Money & investment

Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?

201 answers answered between 2003 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A

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The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this standing prompt, with minor contractions and word-order variation.

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Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Warren Buffett Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, 1970–2025
Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner.
Recorded His own pledge letter, written on joining the Giving Pledge in 2010, The Giving Pledge, 2010 source ↗
Gloria Steinem Writer and feminist organiser
In my 30s, I was staring at a pair of expensive boots in a shop window when the photographer Gordon Parks came up behind me. He instantly understood, because he grew up even poorer than me; he made me buy them on my credit card.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 March 2017 source ↗
Martin Sheen American actor
Shares in The Way, which turned out to be the best movie I have done. Written and directed by my son Emilio, it’s a father-son story about the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 March 2017 source ↗
Edward Fox British actor
Probably a suit. If you buy a good suit, it lasts beyond your lifetime.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 April 2017 source ↗
Ronnie Wood English rock musician
Paintings and guitars. I have Picasso prints and one Rembrandt etching.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 September 2017 source ↗
John Prescott Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007
Perfume for the wife, and the Jaguars. They were always secondhand. I have had every kind except the E-Type.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 April 2018 source ↗
Julie Andrews English actress, singer and author
I saw a very expensive painting by a wonderful American painter called Charles Burchfield. I really loved it – it hit me in the solar plexus – and I thought if I did three extra concerts on tour, I might be able to afford it. And I did.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 October 2019 source ↗
John Lewis U.S. Representative from Georgia, 1987–2020; Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 1963–1966
Buying art…. But it makes me happy!
Recorded Vanity Fair, Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 6 December 2019 source ↗
Around 1972, I bought a Rolls-Royce to treat myself after finally achieving success. The year before, I had three hits: Las Vegas, I Did What I Did for Maria and Amarillo.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 January 2024 source ↗

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