Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid
of Giza – all incredible historical monuments and impressive engineering feats! But have you ever wondered how much it would
cost to build these awe-inspiring landmarks nowadays? (Spoiler warning: The Great Pyramid isn’t
even the most expensive!) 13. Big Ben
Completed in 1859, the name refers both to the tower and the massive bell inside. The very first bell broke and was replaced
with a second one, which also broke and had to be repaired! Does that come with a warranty? Probably should use more durable materials? On that note… Let’s say you just want to make yourself
a Big Ben Bell. You’ll need to get hold of $63,000 for copper,
67,000 for tin, 90,000 for the workers, and 3,000 for cranes and the whole installation
process. In total, it’s $223,000. A modest price compared to the rest of the
items on this list! MY budget’s rather limited. Can we do a pretty-big Ben for a lot less? 12. The Statue of Liberty
The iconic Liberty Enlightening the World (which is the statue's original name) was
constructed in France and then delivered to the US as a gift in 1886. It took almost a decade to create this iconic
landmark whose height from the ground to the tip of the torch is 305 ft – that’s about
30 stories! To build the same statue nowadays, you’d
need $780,000 for the materials (copper, steel, and concrete) and half a million for the construction
work. Meaning the total cost of your Statue of Liberty
project would be almost $1.3 million. 11. Stonehenge
This is one of the world's oldest remaining monuments, and it’s easily one of the most
recognizable. If you squint, it looks like someone left
a gigantic set of dentures. The construction is made up of gigantic 25-ton
megaliths – large upright stones put in place by people thousands of years ago. The whole thing took 1,500 years to build,
but let’s hope your project goes a little faster… The landmark consists of two types of stones. So, that’ll be $1 million for the sarsen
stones (the smaller ones), 100,000 for bluestones (those are the big ones), another 100,000
for trenching, and 2.3 million for the labor and cranes. The final bill: around $3.5 million. Hmm. I don’t have that much. How about “Fiberglas Henge”? 10. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The tower’s construction started in the 12th century and took 200 years to complete. Unfortunately, the soil under the foundation
was too soft to hold the 15,000 tons of the tower's weight. That's why it became known as “leaning”! It’s rumored the architect had one leg shorter
than the other, and so didn’t notice any difference… If you decided to build your own Tower of
Pisa, you’d need to spend almost $3 million on the white marble it’s made from. The cranes and labor would add 1.2 million
to that. If you're willing to shovel over $4.2 million
in total, remember to build it in a suitable place! (I’d rather buy a Leaning Tower of Pizza,
myself! Imagine all the pepperoni!) 9. The Eiffel Tower
Even though Parisians weren't happy about the iron giant once it completed its 2-year
construction in 1889, the thing turned out to be a hit! The Eiffel Tower is usually 985 ft tall, but
I say “usually” since its height changes! When it's cold, it can shrink by 6 inches. In any case, to build an Eiffel Tower in your
backyard, you’d need the permission of your neighbors (good luck with that!) plus $1.2-million-worth
of materials like iron, rivets, paint, and light bulbs. Additionally, the construction team wouldn't
agree to work for less than 30 mil. In the end, you’ve spent a little over $31
million. (Well with my budget, I’d settle for an
Awful Tower. Pretty ugly, huh?) Any of these projects piquing your interest? Let me know down in the comments which one
you’d like to build! But I’ve got more offers, so let’s keep
going… 8. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
No one knows whether the ancient hanging gardens are a real thing or just a legend. But if they did exist, they must’ve been
breathtaking! The tiered gardens had an impressive collection
of different vines, shrubs, and trees and resembled huge green mountains made of mud
bricks. If you wanted to create the same oasis for
yourself, you’d have to spend 21.5 million on the materials and landscape designers. The workers will take their 10 million, and
you can say goodbye to a total of $31.5 million. Hopefully that garden will still manage to
keep you calm! 7. The Parthenon
It took 9 years to finish building this Greek temple with a base a little over half the
size of a football field. These days, re-constructing the famous landmark
would demand over $35 million! That’s a little over $30 million for the
100,000 tons of marble you’ll need, more than $100,000 for the 69 columns, and 90,000
