Learning to play a musical instrument takes hard work. Practice, and patience, and more practice. And that can be such a drag. The devil is believed to be very fond of music, which is not surprising. After all, he does have all the best tunes.

Lucifer is said to have a special affinity to stringed instruments, particularly violins and guitars. In exchange for just one soul, any condition, the Prince of Darkness can teach you how to really play that guitar. He can make you a star.

You might think that no one would take him up on this offer, but we have found at least 10 musicians who, allegedly, thought that this was a great deal.

So, why not take it easy on yourself and trade that soul in today. Who has time for scales anyway?

Trombonists need not apply.

Top 10 Most Evil Men

10 Jimmy Page

Legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, was a student of occultism for a while. He bought Aleister Crowley’s old home in Loch Ness, which he believed was haunted. He often talked about the strange experiences he had had there.

He followed Crowley’s occultist teachings about focusing your intentions on what you want to get out of life. Apparently Jimmy just wanted to play a mean guitar, and he certainly got that wish.

Lots of people claimed that he had sold his sold to the devil to get such fast fingers, to which Page replied that if had, then so had the rest of the band.

Which is not exactly a denial. This may be the origin of the myth that if you play Stairway to Heaven backwards, you can hear demonic voices speaking.

Or something.

9 Paganini

Niccolo Paganini was both a violinist and a guitarist, so he didn’t stand a chance. Born in 1782 in Genoa, he began learning the violin at the age of 7, and is considered by many to be the greatest violin virtuoso of all time.

He was so much better than his peers that a rumor circulated, and persisted, that he must have sold his soul in exchange for his virtuosity (though not his virtue). It could have been that, of course, or it could have been the hours of practice and his extremely long fingers which allowed to him to play three octaves across four strings, which was unheard of.

His hand span, was probably due to Marfan Syndrome, which typically leads to sufferers being exceedingly tall with long limbs. Paganini, like all music geniuses, used his skills mostly to get girls. He was a great womanizer and was said to trap the souls of young women inside his violin, although quite how he did it, no one ever explained.

One concert goer in Vienna even claimed to have seen the devil guiding Paganini’s arm. Which probably made for interesting conversation during the interval.

8 Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson’s is probably the most famous soul in the Devils collection.

Sometime during the 1930s he said to have met the Devil, allegedly at the Clarksdale Crossroads.

He was said to have been a decent harmonica player but a ‘terrible guitarist’. Then he disappeared for a few weeks. He is supposed to have taken his guitar to the crossroads in Mississippi, where the devil retuned his guitar and gave him a few lessons.

When he returned, his terrible guitar technique was now described as ‘formidable’ and ‘masterful’.

When Robert Johnson died in 1938, at the age of 27, the rumor became a fact, and Johnson is now known officially as the Devil’s Bluesman.

7 Giuseppe Tartini

Giuseppe Tartini is said not only to have sold his soul to the devil, but also to have composed a song with him. Trillo del Diavolo, or The Devil’s Trill, came to Tartini in a dream. The music came to him, he said, after his dream-self had also sold his soul.

He failed to check the small print on the deal, however, because the music he wrote down when he awoke was not as complex as the Devil’s tune.

Perhaps that’s just as well, however, as the Devil’s Trill is said to be one of the most technically demanding pieces for violin ever written. Although he was a very accomplished musician, he soon discovered that he was not really good enough to play his own tune, and so he had traded his soul for a tune he could not play.

They’re tricksy, these devils.

Tartini spent the rest of his life trying to properly master his own tune, which must have been annoying. He was, however, a first class musician, as well as a notorious womanizer, a brawler and an expert swordsman.

6 John Lennon

John Lennon is famous for saying that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus. So we already knew he was a blasphemer. One Beatles ‘scholar’ however, has spent years interpreting hidden messages and symbols in John Lennon’s music, art-work and album covers, and he believes that he has ‘evidence’ that Lennon actually sold his soul to the devil.

He follows an apparently ‘fascinating’ trail of sorcery, mysticism, numerology and theology to explain his theory, as well the slightly less reliable mystical science of anagrams and listening to songs backwards.

OK, so there is a good chance that this Beatles scholar is a little bit nuts, but then again, who are we to judge? Lennon allegedly signed his pact with Lucifer some time around December 1960, shortly before the first known outbreak of that well-known viral disease, Beatlemania. If true, it seems particularly hard on Lennon, as the other 3 band members, presumably managed to keep their souls intact while still sharing the glory.

Lennon was promised 20 years of success before the devil reclaimed his own.

Lennon died on 7th December 1980.

Well, we’re convinced.

Top 10 Evil Children

5 Snoop Dogg

Usually these devil-soul transactions are shrouded in secrecy. Occasionally, however, a performer comes along who is happy to talk about it. Or even sing about it.

Snoop Dogg admits that at the time he was in a dark place, when he heard a voice say, “Bring your lifestyle to me I’ll make it better”

Mr Dogg asked how long he would live, and the voice cried back, “Eternal and forever.”

Sounds like a good deal. There is some evidence that the artist at first believed that he was making a pact with God, but was tricked by the devil.

Or perhaps, it’s just a song.

You decide.

4 The Rolling Stones

In 1968, The Rolling Stones released a new album that confirmed every parent’s darkest suspicions. Rock and roll was indeed the devil’s music. The opening song of Beggar’s Banquet was, of course, Sympathy For The Devil.

Keith Richards told Rolling Stone magazine that some people saw them as “acting as unknown agents of Lucifer while others think we are Lucifer.”

Either way, they were trouble.

Some of their fans, however, really bought into the Satanic Majesties thing (the title of their previous album). In particular, the Hells Angels lapped it up. If it was possible for an illegal biker gang to have an official anthem, Sympathy For The Devil was it. They provided ‘security’ for the Stones at Altamont free music festival.

Trouble erupted during that song, and a short time later a teenage boy was stabbed to death.

Although the song was not directly linked with the stabbing, the Stones didn’t play the song live again for a long time. The Stones have been dogged by rumors of devil worshiping ever since, possibly because of secret messages embedded in their music, or possibly because of the large horned devil’s head tattooed on Mick’s chest.

3 Philippe Musard

Philippe Musard was a French musician, composer, and conductor who was known as much for his colorful life as he was for his concerts, which is saying something, because the concerts were said to be chaotic, riotous affairs.

Philippe Musard was the rock star of the nineteenth century.

He certainly had theatrical flair, and loved to shock his audience. Musard was the first conductor to stand up during his performances, and the first to fling his arms around wildly. Sometimes he even threw his baton into the audience. He is credited with inventing the Galop Infernal, frenetic dance tunes that were often used as the accompaniment to the can can dances of the time.

