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Gift-giving around Christmas has been around for a long time, but it’s thought in the
USA the custom became widespread in the 19th century.
It was in that century that Christmas Eve became the time that gifts were exchanged,
although some people waited until the next day.
This is a bumper time for anyone selling such gifts, the average UK family spent over $500
on gifts alone during the Christmas period of 2016.
While many critics will tell you that Christmas can be exploitative – how early do those
commercials start – who wants to leave their kids without presents on the big day?
Perhaps the best thing to do is to spend within our means and not go overboard.
But some people certainly don’t hold back at Christmas, and that’s who we’ll talk
about in this episode of the Infographics Show, Most Expensive Christmas Gifts Ever
Given.
10.
Just a ring American rapper, Tyga, gave Kylie Jenner a
ring for Christmas in 2015.
It’s just a diamond ring and only cost him $33,000.
We say only, just because we know what will appear on this list.
Although he doesn’t see himself as a cheapskate.
He told the press about his gift, “It cost a lot of money...but the value is no object
in Kylie's world.
She cares more about beauty than dollars.”
9.
A bag for Kim In 2013, Kanye West bought a Hermes Birkin
bag for Kim Kardashian for Christmas.
While such bags can usually cost anywhere from $8-150,000, the media tells us this one
was at least $40,000.
But it doesn’t stop there, because West got the famous artist George Condo to paint
the bag, which would make it one very expensive place to keep your keys and chewing gum.
No one knows the cost as we don’t know how much West paid the painter.
8.
A bag for Mrs. Beckham In 2009, former football star and handsome
hero of clubs such as Manchester United bought his wife, Victoria Beckham, aka, Posh Spice,
a bag.
But this was no ordinary bag.
It was a Silver Himalayan Handbag made by Hermes.
There was a four-year waiting list to get one of these things.
It is made from white crocodile leather and has 3-carat diamond on the lock.
Back then it was said it cost Becks around $129,000, which is around $151,000 in today’s
money.
It’s also said that he gave more expensive gifts this year, but we’ll get around to
that later.
Victoria is said to have a collection of bags worth around $2 million.
7.
From Saudi with love It’s no secret that the late King Abdullah
of Saudi Arabia showered former President Barack Obama with gifts worth over one million
dollars.
The press doesn’t say whether these were explicitly Christmas gifts, but we imagine
some of the gifts were.
These might include the presents given to former First Lady Michelle Obama.
One time she received a “diamond and emerald jewelry set including necklace, earrings,
ring, and bracelet” and another time she got a “diamond and pearl jewelry set including
necklace, earrings, ring, and bracelet.”
These nice gifts were worth together about $1.1 million.
Per US law however the gifts were turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration
to be put on display.
6.
A dog for Royalty In 2016, American singer Chris Brown bought
his daughter, Royalty, what is called the most expensive dog money can buy.
That was a Tibetan Mastiff and it cost him $1.5 million.
Reports tell us that he tied the puppy to the family Christmas tree, so his daughter
would come down and see the cutie in the morning.
It wasn’t the biggest price ever paid for one of these dogs.
That was $2 million in 2014.
5.
A waterfall for Brad Before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt couldn’t
see eye-to-eye the couple must have had some memorable Christmases.
One such Christmas may have been in 2012 when Jolie bought Pitt his very own waterfall in
California.
As he’s born on December 18th, it’s said it was also for his birthday.
According to news sources the former Fight Club alter-ego had always “dreamed of a
home with the sound of a waterfall cascading under the house.”
He got what he wanted that year.
It is reported that it cost Jolie around $1.6 million.
4.
Tyson’s bathtub We all know that former heavyweight champ
Mike Tyson had a blustery relationship with his ex-Robin Givens, which ended very badly.
But prior to that, when Tyson was rolling in dough after knocking his foes into another
world, things for a while might have been good for couple.
It’s said in 1988 he spent around $2.3 million on a 24-carat gold bathtub and gave it to
Givens as a Christmas gift.
That’s about $4.8 million in today’s money.
Tyson made many more extravagant purchases in those days, but it all came crumbling down.
“I took care of everybody else,” he once said.
“But I never took care of myself.”
3.
Spend it like Beckham So, you know he bought Victoria that expensive
bag in 2005.
Well, reports say that just this Christmas alone he also spent another $500,000 on a
Rolls-Royce Phantom as a gift for her.
But, he went a step further and bought her a ruby and diamond necklace from Boucheron
that cost him $2.4 million.
In an interview in 2015 with the BBC, Beckham said his household was quite traditional during
the festive period.
He also said that his wife was easy to buy presents for.
Yep, we can see that.
2.
Snow in LA Sometimes you have to move mountains if you
want to get what you want in life, and that’s what TV show creator Aaron Spelling did for
his daughter, Tori, back in the 80s.
If you haven’t heard of Spelling, he created some of the most most watched 70s and 80s
TV there was, including Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart and Dynasty.
Don’t worry, if you haven’t seen them, you haven’t missed much.
Anyway, during his fame and mountains of wealth he wanted to give his daughter a white Christmas.
As you know, that’s not easy in LA, so he spent around $2 million on snow machines and
fake snow and covered his house in the white powder.
1.
Fertilizer Princess The 22-year old daughter of Russian fertilizer
magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev got one of the best Christmas gifts ever, an apartment in New
York which he bought for $88 million in 2016.
According to the British press, his daughter intends to use the ten-room palace on her
trips to New York.
Most of her time over the last 15 years has been spent in Monaco and Switzerland, although
when she got the gift, she was studying in the U.S.
The Russian oligarch is no stranger to spending big on houses.
In 2008 he bought Donald Trump’s Florida mansion, Maison L'Amitie, for $95 million-
which federal investigators have recently suspected was a means of laundering illicit
Russian money as the home was not worth nearly that much and Rybolovlev spent twice the asking
price on the home.
Special Mention: The Walking Man Now for another Russian oligarch, this time
Chelsea football club-owner Roman Abramovich.
We say special mention, because some reports state this was a Christmas gift, but it seems
it’s more likely that it was just a gift.
It’s said he gave his wife-to-be one of the most famous sculptures in the world, Alberto
Giacometti’s ‘Walking Man I’ Bronze sculpture.
It cost him a reported $104 million.
But it’s also said he has spent many more millions on artworks, some of which he has
given to his wife.
These were some bankbuster Christmas gifts, and we can’t help but wonder how much cash
all these people could have saved by using RetailMeNot’s Genie.
Click the link in the description to download the free RetailMeNot Genie browser extension
and start saving on your Christmas gifts right now, plus you can enter to win a $100 VISA
gift card by letting us know in the comments which deal you’re most excited to use!
Winners will be picked from the comments section, so let us know right away!
What do you think about these gifts?
Would you spend big on gifts if you were as rich as the people on this list?
If you could have anything for Christmas what would it be?
Tell us in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other show What if a whale accidentally swallowed you!.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.