for those 50 marble figures decorating the place. And don't forget about the cranes and workers
– they’ll need about 4.5 million for their hard work! Well I could afford just a part of the Parthenon. That little bitty part over there… 6. Angkor Wat
Deep in the Cambodian jungle, you’ll find an astounding temple complex that’s said
to be the largest on Earth! The landmark stretches for more than 400 acres
– 4 times the size of the Mall of America! To build it, people brought 5 million tons
of sandstone from the mountains 31 miles away. Whew that’s a haul! To make a modern replica of this magnificent
place, you’d have to spend almost $2 million on the land plot alone! Add an additional 20 mil for the basic structure
and labor. Exquisite sculptures like the ones decorating
the original monument would cost you another 20 million. So, $42 million later, you have yourself a
new Angkor Wat! What? What? Sorry hard of hearing. 5. Machu Picchu
At more than 7,000 ft above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu is quite a sight! It was built around 1450 BCE, and in 2007,
it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The magnificent landmark consists of 150 buildings,
and it's believed that during the construction, hundreds of builders pushed 50-pound rocks
up steep mountain slopes. Luckily, you wouldn't have to use such exhausting
methods today. You would spend 57 million on the materials
(mainly granite) and 13 million on the labor and cranes. A total of $70 million - and voila! You have a cool mountainous city! But sadly I’ll never be able to Macho that
budget! 4. The Taj Mahal
To see the beauty of the majestic Taj Mahal mausoleum, you have to travel to Agra in India. This marble masterpiece took more than 20
years to build. Its full height is 561 ft (almost 2 Lady Liberties
stacked on top of each other), and the materials were brought from all over Asia. To build one today, get ready to pay 3 million
for the bricks, 23.5 million for the marble, 15 million for the garden, and 2.5 million
for the dome! And that's not all: add 60 million for the
workers and 10 million for semi-precious stones. Altogether, expect to shell out about $115
million! Or for many dollars less, you could build
the Motel 6 Mahal. 3. The Colosseum
Built from stone and concrete, Rome’s Colosseum is the world's largest amphitheater. The magnificent structure could seat 50,000
spectators and had 80 entrances to avoid congestion. Emperors tried to get citizens' support by
not taking any entry fee and serving free food! And hey, you got to see some, you know, “wildlife”
like lions in the arena)”. You, on the other hand, might need to charge
people so that you can make back the money you spent… Because you’ll need $200 million…just
for the limestone alone! The elliptical structure would be 215 million. And with 22 million spent on cranes and workers,
the total cost of the modern Colosseum would reach $437 million. And I’m not, you know, Lyin’. 2. The Great Pyramid of Giza
Another member of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramid was built around 4,000
years ago. The whole thing was made with more than 2
million limestone blocks, each weighing about 2.5 tons. And it took tens of thousands of workers up
to 30 years to complete the construction! If you decided to build such a colossal monument
nowadays, the total price tag would be a jaw-dropping $1.2 billion! Yeah, with a “B”! This number would include the cost of the
limestone blocks (around 1.1 billion), cranes (about 60 million), and the money paid to
the workers (more than 40 million). But it’s still not the most expensive project
on this list… Geez, given the centuries it would take me
to pay that off, I’d be a really old man. We’d need to call it the Great Pyramid of
Geezer. So, any guesses who our winner will be? Go on, I’ll wait. Ok, fine… 1. The Great Wall of China
The construction of the original wall took over 2,000 years to complete! Its total length is 13,000 miles, which is
half as long as the Earth’s circumference! And the Great Wall is not just one wall - it’s
actually a collection of many! But returning to our financial question: it
would cost you around 21 billion to get all the necessary materials. You’ll need the same amount to talk the
builders into getting down to work. Meaning if you want to have a Great Wall of
your own, you'll need to come up with $42 billion. (Me, checking my wallet here…I could afford
the Great Picket Fence of China, for about maybe two city blocks…impressive huh?) If you learned something new today, then give
the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'll
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on the Bright Side of life!
