- [Narrator] Money can
buy everything, can't it? Billionaires are notorious
for using their money to purchase influence
with public officials with their political donations. They can use their money
to hide from authorities and pay for representation
that allows them to literally get away with murder. And nothing for purchase is off-limits when you have billions to your name, including a billion-dollar
home that was built on land previously used for an orphanage. So how are there things in the world that billionaires can't purchase? Let's find out with
this list of collections that are so rare and protected that even billionaires can't purchase them. (whimsical music and slapping) - A bad thing. - [Narrator] Number 10,
the Smithsonian Museums. The Smithsonian Museum network is one of the world's most prestigious. The collection of 23
museums, zoos, gardens, galleries, and even one castle features a comprehensive history
of the United States, exceptional art
collections, and impressive feats of engineering. These museums welcomed
28.5 million visitors in 2018 on a budget of
one billion dollars. Many billionaires would love to own the priceless artifacts contained
within these collections. Some of the most treasured items contained within the Smithsonian
institutions include Abraham Lincoln's top
hat he wore on the night he was assassinated, the
Apollo 11 command module that brought the first
two men to the moon, and the first successful powered airplane with a pilot aboard,
the 1903 Wright flyer. But they're priceless and
can't be bought by anyone. Smithsonian Museums are publicly-funded and tourists who visit
Washington DC expect free admission for most of the Smithsonian Museums whenever they visit. Plus there would be the horrible PR hit for a business man or
woman's current businesses if they try to invest for profit into one of America's prized series of landmarks. And no political donation could convince a politician to anger all constituents by voting for the sale of
the Smithsonian Museums. I can only imagine what it would cost to get into these exceptional museums if some corporation was running them. But thankfully the odds I will ever have to worry about that are slim. Number nine, Donald
Miller's stolen collection. In 2014, the FBI's Art Crime team raided the home of Donald
Miller, a 91-year-old man who'd been illegally collecting artifacts around the world. Miller has since died,
but the FBI identified the scope of his collection and
the numbers were staggering. His entire house was
basically a huge museum. Miller spent 60 years illegally digging and confiscating a collection of over 40,000 artifacts, including
precious ceramics, weapons, and 2,000 human
bones, representing around 500 human beings mostly from Native American burial sites. Roughly half of the collection was Native American and the rest sourced from every other corner of the world. Despite being in direct violation of antiquities laws, Miller admitted to finding and keeping
most of the artifacts from expeditions he went
on around the world. Highlights of the stolen
collection include a Confederate $1,000 bill priced at nearly $75,000,
fossils valued at $99,000, and pieces of Ming
Dynasty jade from China. Ming Dynasty jade can net as
much as 1.2 million dollars. Because the FBI is in
the process of returning these items to their respective countries, no billionaire will ever
secure the artifacts in this priceless stolen
collection as a whole again. Number eight, gun confiscations. Following a mass shooting
in 1996, Australia banned assault weapons and confiscated all assault weapons that were in
possession of its citizens. My oh my, that's a lot of guns. The result of that confiscation was a drop in gun violence and a significant number of unclaimed weapons. Most of these weapons were destroyed, so they wouldn't be
able to buy them anyway. Now, the United States
would be hard-pressed to push such an extreme
program on a federal level. That means it's the
states that are enforcing gun laws and confiscating weapons. But what happens to guns
after they're confiscated? Well, it depends on the state. And that is why a billionaire
would be hard-pressed to ever purchase these
collections of heavy artillery. It would be impossible in Ohio where most confiscated guns are destroyed. But even in a state
like Kentucky where all confiscated guns are put up for sale in an auction, billionaires would struggle to get a hold of that collection. The first reason is because only licensed firearms dealers can bid at the auction. And the second reason is because dealers from all over the country go to auctions to bid on these weapons, splitting up the collection to various
parts of the country. Number seven, famous art kept in storage. Art museums around the world work to make the world's most famous art
available to the public. But many museums keep thousands of famous paintings locked up in
storage, out of sight of the public, for most of the year. For example, the Museum of Modern Art in New York keeps only
24 of its 1,221 Picasso paintings on display. There are multiple reasons for this. Most museums don't have
the space to display their entire collections at once, recently-purchased
pieces are still sitting in crates, and some
works simply don't meet the museum's current theme. And the percentage of collections museums aren't showing is staggering. 97% of the Guggenheim's
collection is in storage, the Louvre keeps 92% of its collection locked away, and the Tate is
hiding 80% of its collection. Now imagine what a billionaire would pay to get a hold of all these unseen works. And while no projection of value for all these priceless works
is available, one study shows that selling only 1% of a museum's collection would make the
museums free for life. But currently laws
restrict museum art sales, forcing them to only sell artwork if it's for the purpose
of purchasing more art. And many billionaires use art museums for tax purposes, donating valuable pieces then claiming the donated
artwork as a tax write-off. And that would create a
real conflict of interest if a billionaire purchases
and donates artwork to and from the same museum. Number six, the Princeton
University Coin Collection. Princeton University
maintains a collection of rare coins used during
many great cultures and civilizations. This 100,000-coin
collection includes colonial coins from the US colonial period, coins from the Byzantine Empire, and coins from the Greek and Roman empires. These collections are made available to the public for viewing and by private appointment with a curator. Another prized collection of currency is the National Numismatic Collection featured in the
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. This one-million piece
collection features coins, metals, decorations, and
paper pieces of money. Featured pieces include