He was phenomenally successful, and Parisian confectioners even sold his effigy in chocolate. While he conducted, he was said to pull strange faces, and to look almost possessed with his wild gesticulations. It may have been this that led to the persistent rumor that Musard had made a pact with the devil.

2 Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson was a blues musician and is the man credited with starting the rumor that Robert Johnson had sold his soul at the crossroads. Which is odd, because, before that rumor got around, it was thought that Tommy had done the exact same thing.

Tommy Johnson was one of the most influential bluesmen in Mississippi during the 1920s and 1930s. His older brother LeDell was teaching him how to play the guitar, when, as a young teenager, Johnson ran away from home to the Mississippi Delta. When he returned 2 years later, he was an expert guitar player.

LeDell Johnson claimed that his brother had met a ‘mysterious figure’ at a crossroads. The stranger tuned his guitar for him, after which he could play like, well, the devil. Which exactly story what Tommy said about Robert Johnson.

Could it be that Tommy Johnson was diverting attention from his own diabolic encounter? Or perhaps the devil spends a lot of time hanging around crossroads with a guitar tuner.

1 Bob Dylan

In 2016, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. It was pretty much a surprise to everyone. Except, perhaps, Bob. He explained in an interview, “It’s a destiny thing. I made a devils bargain and I’m holding up my end.”

Well that seems pretty conclusive. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise though. Bob Dylan, apparently, died on July 25, 1965. Coincidentally, that was the same day that he walked on stage at the Newport Folk Festival stage with an electric guitar.

An electric guitar. At a folk festival. To make it worse, he was accompanied by a rock band and they launched into a decidedly un-folky rendition of his new song, “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Didn’t go down well.

So it will come as no surprise to any of the tambourine shaking, harmonica blowing folk fans that Dylan had signed an unholy pact.

Top 10 Most Evil Women

About The Author: Ward Hazell is a freelance writer and travel writer, currently also studying for a PhD in English Literature

People talk about the value of a dollar a lot, and these days that usually includes lamenting how a dollar isn’t worth much at all. Things are expensive and they keep getting more expensive because the powers that be know we can’t not have food or fuel or Netflix. But that doesn’t mean a buck is totally useless. Throughout history, a single dollar has been enough for some remarkable purchases.

10. Coke Sold Their Bottling Rights For a Buck

Coca-Cola sold 25 bottles in its first year of operations and now sells about 1.9 billion bottles per day. If the world population in 2023 is 8.045 billion, that means about 1 in 4 people buy a Coke every day. In dollars and cents, the Coca-Cola company makes about $45 billion per year.

With all of those big numbers floating around, it’s kind of remarkable to learn that the rights to bottle the stuff were sold for a buck. Back in 1888, Asa Candler bought the rights to the Coke formula, improved it, and began selling concentrated syrup. For a long while Coke, and most sodas, were sold this way. The syrup would be mixed with soda water on site, at a soda fountain, in front of the customer. Candler was convinced this was how Coke should be enjoyed.

While he expanded his syrup production, a pair of lawyers approached him about the idea of bottling the stuff. Candler thought the idea was dumb. The lawyers eventually convinced him to try it so they signed a contract for bottling rights. Candler, so convinced the idea was dumb, sold them the rights for a single dollar. A dollar he didn’t even bother to collect.

9. The Patent for Insulin Was Sold for A Dollar

It’s been argued that insulin has saved literally tens of millions of lives since its discovery. It’s arguably one of the greatest medical advances in history. Back in 1923 when Sir Frederick Banting discovered it, he understood the value and importance of it. But he also devoted so much of his life to it for a reason, he wanted to save lives.

Because Banting was concerned with the value of insulin to society as a whole rather than its value to him as an individual, he didn’t sell it for a fortune or patent it to keep it a secret for himself. He thought a doctor profiting off of medicine was unethical. Banting is quoted to have said “insulin belongs to the world, not to me.”

Banting wouldn’t even put his name on the patent for insulin and, instead, his two coworkers, James Collip and Charles Best, were issued the patent. Like Banting, they were not looking to profit, so they sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1.

Sadly, the altruism expressed by the creators of insulin hasn’t made it to the present day and many kinds of insulin are still very expensive, but things arguably could have been worse.

8. Bombardier Sold Stake in One of Their Planes to a Boeing Competitor for $1

There’s a lot more drama in the world of jet manufacturing than you may realize. So, to set the stage here, know that Boeing, an American company, competes with Airbus in Europe and Bombardier in Canada. All three technically compete with one another but Canada and Europe teamed up to stick it to Boeing in a trade deal.

Bombardier made the CSeries of jets. The US Commerce Department backed Boeing by threatening the Canadian company with a 300% tariff, which would kill their ability to sell the jet. But Bombardier worked a deal with Airbus in which Airbus got a 50.01% stake in the CSeries production and it only cost them $1.

Why the great deal? Airbus would assume massive risk and CSeries would be manufactured in Alabama as a means of skirting the 300% tariff since the jets would be produced in America. Eventually the tariff ruling was overturned and Boeing didn’t appeal, but Airbus took a larger stake in the jet’s production and Bombardier dropped out completely. 

7. James Cameron Sold the Rights to The Terminator Script for a Buck

James Cameron has become an iconic filmmaker over the years with some of the most popular films in history under his belt. This includes Titanic, Avatar and the Terminator franchise. Terminator was the movie that really put Cameron on the map back in the day and it set the stage for everything that was to come. It also proved no one has as much faith in James Cameron as James Cameron.

Cameron had only directed the movie Piranha II: The Spawning before Terminator and, if you haven’t heard of it, it was not a popular flick. So he hadn’t proved himself in the eyes of Hollywood by any means. But he was convinced Terminator was a winner and, more importantly, he needed to direct it. To convince the studio to let him take the reins, he sold the script for just $1 on the condition he could also direct. 

Keep in mind, many studios liked the script and offered big money for it, but none wanted him as director. So he rolled the dice and bet on himself. Despite the fact it worked out and Cameron has made two of the highest grossing films of all time now, he still regrets that decision.

6. Stephen King Sells the Film Rights for His Short Stories for $1

If you add up all the movies, TV shows, short films and anthology entries based on Stephen King’s works, you’ll end up with close to 100 of them. People love adapting his work to the screen and sometimes the results are great, sometimes not. King himself seems to be open to almost anyone and everyone trying their best, though. 

If you’re a new filmmaker, like a student, you can buy the rights to one of dozens of King’s short stories for just $1. There are some strings attached, including that you have a year to do it, you can’t distribute it without his permission, and you have to let him see it when it’s done. 

