SortStack #1620 — 2030-11-15

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A single Powerball lottery ticket $2.00

   The odds of hitting the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million — you are far likelier to be struck by lightning multiple times in your life.

2. A new hardcover bestseller $30

   Hardcovers exist partly as price discrimination: publishers sell to eager fans at a premium first, then release the cheaper paperback a year later.

3. A Steinway Model D concert grand piano $200K

   Each Model D takes about a year to build and contains over 12,000 parts. Most major concert halls keep several, tuned before every performance.

4. A McLaren F1 supercar at its original Nineties sticker price $815K

   The engine bay was lined with real gold foil for heat reflection. The same cars now trade for over $20 million — among history's best car investments.

5. Neymar's transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain $263M

   PSG triggered his 'unbuyable' release clause in 2017, paying more than double the previous world record — a fee designed to be impossible.

6. The Amazon stock MacKenzie Scott received in history's biggest divorce settlement $38B

   Scott has since given away billions at a record pace, often with no application process — charities report receiving surprise phone calls.

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