a gold nugget from 1848, the 1787 Brasher doubloon
with an estimated worth of 4.5 million
dollars if it was for sale, and the Indian head
Saint-Gaudens double eagle from 1910, among others. These pieces rotate in an
ongoing exhibit in the museum. The estimated worth of
each of these individual collections would be billions of dollars. But a billionaire would
never have access to it because of the pride the curators keep in maintaining both collections. Princeton has been building
their collection since 1849. And I've already talked about the kind of pressure there is to keep
the Smithsonian Museums public. So good luck billionaires
getting those grubby hands on these priceless pieces. Number five, Brown
University Stamp Collection. Philately is the collection
of postage stamps, and a rather popular hobby among wealthy individuals because stamps are important historical artifacts. But some of the rarest
stamps are contained in collections that are off-limits to billionaires who may want them. Since 1876, Brown University
has been compiling one of the most prestigious
stamp collections in the country. The collection is a
compilation of six distinct collections that have been
donated to the university. Prominent pieces in the collection include 49 envelopes addressed to Abraham Lincoln in the 1840 English Penny Black, the world's first stamp,
and the collection's most valuable stamp is
the Pan-American invert from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Coming in one, two,
and four-cent versions, the one-cent version is far more common and hence less valuable than the rest. But a set of all three
sold in 2009 for $199,000. A block of four of each invert value made $1,146,000 in the same auction. In 2011, the estimated worth of the entire collection at Brown University chimed in at 10 million dollars. But much like the coins at Princeton, Brown University has spent too much time and takes too much pride in acquiring and maintaining this collection for it to ever be put on sale. Part of what draws professors, students, and donations to both Brown and Princeton is the prestige of these
ancient universities. Both schools maintain endowments in the billions already
and the universities build their endowments on projects like their coin and stamp collections. So while a billionaire
might provide a nice infusion of cash by purchasing the stamps or coins, the long-term
hit to both universities for selling these prized
collections would be substantial. Number four, the Museum of Modern Art. Some of the works of
the world's most famous artists make their
permanent home inside MOMA in New York City. Over 200,000 works reside here. The most prominent works
include Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles, a
painting that's estimated to be worth around 1.2 billion dollars. And perhaps the most
famous painting inside the MOMA is van Gogh's The Starry Night. This piece, that has been
the point of discussion for art aficionados for over a century, carries an estimated worth
of over 500 million dollars. Now, the price tag to this collection, which is basically trillions of dollars, places it out of reach for most people, including most billionaires. But there's no way they'd
sell any of it anyway. Why would anyone visit
the MOMA if it didn't feature rare and valuable art? Might as well just put
a going out of business sale sign in front of
the Museum of Modern Art if they start doing that. Number three, the Ophir
Gemstone Collection. The Ophir Gemstone
Collection is a set of more than 40 rare gems certified
by the Gemological Institute of America, many of which are recognized as the
largest-known specimens of their kind in the world. Nine of the gems are officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest
by karats of their kind anywhere on the planet. The largest is the blue
sapphire, a 31,308-carat gem that is the size of a dinner plate. Another featured gem is the Ophir's brown sapphire, another
of the world's largest, clocking in at 5,905 carats. Experts can't even
identify one of the gems in the collection because
of how rare it is, indicating a new material. Estimates of the cost
of the Delaware-based collection come is as high
as two million dollars per carat or 35.5 million dollars per gem. The collection is owned
by a company called Ophir Collection LLC,
but nobody knows who owns the company itself. The collection stays clear of purchase by billionaires for a very simple reason, the collection is not for sale. Number two, America's national parks. The United States
protects 84 million acres of land as national parks. And to the National Park
Service maintains 391 pristine natural landmarks
within this status. Since Yellowstone National
Park was established in 1872, the NPS has
maintained the natural beauty of these sites
by keeping the wealthy from developing any of
these lands for profit. Areas that receive
status as a national park receive protection from
the federal government from any commercial development. So billionaires can't
rip away these beautiful landscapes and build up
restaurants, resorts, or other properties that
would make them more money. And they would make plenty of money from these natural
landmarks if they could. The national parks saw
330 million visitors in 2017, and in 2015 it is estimated that the parks generated 32
billion dollars in revenue. And number one, UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization,
known as UNESCO, designates sites it deems as essential to teaching cultural
development around the world as World Heritage Sites. There are 1,092 UNESCO
World Heritage Sites in 191 countries all over the planet. One of the most notable heritage sites is Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The world's largest religious monument welcomes over two million
visitors per year. And those visitors filled the Cambodia government's coffers to
the tune of 62 million dollars in 2017. Another popular heritage site
is the Taj Mahal in India. The tomb welcomes seven
to eight million visitors per year and brings in
over 212 million rupees, which is just over three
million dollars each year. Now, a placement in this list means extra scrutiny around the state-run properties by not only the nation that owns the site but other members of the
UNESCO Treaty as well. And that scrutiny makes it extremely difficult for billionaires
to find any piece of revenue these
world-recognized sites generate. So remember this the next
time you feel depressed regarding the state of the world. Remember there are still so many things in this world that even a lot of money won't grant access to. Even so, do you think it's a shame that so many treasures are
locked away and not displayed? Should they be sold to
generate more income? Let me know your thoughts
in the comment section down below and thanks for watching. (whimsical music)