Some filmmakers have gone on to big success after taking King up on his offer, but none more popular than Frank Darabont. Darabont, you may recall, was the showrunner for the first season of The Walking Dead. He also directed The Green Mile, The Mist, and The Shawshank Redemption, all based on King stories. 

5. Houses in Detroit Were Going For a Buck a Piece Around 2010

If you know little about Detroit, Michigan, it used to be the hub of the automotive industry in America. For a time the city was doing incredibly well until the industry fell apart and Detroit’s entire economy tanked. The city had to file an $18 billion bankruptcy. The population went from two million to 700,000 and unemployment skyrocketed. 

That huge population drop left many homes in Detroit empty and there are entire streets and even neighborhoods that are still like ghost towns. The housing crisis made things even worse and back around 2010 houses were practically being given away. The median house price was $25,200. While some houses could be purchased for under $100, some went for the bargain basement price of just $1.

Were these $1 homes good? No. Useable? Not really. Many look like horror movie props, all burned out, broken and rotten. But there’s land to use and the potential to make something better out of it, and that’s enough for some people.

It’s not just Detroit that tried to unload its trash properties, either. St. Louis also offered a $1 home program, though they had some stricter rules about buying them. 

4. The Inventor of Chocolate Chip Cookies Sold the Recipe For a Buck

It’s odd to think that every ubiquitous and common food item we all know and love had to have once been invented by someone. Chocolate chip cookies, for instance, didn’t exist officially until the 1930s. The recipe was first published by Ruth Graves Wakefield as “Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie,” named for the tourist lodge that was once a tollhouse that she and her husband owned. 

In 1939, she sold the rights to both the Toll House name and the cookie recipe to Nestle. Her price? $1. Rumor has it she also got a lifetime supply of chocolate and did consulting work for them, which sweetened the deal in more ways than one. Also, they apparently neglected to actually hand over that $1. 

3. You Can Sell an Academy Award But the Academy Has the Right to Buy it First for $1

In the world of Hollywood, an Academy Award is the most prestigious prize you can win for some reason or other. Regardless of how it got that reputation, people still hold that little gold man in high regard. Historically, of course, not everyone has cared about them that much. Three people even turned down their Academy Awards. 

For those who choose to keep them, if they lose their luster over the years there may be a temptation to sell the thing. There is some bronze and gold in the statuette and its overall value is estimated at around $400. Of course there is more value in one as a collectible. Orson Welles’ Academy Award for Citizen Kane once sold at auction for over $860,000. 

In an effort to prevent the trade in Oscars from continuing, the Academy has instituted a rule that any recipient who wants to sell their award has to give the Academy the right to buy it first at a price of $1. This even extends beyond death so that if a family member inherits the award, they’re bound by the same conditions which seems legally questionable, but here we are. 

2. DuPont Built a Nuclear Site to Produce Plutonium in WWII for One Dollar

During World War II, America put the pedal to the metal to produce nuclear weapons and the Manhattan Project was the program that oversaw it. Knowing how to make a nuclear weapon is one thing, but building it is another. The project needed facilities able to handle that scale of work. They enlisted the DuPont company for their expertise in building and operating large-scale manufacturing, despite the fact they were not a weapons manufacturer at all. 

DuPont had already been accused of making chemical weapons in WWI. They eventually agreed to work on reactor production and ended up being the main contractor for all the plutonium work related to the project. But in an effort to escape the scrutiny they’d faced in the previous war, they set their price for helping at $1. That way no one could accuse them of profiteering and instead recognize that they were simply doing a patriotic duty. 

1. NPR Bought the Radio Rights to Star Wars for $1

The Star Wars franchise, which includes movies, shows, books, merchandise and all of that, has an estimated value of about $70 billion. It made George Lucas a very rich man, and it continued to make Disney even richer. But every so often George Lucas proved he wasn’t always about the money, like when it came to the Star Wars radio drama.

Way back in 1983, NPR wanted to turn Star Wars into a radio drama. No one had really been doing radio dramas since the 1950s and they wanted to revive the format with something exciting. The USC theater program asked George Lucas for the rights to the movie and Lucas, a graduate of the school and fan of their NPR station, gave it to them for just $1. 

Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker and Anthony Daniels returned as C-3PO. They hired a novelist to adapt a highly visual movie into a radio show and included entirely new scenes to flesh it out since the actual movie only has 30 minutes of dialogue and they were making 13 half hour episodes.

In 1983 they produced Empire Strikes Back and, many years later in 1996, they finally did Return of the Jedi. Each script was purchased for the same $1 deal.

One of the biggest forged art scams in history resulted in roughly $80 million being spent on “fake” paintings. So the world of scam art is a booming business if you can pull it off. But art is far from the only industry where you can fake someone out and earn big money in the process. People will sell fake anything and everything if they think they can get away with it. And a good number of them do.

10. Nigerian Scammers Sold a Fake Airport for Over $200 Million

Selling a fake painting is one thing. You can have someone paint it, make it look real enough, frame it and then physically give it to the person you’re scamming. If you did a good enough job on your forgery, it’ll fool your buyer and they’ll hand over the cash. This makes sense and is easy to understand. Now imagine trying to do that with an airport.

In the mid ’90s, three men from Nigeria pulled off a staggering scam in which they convinced a senior bank official from Brazil to use funds from his bank to invest in their new airport. In exchange, he would earn a tidy $10 million commission. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Someone from a foreign land promising a huge financial opportunity at no risk to you and, in return, you take home millions! Yeah, it’s basically the same Nigerian Prince email scam everyone got 25 years ago, only so much bigger. Also, it worked.

The banker funneled a whopping $242 million from his bank to a variety of different accounts around the world. In a surprise twist that probably only surprised him, there was no airport, the whole thing was fake. 

The scammers bought multiple properties with their scammed money and lived the high life until they were caught, convicted, and had their assets given to the bank.

9. Up to 30% of Pharmaceuticals Sold in Developing Nations are Fake

In a lot of places around the world, access to medication is limited. This is true in poorer countries and richer ones. Americans have some of the worst markups for pharmaceuticals anywhere in the world and, for many people, the alternative of buying medicine online from another country seems like a great option. And it probably is, if you get what you pay for. The problem is that as much as 30% of the pharmaceuticals sold around the world are fake. 

According to the World Health Organization, the counterfeit drug market is worth $30 billion. This has also resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. Even in developed countries, one in ten drugs being sold is not the real deal.

Many of the victims are in developing nations however, in particular in Africa where thousands of African children have died because of getting scam medication for pneumonia or malaria. 

