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