Experts have tossed around numbers like $100 million, $250 million, and even $1 billion. Crazy, right? For context, the most expensive painting ever sold at auction was Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which went for $450 million in 2017.
But here’s the thing: The Starry Night is way more famous than that da Vinci. Its image has been printed on coffee mugs, sneakers, and phone cases. If fame equals cash, this painting might be the most valuable artwork on Earth.
What Could You Buy Instead?
Let’s imagine you could buy The Starry Night for, say, $200 million. What else could you get? You could buy a private island in the Bahamas, a fleet of Lamborghinis (like, 2,000 of them), or a solid gold statue of yourself that’s eight stories tall. See? A painting is a weird investment.
Is Van Gogh’s Starry Night Really Worth Over $100 Million? - YouTube
But wait — that comparison is a trap. Because unlike an island or a car, The Starry Night is unique. There’s only one. You can’t just order another one from Amazon. Its value comes from the fact that it exists and that millions of people feel something when they look at it.
