13 Of The Most Expensive Mistakes in History
![13 Of The Most Expensive Mistakes in History](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/5/900645_320x180.jpg)
Ah, the perils of big money projects. From the failed streaming service Quibi to the disastrous merger between AOL and Time Warner, from the costly and complex Big Dig in Boston to the over-budget Joint Strike Fighter program, it seems that when it comes to spending money, there are no guarantees of success. It's a lesson we've all learned the hard way, and it's a lesson that's been repeated time and time again.
We all know that money can't buy happiness, but it sure can buy a lot of things. And sometimes, it can even buy failure. In this list, we'll take a look at thirteen massive projects that blew fortunes, and how they ended up costing their investors and creators a lot more than they bargained for. These are the stories of projects that seemed like a good idea at the time, but ended up costing a lot of money and leaving behind a trail of destruction. So, if you're in the mood for a cautionary tale, read on.
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Money can't buy success: Quibi fails.
![CRACKED QUIBI Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman started Quibi, a mobile-focused streaming service, and got a lot of money from different investors. Despite all the money and the famous people involved, Quibi had to close down after 6 months (or approximately 26,000 Quibis, a unit of time they really thought would catch on). Quibi Qu $2 billion Q sundance institute Q sund institute Qui ibi sun O Qui](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/8/900178.jpg)
Fast, loud, and deadly.
![CRACKED CONCORDE The Concorde, a super-fast plane made by France and Britain, stopped flying in 2003 because it was too expensive to run, people complained about the noise, and there was a really bad crash in 2000 that killed 113 people. BRUTISH AIRWATS $2.8 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/7/900177.jpg)
Money down the drain.
![CRACKED CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL SYSTEM California has spent $9.8 billion on its high-speed rail project, with zero miles of track built as of May 2023. It's estimated that it'll take between $88 billion and $128 billion to finish the whole thing, from Los Angeles to San Francisco. $9.8 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/3/900173.jpg)
Big money, big fail.
![CRACKED PETS.COM Pets.com had a really successful initial public offering in February 2000, raising a whopping $82.5 million. Unfortunately, just nine months later, they had to file for bankruptcy. $82.5 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/6/900176.jpg)
Money well spent?
![CRACKED BRAZIL'S 2014 WORLD CUP INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS Brazil put a lot of money into getting ready for the 2014 World Cup, spending around $11.3 billion on infrastructure. A lot of the projects that were supposed to be funded by that were left unfinished. Up to $11.3 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/2/900172.jpg)
John Carter: Epic fail.
![CRACKED JOHN CARTER Disney spent a ton of money making and promoting the 2012 live-action sci-fi movie John Carter, which was based on the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the end, they lost at least $200 million. $200+ million](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/5/900175.jpg)
Big Dig: Big Money, Big Mistake?
![CRACKED BIG DIG IN BOSTON The Big Dig in Boston was a huge highway project that was the most complex and challenging ever in the US. It was supposed to cost $2.56 billion, but ended up costing a whopping $14.8 billion - five times more than originally thought. over $12 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/4/900174.jpg)
Marriage of convenience, disastrous consequences.
![CRACKED TIME WARNER AND AOL MERGER Time Warner and AOL got married in 2000, but it was a disaster. AOL had to write off almost $99 billion of Time Warner's value in 2002, and its worth dropped from $226 billion to only $20 billion. It's seen as one of the worst business decisions ever. AOL Time Warner $206 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/9/900169.jpg)
Trump's Taj Mahal: 4 Cents on the Dollar.
![CRACKED TRUMP TAJ MAHAL CASINO Donald Trump's Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City was sold for a tiny fraction of what it cost to build - about 4 cents for every dollar. Trump had gone bankrupt with the property twice, first in 2009 and then again in 2015. AMERICAN LIMITED Six Stat Diamond ID HOSPE Award RU Sold for 1/25 of its construction cost](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/7/900167.jpg)
Money down the drain.
![CRACKED IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION A lot of the money the U.S. spent to fix up Iraq, which was around $60 billion, was misused, according to a report to Congress from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Up to $60 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/1/900171.jpg)
Money burns away.
![CRACKED USS MIAMI NUCLEAR SUBMARINE In 2012, a huge fire broke out on the USS Miami, causing $400 million worth of damage. Unfortunately, the Navy didn't have enough money to fix it, so they had to take the submarine out of service. $400 million ac 7](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/6/900166.jpg)
Olympic dreams, Olympic debt.
![CRACKED BOSTON'S 2024 OLYMPIC BID Boston's 2024 Olympic bid ended up costing them a lot of money. They were left with a debt of around $3.5 million and still had to pay employees, consultants, and vendors over $4 million. $4+ million BOSTON 2024 BOSTON TD GARDEN 2024 GARDEN GARDE BOSTON 2024](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/8/900168.jpg)
Waste of money.
![CRACKED FIVE U.S. ARMY PROJECTS The U.S. Army spent a whopping $30 billion on five weapons projects that didn't work out between 1989 and 2019. These included the Brilliant Anti-Tank Munition, the RAH-66 Comanche Stealth-Chopper, and the Crusader Self-Propelled Howitzer. $30 billion](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/7/0/900170.jpg)