantic building is located on a street known as billionaire’s row, famous for its ultra-luxury mansions. Inside you’ll find space for 168 cars, a temple, three helipads and a 50-seater cinema. There’s even a fully-stocked ice cream parlor for when the Mumbai heat gets too much.

Unsurprisingly, the idea of an entire 400,000 square foot skyscraper belonging to one wealthy family doesn’t sit well with many people. After all, Ambani could’ve spent his billions providing relief to Mumbai’s poor, rather than squandering money on an oversized mansion.

It probably doesn’t help that in order to clear space for his futuristic pad, Mukesh had to buy the land from an orphanage, which he then had knocked down. Not exactly helping the evil billionaire stereotype there, Mukesh.

Gold Toilet

In 2001, Hong Kong jewelry magnate Lam Sai-Wing earned himself a Guinness World Record by building the world’s most expensive bathroom. The unusual project cost Sai-Wing a breath-taking $3.5 million to build, featuring 380kg of 24-carat gold and 6,200 precious gemstones.

Today, tourists can visit the bathroom, which is on display in Sai-Wing’s Hong Kong store. But however much you may need to go, the fully-functional, solid-gold toilet is off limits! Perhaps inspired by Lam’s creation, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan made this 18-carat gold artwork in 2016, which he named America.

In 2019, the fancy john, worth over $5 million, was stolen from Blenheim Palace in the UK, where it’d been plumbed into the wall as a quirky exhibition piece. A $124,000 reward was offered for its safe return, but it was never seen again. Maybe there can only be one golden throne!

Toilets aren’t the only way to incorporate a touch of luxury into your bathroom. In 2013, Australian company Toilet Paper Man revealed an unusual new product, a single roll of 22-carat gold toilet paper on sale for $1.3 million. The paper is now listed as sold out, suggesting that one eccentric billionaire may have decided to flush their money down the drain.

But that’s not where the madness stops! If you’d like the contents of your toilet bowl to match your solid-gold toilet-paper, you can shell out $425 for 24-carat gold poop pills. These 2cm long capsules were created by artist Tobias Wong, and claim to make your feces gold and glittery. In Tobias’s words, they will turn your innermost parts into chambers of wealth. We'll take his word on that, but you’re welcome to give the golden-poop-pills a try.

Luxury Ice

Would you spend hundreds of dollars on ice? Not mean diamonds, but actual frozen water. Strange though it may sound, there’s a booming market for luxury ice, with the super-wealthy willing to spend $325 on a case of 40 cubes. That’s a chilling $8 per cube!

According to leading brand Glace Luxury Ice Co, their product is made from specially-purified water that’s free of minerals, additives and pollutants. Each piece of ice is individually carved into a sphere or a cube, and comes packaged in a resealable pouch. They’re certainly pretty to look at, but it seems like a great way to watch your money literally melt away.

Guinea Pig armor

Back in June 2013, a very strange item was listed for sale on eBay. Feast your eyes on this: a cute little suit of hand-made chainmail and a battle helmet designed to fit any medium-sized guinea pig. Perfect for carrot jousting.

While you might not consider guinea pig armor a must-have, the mega-rich must disagree, because the listing received 156 bids from 47 bidders in 10 days, and ultimately sold for a breath-taking $24,300. Although the winning bidder chose to remain anonymous but they must have been pretty well-off. Is that you, Bill Gates?

Designer Trash

Can you imagine being so rich you could afford to spend a fortune on your trash? In 2018, Kim Kardashian made waves when she posted a snap of her trashcans on Instagram, revealing that they’re branded all over with the Louis Vuitton logo.

While they were likely just custom-painted, and not officially branded, Kim’s not the only person who’s splashed their cash on Louis Vuitton-themed trash. Another photo of a branded bin bag has been doing the rounds on the internet.

While that bag appears to be another custom-job, the ones below are real. This unusual, waterproof purse, officially sold by Louis Vuitton, is designed to look like a garbage bag, and will set you back a whopping $1,960. Sometimes, fashion really is trashy.

Preserved Shark

Most would pay money not to have a shark in their homes. But billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen evidently disagrees, because he spent $8 million on a dead tiger shark suspended in a tank of formaldehyde.

This unusual piece of interior décor is actually an iconic 1991 artwork by British artist Damian Hirst, and goes by the charming name of The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.

