The Sunday Mail
Although online sources differ on the world’s most expensive casket, here are some prices for caskets for some of the world’s prominent figures.
John F. Kennedy’s original casket – $4 000
A bronze coffin with a white satin interior was chosen as the original casket for American President John F. Kennedy. This is not the casket that Kennedy is buried in; rather, it was used as a means of handling his body when it was transported from Dallas to Washington after his 1963 assassination. The casket was eventually dropped in the Atlantic Ocean, a place that Kennedy had thought of being buried in someday.
Robert Wadlow – $4 500
The casket used to bury Robert Wadlow, the tallest person ever in human recorded history, in 1940, was a standard wooden casket that cost close to $4,500 to build. This expense came from Wadlow’s incredible size. Wadlow was 8 feet and 11.1 inches in height at the time of his death, thus making him the tallest man in recorded history. The casket was a thousand pounds in weight and required twelve people to carry it to his burial site in Illinois.
Elizabeth Taylor — $11 000
Actress, Elizabeth Taylor’s casket from her 2011 funeral cost $11 000 to build. It is a fine Jewish-style casket that was made with wood and prepared with secure glue materials.
It also has a red velvet interior. The casket was quickly sent out to burial as the Jewish faith states that a person who dies should be buried as soon as possible after one’s death.
Michael Jackson’s The Promethian —$25 000
Michael Jackson was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles in 2009 in The Promethian, a high-end model from the Batesville Casket Company that is plated in 14-carat gold.
This gold surface was added around a solid bronze body to make the casket more beautiful. It also has a mirror finish with its blue velvet inside. This $25,000 casket is one that can be easily afforded by someone like Jackson who makes $150 million a year even after death.
Zsa Zsa Gabor — $40 000
The Golden Casket made a casket plated with 24-carat gold for Hungarian actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor in 2011. This casket retailed for around $40 000. The Golden Casket offered this to Gabor as a means of celebrating her recovery from blood clots and an amputation.
Mao Tse Tung
The chairman of the China Communist Party’s crystal casket is valued at $500 000. — richest.com