So what qualifies as a fake drug? Sometimes it is the real medication but in the wrong dose. Sometimes it’s a different drug and sometimes it’s just nothing at all, maybe a sugar pill or some other placebo with no active ingredients. Point is that they don’t work and they can get people killed.

8. A Man Made Millions Selling Fake Bomb Detectors

The military seems to have bottomless pockets but scamming them has to be something done with nerves of steel, you would think. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, though. Some people have pulled off remarkable scams, like James McCormick. He made £50 million by selling fake bomb detectors, mostly in the Middle East.

McCormick is believed to have sold around 7,000 ADE-651 bomb detecting devices over a period of years. These could be used at various checkpoints and in secure facilities to detect an explosive to keep people safe. That was the scam, anyway. In reality, the machines were slightly repurposed golf ball finders that did nothing at all. 

The golf ball finder was a novelty toy that cost $20. It had a cheap antenna on it that was supposed to move when it detected “elements” in a golf ball, using the same a dowsing rod supposedly detects water. It’s just the unconscious and involuntary movements of the person holding it. There were no real working electronics or science involved at all. 

Aside from the stunning amount of money McCormick made selling these scam detectors, the other remarkable aspect of the story was that some places were still using them, even years after the scam was revealed.

7. Fake Pepper Made of Mud Was Sold in China

In 2022, real saffron could cost you as much as $10,000 per kilogram so there’s some precedent for the spice trade being a valuable one. But saffron is a relatively rare spice and one most people don’t have on their counter. It has to be harvested by hand and you can’t grow the crocuses that produce it just anywhere.

Pepper, on the other hand, is one of the most common spices in the world. Salt and pepper are the ubiquitous seasonings on nearly every table in the West. It’s made from ground up peppercorns and it’s a relatively inexpensive spice in much of the western world.

Despite how cheap and abundant it seems, if you can get away with selling fake pepper it’s even cheaper and more abundant. In China it’s been reported that some pepper sold in markets was just dried up mud. In a fun twist, the seller didn’t care that they’d been caught out and said it was no big deal because mud wasn’t going to kill anyone.

6. The Cellular Phoney Was a Fake Car Phone Sold in the ’80s 

Gather ‘round, children, for we’re about to talk about the olden times. Once, some decades ago, there was no such thing as a cell phone. If you wanted to call someone, you had a little box with numbers on it attached to the wall of your house by a wire. It was a telephone, and it was the only way to call someone. If you wanted to text, you had to write it on paper and send it in the mail. 

Around the time that big, clunky wireless phones first appeared, so too did car phones. For a time they were more popular since wireless phones were the size of milk cartons. But they were not for the average driver. In 1987, a car phone might set you back around $1,400. That would be about $3,700 in 2023. 

For the 1980s clout chaser who wanted to look rich and important there was the fake car phone called the Cellular Phoney. It looked exactly like a car phone but it did nothing; it was just a replica. They sold for $16, or $9.95 if you found a sale. The company sold about 40,000 of them, mostly in Los Angeles where people love to play pretend. 

5. Fake Amazon Listings Were Used to Scam Walmart Out of PS4s

Some people shop like it’s a life or death mission and getting the best deal possible is the goal. They will cross town and even go to other cities for the best deals. They’ll collect coupons and wait for double coupon days to ravage a store and scour its shelves clean. And they’ll also price match.

Price matching is a simple concept where a store tries to keep your business by selling things you might want to go to another store to get for the same price. You bring in a flyer from the competition that has a better deal, they’ll match the deal. Easy for you because you don’t need to travel, easy for the store because they made the sale and maybe you buy a bunch of other stuff, too.

Walmart learned the hard way that this policy can be exploited by scammers. When Walmart offered to price match online retails for the PS4, people started showing up with fake Amazon listings selling the gaming system for as low as $90 and even $50 in some cases. So Walmart had to sell the normally $400 system for the same price. 

Eventually the company clued in and dropped the price match policy for sites like Amazon.

4. Rolling Stone Made a Fake Supergroup That Sold 100,000 Records

Back in 1969 an album was released by the band The Masked Marauders. Members included Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan. It was, arguably, the greatest rock ‘n’ roll supergroup ever. It was also total BS. The band, and the article about them in Rolling Stone magazine, was made up. It was a piece of satire that was published in a magazine not really known for satire, so not everyone read it that way. 

The idea started when one of the magazine’s writers, sick of supersession albums, wrote a fake review of an album that never existed. For fun, he showed it to his editor who thought it was great. So they published it. 

The album became huge, which is to say everyone wanted it but of course no one could get it because it never existed. But as desire grew, Rolling Stone took it a step further. They recorded the album. A band called the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band was hired to do impressions of the more famous musicians. Warner Brothers distributed it and they managed to sell 100,000 copies. 

The liner notes to the album gave away the joke but, of course, you had to buy the album first to get that far. The chairman of the FCC apparently called the whole thing obscene. 

3. The Hitler Diaries Sold For Millions Before They Were Outed as Forgeries

Back in the 1980s, the secret diaries of Adolf Hitler were published, and it was a groundbreaking discovery right up until it wasn’t. Stern magazine paid the equivalent of $3.75 million for the diaries and published them in 1983. 

The diaries were authenticated by a British historian and then, about a week later, they were proven to be forgeries. Forensic testing proved the ink to be new, the paper was wrong and the handwriting itself was not accurate. There were also historical inaccuracies included in the works which helped send the forger to jail. The magazine, however, was forced to issue an embarrassing retraction for their overzealous mistake.

2. A ’90s Scammer Sold $50 Clothesline as Solar Powered Clothes Dryers

Sometimes a scam can still be technically legit, just in a way that pleases no one except the guy making all the money. That was the case with Steve Comisar, who sold solar powered clothes dryers through classified ads in the ’90s that only cost customers $50. He made $2 million before he was shut down.

So what was the scam? Comisar mailed everyone who paid him a length of clothesline. A scientifically proven way to use solar power to dry clothes. Needless to say, his customers were angry, but they were not “technically” ripped off. He kept the money, he just wasn’t allowed to sell any more.

Comisar would later go on to bigger and more complex scams and was apparently once known as the Jeffrey Dahmer of fraud. 

1. Walmart Sold Fake Craft Beer

Craft beer has been around for quite a while but really gained some popularity in the 2010s. Plenty of companies with goofy names came out of the woodwork to sell traditional and non-traditional craft beers alike, and they were cutting into the market for some of the bigger breweries. In an effort to capitalize on this, Walmart started selling its own craft beer. Except it was a fake.

