Private island, anyone? That and more can be yours for just $1 billion.
What Can You Buy with $1 Billion?
Updated on Apr. 29, 2025
A national chain of discount stores
With roughly 8,000 locations across the country, chances are you’ve probably shopped at a Family Dollar at some point. The discount retailer is known for goods typically priced between $1 and $10, but the entire chain recently sold for much more: $1 billion. A 21-year-old entrepreneur named Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1959. The merchandise sold for less than $2. By the end of the 1960s, there were 27 Family Dollar locations throughout four states.
The Miami Marlins
Although $1 billion is a lot of money, it’s not enough to buy most Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. In fact, out of the 30 active MLB ball clubs, only one is valued at around $1 billion: the Miami Marlins. According to Forbes magazine’s ranking of MLB teams by their value, the Marlins are 30th out of 30, and valued at $1.05 billion in 2025. To be clear, this would be a hypothetical sale: The team’s current owner, Bruce Sherman, has not indicated that he’s looking to offload the Marlins any time soon.
The most expensive house for sale in the U.S.
Known as “Gordon Point” and located in Naples, Florida, the priciest home currently for sale in the United States is on the market for $295 million. If you had $1 billion, you could purchase this estate and still have plenty of money left over to decorate your three homes. That’s right, Gordon Point is more than just a house—it includes three residences on 60 acres, a 231-foot yacht basin and a private dock with room to park as many as six boats. The main mansion is 11,500 square feet and has six bedrooms and a screened-in swimming pool.
The Mona Lisa
First things first: The Mona Lisa is definitely not for sale. However, if it were to go up for auction, art experts would expect it to fetch around $1 billion. For now, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is on display at the Louvre in Paris, where it attracts countless visitors to the museum who brave long lines for the chance to catch a glimpse of the world’s most famous smirk.
One Big Mac a day for 517,906 years
Do you find yourself craving two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun? A McDonald’s Big Mac, one of the most iconic burgers in the world, costs $5.29 in the United States in 2025. As it turns out, $1 billion can get you 189,035,916 Big Macs. Of course, you wouldn’t want them all at once, so you could always buy 3,150,598 per year for the rest of your life—assuming the price of Big Macs stays the same and you live for another 60 years. Or, to think about it another way, you could buy one Big Mac each day for 517,906 years. If only you had the elusive McDonald’s gold card!
A superyacht
Have you always dreamed of a life on the high seas while living in the lap of luxury? If so, and if you happen to have $1 billion, then you might want to consider buying a superyacht—possibly even the most expensive one on the market in 2025. It’s called the Oceanco H3, and it’s for sale for about $310 million (chump change for a billionaire). Although the superyacht is 22 years old, it has recently gotten an extreme makeover, including a 33-foot hull stretch, a modified superstructure, a completely reimagined interior, a large swimming pool and a rising dance floor.
Multiple private islands
Who hasn’t dreamed of owning their own private island they can escape to when the world gets to be too much? Well, with $1 billion, you could buy several. Let’s start with the most expensive private island currently for sale in 2025: the 403-acre Royal Island in Eleuthera, Bahamas, which comes with stunning beaches, a large natural harbor and a turnkey private resort, all for $45 million. But that’s only a fraction of your wealth. You could also buy Shelter Island in Flathead Lake, Montana, for a cool $44.5 million. The 24-acre island is located next to Glacier National Park and comes with a more-than-24,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion. On top of that, you could buy 37 other private islands (mostly in the Bahamas) and still have $550 million to spare.
A fried chicken chain
Founded in 2017, Dave’s Hot Chicken is one of the fastest-growing casual food chains in the country. It’s currently in talks to sell for $1 billion to a private equity firm that owns other food brands, including Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Wingstop and Subway. The Nashville-style chicken joint has more than 270 locations across the country, including 70 in California. Aside from its poultry, Dave’s Hot Chicken is also known for its celebrity investors, who include Drake, Usher, Maria Shriver, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Strahan.
2,882 Ferraris
A billionaire might want to drive a car that’s fast and luxurious, like a Ferrari. With $1 billion, you could easily purchase a 2025 Ferrari 296, which has a turbocharged V-6 that pairs with a plug-in hybrid system and costs $346,950. While that’s a huge amount of money to drop on a car, it’s also just a drop in the bucket for a billionaire. For $1 billion, you could get a Ferrari 296 for yourself and 2,881 of your closest friends.
A palace in the south of France
If you’re looking for a place near Cannes, France, and happen to have $1 billion, then you could easily purchase this Venetian palace that’s currently for sale for roughly $136 million. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the estate boasts nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a lake, fountains, a tennis court, secluded woodlands, mountain views, a wine cellar, movie theater, gym, hammam spa, nightclub and outdoor pool. The mansion’s design screams “palace,” with monumental columns, ornate moldings and high ceilings.
Sources:
- CNN: “Dollar Tree is selling Family Dollar, ending its disastrous merger”
- Dollar Tree Inc.: “Our history”
- Forbes:Â “Baseball’s most valuable teams 2025”
- Nasdaq:Â “Inside the 10 most expensive homes in the US right now”
- Robb Report:Â “This $295 million Florida estate is the most expensive home in America”
- Belart Gallery: “The most expensive art pieces 2025”
- McDonald’s:Â “McDonald’s Menu With Prices 2025”
- Robb Report:Â “The 10 most expensive superyachts for sale right now”
- Luxury Real Estate:Â “Royal Island”
- Luxury Real Estate:Â “Private islands for sale”
- Kitap Sun:Â “Hot chicken chain with Seattle location in sale talks for $1 billion”
- Car and Driver:Â “2025 Ferrari 296GTB / 296GTS”
- JamesEdition:Â “The Venetian Palace, an exceptional property for sale”
