19 of the most expensive substances in the world

September 2024 · 5 minute read
Updated

Gold is an incredibly expensive substance.

But many things are worth more than their weight in gold.

Ranging from foods to creams to gems to things the average person can't fathom, we pulled together a list of 19 of the most expensive items in the world.

Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments.

19. White Truffles

White truffle Wikimedia Commons

Cost: Up to $5 per gram or $2,000 per pound

What you do with it: This seasonal mushroom can be shaved over pasta, steak, eggs, and rice and infused in oil to sprinkle on almost anything.

18. Saffron

Saffron Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $11.13 per gram or $5,040 per pound

What you do with it: Saffron is a flowering plant that can be used in natural remedies for everything from depression to menstrual cycles.

17. Iranian Beluga Caviar

Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $35 per gram or $1,000 per ounce

What you do with it: Also known as "almas," these costly fish eggs are eaten cold and in small bites as an appetizer and on unsalted crackers or bread.

16. Gold

Edible Gold

Cost: $39.81 per gram

What you do with it: In addition to its uses in jewelry, the ancient metal can be used for electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion.

Now watch: This $2,000 pizza is covered in real gold

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15. Rhodium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rhodium_78g_sample.jpg

Cost: $45 per gram or $1,270 per ounce

What you do with it: Rhodium is mostly used in three-way catalytic converters to reduce a car's carbon emissions.

14. Platinum

Wikimedia

Cost: $48 per gram or $1,365 per ounce

What you do with it: Platinum can be used as a catalyst in scientific experiments, worn as jewelry, and taken in anti-cancer drugs.

13. Rhino Horn

Rhino Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $55 per gram or $25,000 per pound

What you do with it: The prized tusk is rumored in Vietnam to cure cancer. Its supposed medical uses also include treating fevers and other ailments.

12. Crème de la Mer

Nordstrom

Cost:  $70 per gram or $2,000 an ounce

What you do with it: Rub this so-called miracle cream daily to look ageless.

11. Heroin

Heroin Wikimedia Commons

Cost: High-quality heroin can cost you up to $110 per gram

What you do with it: The opiate is injected, snorted, or smoked and is meant to alter the subconscious. It can also cause convulsions or even comas.

10. Methamphetamine

Crystal meth rock Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $120 per gram or $1,600 per ounce

What you do with it: The highly addictive drug can produce euphoric effects and is often popular with teenagers.

9. Crack Cocaine

Valerie Everett via flickr

Cost: Up to $600 per gram

What you do with it: Some say party, others say develop a problematic habit.

8. LSD

Wikimedias Commons

Cost: The crystal form of LSD costs about $3,000 per gram

What you do with it: Popular in the 1960s, this substance is known to cause hallucinations.

7. Plutonium

Cost: Roughly $4,000 per gram

What you do with it: It makes things nuclear. There are two kinds of plutonium that can be used, for either military purposes or nuclear reactors.

6. Taaffeite

Taaffeite The Gem Trader

*Cost: Anywhere between $2,500 to $20,000 per gram or $2,400 per carat

What you do with it: The mauve-colored gem is thought to be more than a million times scarcer than diamonds. And while it's a bit too durable to use often in jewelry, if you're lucky enough to find one, don't let your hands off it.

*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams

5. Tritium

EXIT sign at LA Cathedral Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $30,000 per gram

What you do with it: Tritium is used in self-luminating EXIT signs found in theaters, schools, and office buildings. There are more than two million tritium EXIT signs in the United States.

4. Diamonds

Diamonds Wikimedia Commons

*Cost: A colorless, 1-carat can cost more than $65,000 per gram, or $13,000 per carat

What you do with it: Buy engagement rings.

*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams

3. Painite

Painite Wikimedia Commons

*Cost: $300,000 per gram or up to $60,000 per carat

What you do with it: Thought to be the rarest gem mineral, it can be used in crystal healing or just make a pretty collectible.

*FYI: A carat = 0.2 grams

2. Californium 252

images of elements

Cost: $27 million per gram

What you do with it: The Californium isotope is used in devices that find layers of oil and water in oil wells.

1. Antimatter

Spaceship One Wikimedia Commons

Cost: $100 trillion per gram

What you do with it: Antimatter could possibly fuel spaceships to the planets, and maybe the stars, in the years to come.

BONUS: Soliris

Medical Claim Legal

Cost: $5,000 per 30ml vial.

What you do with it: Pharmaceuticals can be quite expensive largely due to the R&D investments that go into getting to the final product. Considered the world’s most expensive drug, Soliris treats a rare, life-threatening disease that destroys red blood cells more quickly than normal. A year's treatment could cost a whopping $569,000.

 

 

You could actually be at risk of the most expensive disease in America

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