Walmart’s beer was supposedly made by Trouble Brewery, only they didn’t really exist. The beer was actually brewed by WX Brands, which is actually Genesee Brewing, a Costa Rican brewery known for the Genesee brand of cheap college beers. So, in reality, their craft beer was just mass market beer that had been mislabeled, which is technically not allowed.

For most people in the developed world, the only animals they see are their pets. Unless you buy a purebred cat or dog, it’s highly unlikely that you broke the bank to get your kids a puppy for Christmas.

The animals we choose as pets are often inexpensive, but there are some critters out there that hardly anyone can afford. From cloned individuals to extremely rare breeds, these are the 10 most expensive animals ever sold.

Top 10 Bizarre Home Menageries

10 Stag Beetle

Most people are happy to pay a lot of money to get rid of insects. But some collectors still look at creepy crawlies with interest rather than disgust.

One species of beetle is so treasured that the rarest and largest of them can sell for thousands of dollars. The stag beetle is the most prized insect in Japan, and the big ones are incredibly rare. The species possesses bloodred mandibles alongside protruding antlers, which add to its value in the insect-adoring community.

The most money ever paid for a stag beetle was around $90,500 in 1999. The purchaser, a 36-year-old company president, bought it at Wakuwaku Land, a Tokyo specialty shop.^[1]

The beetle was worth so much due to its size. The average stag beetle reaches about 5.1 centimeters (2 in) in length, but the one in question was about 7.6 centimeters (3 in), making it rare and desirable to collectors. It’s unlikely that another specimen will sell for more money because breeders have since found a more productive method for producing these insects.

9 Sir Lancelot Encore

In 2008, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, family lost their beloved golden Labrador, Sir Lancelot, so they froze his DNA. That’s not what most people do when a pet passes away. Then again, most people can’t afford to spend $155,000 to have their pets cloned, either.

The Otto family reached out to a South Korean cloning firm to have their dog recreated from the frozen remains. Apparently, the Ottos placed the winning bid in an auction by the biotech firm, which was looking for someone willing to pay for the company to try something new.

The cloning of Lancelot was successful, and the family received a 10-week-old, 4.5-kilogram (17 lb) yellow Lab puppy a short time later. The new puppy, named Sir Lancelot Encore, was genetically identical to… well, to himself. He didn’t show up to an empty home as the Otto family had nine other dogs, 10 cats, four birds, and six sheep.^[2]

To finance the cloning, Mrs. Otto had to sell several pieces of expensive jewelry. But she had no regrets about bringing her beloved Lancelot back from the dead.

8 Yorkshire Boar

When most people think of pigs, they think of sizzling bacon to pair with their over-easy eggs and toast. Pigs are also becoming more popular as pets, although one of the most expensive pigs ever sold at auction was definitely not a pet.

In 2014, a Yorkshire boar (a male pig) sold at auction for $270,000. The pig, raised by Western Illinois University School of Agriculture Associate Professor Mark Hoge and his family, sold for $267,000 more than the second most expensive animal in its class.^[3]

The Yorkshire, or Large White, was initially bred for bacon but rose to prominence in the lean-meat category through the 1900s. Created by crossing the indigenous white pig of North England with the smaller, fatter, white Chinese pig, this breed is now the world’s most widely distributed.

7 Deveronvale Perfection

Some animals are worth a lot of money based on their appearance, rarity, or size. Other animals are treasured for their sperm. The latter is certainly true of Deveronvale Perfection, a pedigree Texel ram bred selectively via embryo transfer.

A Texel is a lean meat sheep, and this one sold in 2009 for a whopping £231,000. However, that’s a paltry sum compared to the amount of cash that Deveronvale Perfection will pull in from stud fees, which is the money charged to let your sheep get freaky with him.

The previous UK record holder, Tophill Joe, sold for £128,000 in 2003. That single sheep managed to earn a whopping £1 million in stud fees.^[4]

John Yates of the Texel Sheep Society said, “The staggering amount [paid for Deveronvale Perfection] surprised many. Many people see these animals as lamb chops, but these flocks are at the top of the genetic pile. This was the elite animal that stood out.”

Deveronvale Perfection was purchased by Jimmy Douglas, who said, “There was a photo of him in The Scottish Farmer. I had to have him.”

6 Armando

For most people, pigeons are little more than “rats with wings” that stop at nothing to poo on their cars. Despite the public’s general disdain for them, pigeons have been an important species of bird for thousands of years.

In fact, they are one of the oldest species of domesticated birds. People have eaten pigeons, strapped messages to their legs, and bred them for racing.

In 2019, one racing pigeon named Armando was sold to a Chinese businessman for a grand total of $1.4 million. The high price came from a bidding war that ended at record levels.^[5]

Armando was purchased for his ability to father a new generation of racing pigeons. Pigeon racing is especially popular in China, where record sales happen all the time.

In 2013, the previous record-holder, Bolt, sold for €310,000. Nikolaas Gyselbrecht of pigeon auction site PIPA explained, “You can compare it to artwork. A painting made by Picasso is worth more than one made by an unknown artist. It’s the same with this pigeon.”

10 Ageless Animals That Do Not Grow Old

5 Big Splash

Typically, people spend around $1,000 to $2,000 for a purebred puppy, depending on the breed. Some individuals spend more, but the average pedigree dog doesn’t hold a candle to the value ascribed to the Tibetan Mastiff.

These large, fluffy canines have been around for more than 5,000 years, and owning one is considered a status symbol in China. It’s rare to see them outside of Tibet, which is one reason why they are so costly. The most expensive one sold for $1.5 million to a coal baron from China.

The dog, named Big Splash (“Hong Dong” in Chinese), was considered to be “a perfect specimen.” The seller estimated that the dog could be rented out for studding for as much as 100,000 yuan.^[6]

Although that amount wouldn’t produce a profit on the original investment for a few years, the new owner wants no part in it. Big Splash was purchased as a status symbol. He will be treated like royalty with no expense spared for his care.

4 America

You’ve probably heard Wagyu beef described as the most expensive and delicious beef on the planet. But even those prized bulls haven’t gone for as much as “America,” the most expensive bull ever sold.

America is a specially bred Angus bull from North Dakota. In February 2019, the Schaff Angus Valley annual production sale closed the bidding on this Lot #1 bull at an impressive $1.51 million. America wasn’t destined for the dinner plate, though, as he was specially bred to stud.^[7]

The winning bidder was Herbster Angus Farms of Falls City, Nebraska, but the owner won’t relocate the bull. America will remain in North Dakota, where 20 percent of his semen proceeds will go to the farm. Herbster will retain 80 percent.