Make what you will of that name, but here’s a little secret about Cohen’s purchase, it’s not actually the same shark that Hirst made famous back in the nineties! By the time Cohen bought the artwork it was 13 years old, and the original shark had begun to decay. So, on top of the purchase price, Cohen paid for a brand-new shark to be caught and stuffed, a process which cost more than $100,000.

Blessed Water

Madonna may not quite be a billionaire, but her spending habits are extravagant enough to land her a place here. Did you know that she reportedly spends $10,000 a month on water? Yes, the stuff that comes out of taps for free.

The singer is a devout follower of Kabbalah, a mystical offshoot of Judaism that boasts a number of super-rich devotees, including Lindsay Lohan and Mick Jagger. As a result, she will only drink bottled water that’s received a Kabbalah blessing, which many followers believe enriches it with the power to cure disease and even neutralize nuclear waste.

Needless to say, there’s no evidence to back up these claims. In fact, a 2012 BBC documentary revealed that some sellers of Kabbalah water were actually charging extortionate prices for plain tap water, cashing in on the gullibility of the rich and famous.

This wasn’t enough to stop Madonna, though. Not satisfied with merely drinking the Kabbalah water for $5 a bottle, Madonna’s friends report that she also fills her radiators and swimming pools with the stuff! Talk about liquid assets.

The Sheikh Who Carved His Name Into An Island

We all want to make our mark on the world, but some billionaires take that idea a little too literally. Take Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. In the early 2000s, he came up with the unusual idea of carving his own name into the surface of Al Futaisi, an island he owns off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

He hired workers to build a series of canals which would spell out HAMAD in letters that were 1,600ft long and 144ft wide, large enough to be spotted on Google Earth Satellite imagery! But unfortunately, in 2012 the letters were filled in with sand with no explanation, rendering the whole project a short-lived waste of time. Maybe Hamad realized he’d Ha-made a mistake?

Superyachts

Not all billionaire private-island-owners need to label their land in big letters, though. Most times, merely spending time there brings enough satisfaction. And what better way to get to and from your personal paradise than in an incredibly souped-up yacht?

The master of this kind of thing is super-wealthy businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns not one, but two superyachts. The $600 million Solaris is 460ft in length and boasts 8 decks, a helipad, a sauna, and anti-paparazzi lasers.

Her sister ship, Eclipse, is even bigger, coming in at 530ft and valued at a stunning $500 million. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would need two enormous yachts, but it looks like buying stuff you don’t need is part of the fun of being a billionaire!

Pedigree Pigeons

You’ve probably heard of billionaires who drop millions on exotic pets. But did you know that China’s uber-rich shell out huge sums on pedigree pigeons? Yes, it turns out that pigeon racing is big business in China. The ancient sport involves releasing specially trained homing pigeons into the air, and then placing bets on which bird will be the first to return home.

In the interests of securing a win, breeders sell fast-flying thoroughbred birds for eye-watering prices. Particularly desirable birds routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in 2020, a frantic bidding war ended when an anonymous Chinese buyer spending $1.9 million on a 2-year-old pigeon called New Kim.

Experts at PIPA, a specialist pigeon auction house, likened the bird to a painting by Picasso, with a few more feathers, of course.

Young Blood Transfusion

Not all billionaires are blood-suckers, but it’s true that some super-wealthy tech moguls are willing to splash their cash on a dystopian procedure called a young blood transfusion. This involves injecting wealthy clients with the blood of 16-25 year olds, which is, thankfully, harvested willingly, and allegedly increases the regenerative abilities and general functions of older people’s bodily cells.

A US-based start-up called Ambrosia was founded around this idea in 2006, and began offering transfusions for $8,000 a pop. PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel made headlines in 2016 when he expressed interest in trying out Ambrosia’s work, but is it legit?

Unsurprisingly, the practice has received a lot of criticism, and has been widely labelled as pseudoscience. The US Food and Drug Administration, for instance, issued a warning about the transfusions, claiming that they have no proven scientific benefits. They also pointed out that the procedure could risk spreading blood-borne diseases and could even overload the circulatory system, causing swelling and breathing difficulties.

So, even if you are insanely rich, probably best to give this blood-curdling procedure a miss. Go buy a golden toilet or something instead.

If you were amazed at the most expensive useless things billionaires spend their money on, you might want to read about incredible billionaire toys. Thanks for reading!