Who Had The Most Expensive Funeral In History?

Whether for the average person or for a famous person, funerals are not cheap affairs. Depending on the specifics of the service, the average funeral can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $15,500 (via FuneralWise). For someone of fame and fortune, especially a world leader, the cost can be much more than that. The ceremonies and pageantry for these funerals can last days — and even weeks, in some cases. 

Plus, famous people, like world leaders, seem to "require" only the finest in funerary paraphernalia. In 1997, the funeral for Princess Diana cost $11.8 million in American money (via Afterlife Funerals). In 2005, the funeral for American President Ronald Reagan cost around $400 million. While the cost of these two funerals may seem astronomical, even for people of their stature, neither is as high as who history says had the most expensive funeral in history. 

So, that begs the question — who had the most expensive funeral in history? 

One would imagine that to be given the title "Most Expensive Funeral in History," it had have been a great affair. So it may come as no surprise that it was Alexander the Great who is given credit for having the most elaborate funeral at a tune of $600 million in today's dollars.

This may have been arguably deserving for somebody who conquered most of the known world during his reign. A lot of gold was used during the funeral for Mr. the Great. Not good enough for just one, his body was placed into two golden sarcophagi. His body was transported to its final resting place aboard a — you guessed it — golden carriage, and then it was off to Egypt for burial. Not only did the journey take around two years, but the funeral procession was attacked by Ptolemy I (via CNBC). 

Interestingly enough, the actual location of Alexander the Great's tomb is not exactly certain. It is known that he was buried first in Memphis, Egypt, and then in Alexandria, Egypt. However, sea encroachment caused sinking in Alexandria and it was forced to build over itself, including the location of Alexander the Great's tomb. Archaeologists today are still debating where the exact site of the tomb could be (via National Geographic). This seems rather inauspicious for the man known to have had the most expensive funeral in history.