Bull semen isn’t cheap. When it comes to a bull like America, breeders can expect to shell out a hefty sum. Wagyu semen sells for tens of thousands. In 2019, an auction sold one batch for $67,000. The value of America’s semen is unclear, but it’s likely to reach Wagyu levels given America’s price at auction.

3 Koi

Japanese koi breeding has been an art form for hundreds of years. Through selective breeding, a drab-looking species of carp became a vibrantly colored and highly prized species of fish.

If you want koi to fill your pond, expect to pay a lot of money for the fish. The price goes up considerably when they are older and larger. Typically, koi can cost anywhere from a few bucks to a few thousand dollars. The high price comes from various factors, but the most notable is bloodline. Koi bloodlines are as highly valued as those belonging to pedigree dog breeds.

In 2017, the nine-year-old grand champion fish was sold for a whopping $1.8 million at auction at the All Japan Koi Show.^[8] This makes her the most expensive koi ever sold. Fortunately, she’s got a few years ahead of her.

Koi can live for up to 40 years. That means the grand champ will breed for a couple of decades and potentially make a boatload of money for her owner.

2 Pacific Bluefin Tuna

The rare Pacific bluefin tuna is the most expensive fish in the world. The fatty meat found in the underbelly can fetch a high price at any sushi restaurant. This is not the tuna you find in a can.

The world-famous Japanese fish market auctions off the largest bluefin tuna anywhere. When the season begins, the value skyrockets for the first specimen due to the status attributed to the winning bidder.

In early 2019, the aptly dubbed “Tuna King,” Kiyoshi Kimura, paid a record $3.1 million for a 278-kilogram (612 lb) Pacific bluefin tuna. With that move, Kimura smashed the old 2013 record of $1.4 million for the most expensive tuna purchase ever. Oh, Kimura had bought that one, too.^[9]

1 Fusaichi Pegasus

It’s hardly surprising that the most expensive animal ever sold was a thoroughbred. Horse racing is one of the oldest sports favored by the wealthy. When a horse wins one of the most prominent races in the world, it can fetch a lot of money in stud fees.

The most expensive horse ever purchased was named Fusaichi Pegasus. He was sold shortly after winning the Kentucky Derby in 2000. The actual amount paid wasn’t disclosed at the time of sale, but it has been estimated at $60–$70 million.^[10]

Thoroughbreds are prized for their genes, so the stud fees for Fusaichi Pegasus are no joke. He was taken to Ashford Stud near Versailles, Kentucky, where he commanded a stud fee of around $200,000. Since that time, he’s sired more than 75 Stakes winners worldwide, though the price of his services has dropped significantly.

In 2020, the stud fee for Fusaichi Pegasus was only $7,500. Despite siring several winners—including Roman Ruler, Haradasun, and Bandini—Fusaichi Pegasus is considered to be a disappointment as a stallion. But that’s likely due to the unprecedented price paid for him.

Top 10 Surreal Animals That Really Exist

About The Author: Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, and writer. He is a Retired Soldier and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects.

Celebrities are known for their expensive and unique taste in things, which is why items related to them usually sell for pretty large sums of money. Sometimes, however, these items include downright bizarre stuff you had no idea there was a market for, ranging from used tissues to broken nails, to even kidney stones belonging to famous actors.

10. Lady Gaga’s Fingernail

Lady Gaga’s famous black nail, also sometimes called the ‘monster claw’ by her fans, was sold at a 2013 auction for around $12,000. The fashion accessory, made with gold glitter and beads, first surfaced at the launch of Gaga’s fragrance line called Fame, and is said to have been hand-painted by her personal manicurist and nail artist, Aya Fukuda. 

According to the listing, the acrylic nail had gone missing during one of her concerts, which was eventually recovered by a crew member during one of her later concerts. Apart from that, the unknown recipient also received a photograph of the singer with the missing nail at the same concert. 

9. Justin Bieber’s Boa Constrictor

In 2011, Justin Bieber showed up at the MTV Video Music Awards with an unusual accessory – a live baby albino boa constrictor apparently named Johnson. Unfortunately, Bieber’s affection for Johnson didn’t last a long time, as he was put up for a charity auction within a few months. According to the catalogue listing, ‘the snake will grow to nearly four feet long. Keeping a pet snake is a long-term responsibility’.

Johnson was eventually bought by one Michael Kronick, who got so disgusted by Bieber’s decision to use him as an accessory that he made a public statement against it. The python was then donated to the Reptile & Amphibian Discovery Zoo in Owatonna, Minnesota.

8. Justin Timberlake’s Unfinished Toast

In March 2000, Justin Timberlake, then a member of the popular boy band NSYNC, had breakfast at a New York-area radio station. After his meal, the DJ noticed that Timberlake had failed to finish his sandwich, and proceeded to do what any normal person would do with a half eaten sandwich – put it up on eBay for sale. 

It turned out to be a wise decision, as the sale went through for the expected sum of money. The sandwich was bought by a 19-year-old from Wisconsin named Kathy Summers, who paid a surprising $1,025 for it. She also expressed her plans to preserve the toast by freeze-drying and sealing it, and then displaying it on her dresser. When the chef at the radio station asked why Timberlake didn’t finish his sandwich, he chose to stay silent on the subject, at least according to some first hand reports.

7. Britney Spears’s Pregnancy Test

In 2005, a pregnancy test kit purportedly used by Britney Spears was sold at an auction for $5,001. The radio station behind the sale claimed that the test had been retrieved from the hotel room where she stayed with her husband, Kevin Federline, though we haven’t been able to independently verify that.  

The acquisition was first announced by the internet casino, GoldenPalace.com, claiming themselves to be the buyer. As with many of their previous purchases, the proceeds from the sale were designated for charity, namely towards two organizations called the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Easter Seal Society, which supports children with physical disabilities.

6. William Shatner’s Kidney Stone

William Shatner, famous for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, successfully sold his kidney stone in 2006. Like Spears’ pregnancy test, it was also purchased by the online casino, GoldenPalace.com, for $25,000, which was later donated to the housing charity, Habitat for Humanity. The casino initially offered $15,000 for the stone, but Shatner was successfully able to negotiate a higher price.

The kidney stone became a part of GoldenPalace.com’s collection of curiosities, which includes items like a potato shaped like Pete Townsend, and a toasted sandwich that looks like the Virgin Mary, or what we assume Virgin Mary looked like, anyway. In an interview, Shatner added that the stone might turn out to be a diamond if it was subjected to extreme heat, though there’s no reason to believe that he made this claim seriously. 

5. iPhone Broken By Rihanna

During a Los Angeles Clippers NBA playoff game back in 2014, Rihanna accidentally dropped and cracked the phone belonging to Steve Soboroff – then the President of the Los Angeles Police Commission. According to reports from the ground, the incident happened while she was attempting to take a selfie with him. 

Rihanna later tweeted an apology and donated $25,000 to a charity fund for police officers and their families. Soboroff decided to auction the cracked iPhone on eBay to further support the Los Angeles Police Foundation. The phone, which Rihanna had signed with a message expressing her support for the LAPD, quickly garnered popular attention, raising its price on eBay to about $56,000.

4. John Lennon’s Tooth

John Lennon’s tooth was sold for £19,000 – or about $31,200 at that time – at an auction in England in 2011. It had been in the family of one of his previous housekeepers, Dot Jarlett. While he had originally given it to her to destroy it, he later changed his mind and advised her to give it to her daughter, who happened to be a big fan of the Beatles. 

While the tooth itself is now too weak to be DNA tested, the owner of the Omega Auction House expressed confidence in its authenticity. They had originally hoped to sell it for about $16,000, though it went for almost double the amount by the end of it. A Canadian dentist, Michael Zuk, claimed to be the buyer, though the auction house didn’t confirm that. According to Jarlett’s son, the tooth had been in his family’s possession for several decades.

3. Russell Crowe’s Jockstrap

In April 2018, it was revealed that the jockstrap worn by Russell Crowe in the film Cinderella Man was purchased by John Oliver’s HBO show, Last Week Tonight, for $7,000. Along with the jockstrap, the show also acquired other items worn by Crowe in various films, including a pair of shorts and robe from Cinderella Man, a hood from Robin Hood, and a vest from Les Miserables. He also announced that these items would be sent to the last remaining Blockbuster store in Alaska.

This decision was a part of one of the segments of the show that focussed on the decline of video rental stores and Blockbuster locations across the USA. Due to slower streaming services and higher costs in Alaska, video stores there are still able to remain open and sustain themselves. 

2. Elvis Presley’s Hair

In October 2009, a lock of hair believed to have belonged to Elvis Presley was sold at an auction in Chicago for $18,300. It was claimed to be from the time he joined the U.S. Army in 1958, and was only one of the many Elvis belongings put on sale by Gary Pepper – the late president of the Tankers Fan Club. 

The sale was confirmed by the Chicago-based firm called Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, when they posted the results of the auction on their website. According to them, the item far exceeded the range of $8,000 to $12,000 they were expecting. While they didn’t conduct any DNA testing to confirm its legitimacy, it was authenticated with other methods by one John Reznikoff – an expert in celebrity hair authentication. While we know that the sale was made, we’re still not sure about the true identity of the winning bidder.

1. Scarlett Johansson’s Used Tissue

In 2008, a tissue used by actress Scarlett Johansson was auctioned off on eBay for about $5,300. It was put up for sale by the TV network NBC after her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where she had presumably used it.

The proceeds from the sale went to the food-gathering charity called USA Harvest. While the bidding started at a low $0.99, it quickly reached $4,050 just before the sale was made. The final price was determined after a total of 83 bids, and the buyer eventually chose to remain anonymous.

If you’re in the market for it, chances are it exists. And if you have one to sell, someone’s probably willing to buy it. That’s the reality of our free market. In an increasingly interconnected network of nearly eight billion people, “worth” has become a worthless word.

Nowadays, the strangest and most random items can go from worthless to worth millions overnight. All they need is the right buyer at the right time. The same works in reverse as some of the finest things become the biggest flops before you can blink.

This list includes ten of those items, seemingly worthless pieces of nonsensical junk that found the right person at the right moment and sold for absolutely insane amounts of money.

Related: 10 Con Artists Who Sold Things They Did Not Own

10 Audrey Hepburn’s Finger Oils

In 2017, the auction company Christie’s auctioned off some of the late Audrey Hepburn’s personal possessions. As expected, niche collectors and bored wealthy people turned up in droves, spending a total of around $5.3 million on the actress’s belongings. The most expensive of all the items sold? Hepburn’s shooting script for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which went for more than $700,000.

The script for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, like most major motion picture scripts, is available online in its entirety. Anyone interested in its writing or production can download a copy of the full script (and as most of you are likely aware) for free at the right(/wrong) sites. That means that the $700,000 essentially just paid for the lingering sweat and sebum that Hepburn oozed onto the pages as she held them, like a vintage, upscale “gamer girl bathwater.”

9 Justin Bieber’s Hair

This sale is a bit tough to explain to the non-Beliebers. For some background: the Biebs first rose to fame alongside an equally famous haircut, his trademark feathery, swooping bangs. In 2011, the teen idol decided to shave his head, and a few million people, not just preteen girls but also journalists, lost their minds. Then Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and offered her a lock of his cut hair on the condition that she auctioned it off to charity.

Auction it, she did, and the small bundle of yellow fibers earned an absurd $40,668. Any amount given to charity is a commendable thing. But, given that the winning bidder almost certainly wasn’t already about to donate $40,668 and just happened to spot the hair at auction, it’s likely that the hair was the goal. It’s tough to imagine a more worthless item than a small cutting from Justin Bieber’s hair.

8 The Meaning of Life

Okay, we’ll be the first to say that $3.26 is not an insane amount of money. But when you divide that by the net worth of the item for sale—exactly $0.00—you end up with infinite value. That’s one heck of a windfall, and it’s exactly what eBay seller “postmil” received when they successfully auctioned off the meaning of life in 2000.

The entire product description read, “I have discovered the reason for our existence and will be happy to share this information with the highest bidder.” After mojo120843 won the bidding war with $3.26, they presumably got just that. To this day, postmil has a great feedback rating, so they must have delivered.

7 A Haunted Cane

In 2004, a six-year-old boy became convinced that the ghost of his recently-deceased grandfather was haunting him. He believed the ghost was attached to his grandfather’s old cane, which they still stored in their house. To ease his fears, the boy’s mother auctioned the cane off on eBay—ghost included. It sold for $64,000, which would be over $92,000 today.

The online casino GoldenPalace.com, which has a habit of buying rare and bizarre pieces of Americana, purchased the cane, its associated ghost, and a promise to contact the young boy to let him know that his grandfather “is there with you and you’re getting along great.”

6 Super Mario 64

First thing’s first: Super Mario 64 is not a worthless game. In many ways, it defined what it meant to be a 3D platformer, and to this day, it still appears in “best of” lists regularly. But the game, now more than 25 years old, is available almost everywhere, both officially through Nintendo remakes and unofficially through emulation services. This makes the $1,560,000 copy purchased earlier this year questionable.

The game cartridge was still in its box and graded at 9.8/A++ condition, which collectors will know to be the second-best condition possible. Undoubtedly, it was one of the holiest of holy grails imaginable for a video game collector. That is unless you start to consider what you’re actually buying: a plastic cartridge, a cardboard box, and a short instruction manual. We have to wonder what the exchange rate would be for $1,560,000 to gold coins and power stars.

5 Business.com

Just like Super Mario 64, we won’t claim that the domain name business.com is worthless. But when you compare its worth to its recent $350 million sale, it’s worth questioning whether or not the buyer is insane.

Telephone-directory company R.H. Donnelley purchased the domain name—again, for $350 million—beating out other bidders, including The New York Times and the Dow Jones. They have since converted the site into a basic business consultation page. While the site receives a steady amount of traffic and will undoubtedly help generate revenue if managed properly, it’s hard to imagine it paying off its $350 million investment anytime soon.

4 A Pink Rock

In 2017, a diamond known as the Pink Star was sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. A company named Chow Tai Fook Enterprises bought the rock for $71.2 million.

It’s hard to say why a pink rock sold for that much money. After all, it’s not like it was sitting at the bottom of the Titanic for 100 years. Perhaps it’s the rock’s massive size, 59.6 carats cut (that’s only 11.92g or less than 0.5 ounces), that drew a buyer. Perhaps it’s the rock’s stunning color—a brownish, muddy pink.

Or maybe it’s…well, there really isn’t much to say about this tiny, plain rock that somehow sold for $71.2 million.

3 A Single Photograph

It is important that you Google “Rhein II” and look at the photo deeply. Really take it all in—every detail of every inch. It’s certainly a handsome photo with nice color and good framing, taken at the Rhine River near Dusseldorf, Germany.

Now ask yourself how much you would pay for a copy of the photo. No, not the original, just a copy. Chances are your answer came just a hair under its actual sale price—a whopping $4.3 million. The artist describes the photo as “a dramatic and profound reflection on human existence and our relationship to nature on the cusp of the 21st century.” Reporting on the hefty sale, the Guardian described the photo as a “sludgy image of [a] desolate, featureless landscape.”

Whichever description is more accurate, $4.3 million is a pretty high price tag for a duplicate, especially when you can probably find that same picture on a 99 cent postcard. 

2 A Sacred Grilled Cheese

In 1994, Florida resident Diane Duyser made herself a grilled cheese. Then, she says, “I went to take a bite out of it, and then I saw this lady looking back at me.” Duyser and her husband quickly determined that the lady on the grilled cheese was, in fact, the Virgin Mary.

The couple kept the sacred sandwich in their home for a decade. And during that time, it never spoiled or deteriorated at all. On top of that, it acted as a good luck charm for Duyser, even helping her to win $70,000 at her local casino.

All good things must end, however, and in 2004, Duyser auctioned off the chosen cheddar on eBay. The hallowed Havarti went for $28,000, bought by the very same Goldenpalace.com that purchased the haunted cane. Upon purchase, the company announced plans to take the blessed brie on tour and then re-auction it for charity. The current whereabouts of the revered ricotta are unknown.

1 A $70 Million Digital Copy of Beeple

NFT’s, or non-fungible tokens, are essentially copies of digital files like photos, videos, and music imbued with a digital certificate of authenticity. One such NFT, a copy of digital artist Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold just this year for $69.3 million.

The sale makes Everydays: The First 5000 Days the most expensive NFT ever and one of the most expensive works by any living artist. If any piece had to be the most expensive, it makes sense that it would be Everydays; the piece is made from 5,000 smaller pieces of Beeple’s arranged chronologically. The content is not the strange part but rather the format—an NFT is just a digital copy. It’s a digital copy with a signature that says, “This identical copy is unlike any other identical copy,” but it’s still just a copy nonetheless.

Art is important. People who appreciate art typically marvel at its capacity to change their moods and make them think. Art takes us out of the mundane and celebrates human creativity and ingenuity. It’s a conduit for so much raw emotion, life experience and contemplation.

Most art fans can’t afford to spend exorbitant amounts of money on art from the masters, but they’d probably be interested in owning these exquisite paintings if they did have unlimited funds. These absurdly expensive paintings are indisputably status symbols for the ultra-rich, but they’re so much more than that. They became prized because of their beauty and individuality.

Thankfully, many very rich “one-percenters” do eventually decide to donate or lend pricey paintings to museums or art galleries, so everyone can enjoy them.

10. Masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein – Value $165 Million

This iconic Pop Art painting was created in 1962. Roy Lichtenstein was one of the pioneers of Pop Art, alongside Andy Warhol, and was known for producing work with an upbeat vibe, whereas Warhol sometimes went to the dark side. Lichtenstein tended to stick to his signature comic book style, while Andy would experiment. Despite their differences, these two famous artists, both of whom have passed away, will be linked together forever, thanks to their memorable – and so collectible – contributions to the Pop Art movement.

Masterpiece features stenciled facsimiles of the distinctive Ben-Day dots found in the comic books of the Fifties. These compact colored dots were named for a printer and illustrator called Benjamin Henry Day.

So, who had enough cold, hard cash to buy this legendary painting for 165 million bucks? Well, a hedge fund billionaire, of course. His name is Steve Cohen and he paid this princely sum for Masterpiece in 2017. Cohen owns a range of exceptional paintings. His net worth is through the roof. He’s the type of guy who lists his New York residence for $33.5 million, and was once at the center of a pretty serious insider trading scandal.

9. Nu Couché by Amedeo Modigliani – Value $170.4 Million 

This famous painting was produced during 1917 and it’s an oil on canvas nude from an Italian master. Created more than a hundred years ago, its sensuality startled and hypnotized art fans when it was first exhibited in Paris. The artwork was part of an important series of paintings by Modigliani, which gave the traditional nude a Modern feel. It is an Expressionist artwork which was the biggest painting that Amedeo Modigliani ever produced.

In 2015, Christie’s auctioned off this singular piece for an astonishing $170.4 million dollars. Now as notorious for its high price tag as its capacity to scandalize art fans back in 1917, it’s a perfect example of the artist’s unique portraiture style, which was largely centered on women with almond-shaped eyes and elongated face shapes. His paintings and sculptures challenged Western norms of beauty.  The artist met a tragic end at the early age of 35, due to tuberculosis. After his passing, his lover, who was expecting a baby, committed suicide.

This masterpiece was purchased by a man named Liu Yiqian, who use to drive a cab. He is renowned for paying record prices to access exceptional paintings.

8. Les Femmes d’ Alger (Version O) by Pablo Picasso – Value $179.4 Million