What to get the country that has everything?
Wait, is this really worth more than the Statue of Liberty?
Let's get a bit current event-ish …
There's just something so over the top funny to me about the idea of the government of Qatar (of all places), proposing to give a gift of a $400 million Boeing 747 to the United States, so that President Trump can use it as Air Force One for the next four years, and then have it gifted again to his library foundation.
I don't really think this is going to happen in the long run. Even when Trump defended it online, lots of people who said they were die-hard MAGA supporters of the president seemed to think that this was too much.
But I saw someone suggest that if this went through, it would be the most valuable gift that the United States has ever received from any foreign entity.
So, I dove in deep to fact-check. First, here's a list of some of the most valuable gifts that the U.S. has ever received:
The Resolute Desk: about $5,000 in 1880, which would work out to close to $200,000 today.
This was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes. It was "crafted from the timbers of the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute," and it's been used by U.S. presidents in the Oval Office ever since, symbolizing the enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Giant Pandas from China (1972)
I don't know if there was ever a dollar value put on Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, gifts from Chairman Mao Zedong to the people of the United States after President Nixon visited China. "Housed at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the pandas became a symbol of the thawing relations between the two countries and initiated decades of wildlife conservation collaboration."
The Merci Train (1949)
As a thank you for American aid during and after World War II, France sent us 49 boxcars filled with gifts such as dolls, artwork, and personal items from millions of French citizens. There was one for each state at the time, plus the then-territory of Hawaii. (Sorry, Alaska.)
Netherlands Carillon (1960)
This one is from the Dutch: As a token of appreciation for U.S. assistance during World War II, the Netherlands gifted the Netherlands Carillon—a 127-foot tower housing 53 bells—to the United States. Located near Arlington National Cemetery, the carillon serves as a symbol of Dutch-American friendship and is used for ceremonial events.
Saudi Jewels (2008)
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presented President Obama with gifts exceeding $300,000 in value, including rare books, a Jaeger-LeCoultre brass clock, watches, and jewels. These were considered the property of the American people and were transferred to the National Archives.
There are probably others, but here's the one I thought for sure would be worth more:
The Statue of Liberty
You probably remember that the statute was a gift from France -- just a bit after the Resolute Desk, actually. Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the early inspiration came partly from ancient statues like the Colossus of Rhodes and classical Roman goddesses. The statue’s face was rumored to be modeled after Bartholdi’s own mother.
From the start, it was agreed that France would fund the statue itself, while the United States would pay for the pedestal.
Enthusiasm in France was fairly high, with citizens contributing via public donations, theatrical performances, art auctions, and lotteries.
On the American side, however, things were less smooth. Despite the symbolic importance of the statue, public and private funding lagged.
In the end, we probably have two things to thank for the ultimate American contributions:
First, Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of The New York World newspaper, promised to publish the name of every donor, no matter how small the contribution. He wound up publishing 120,000 names -- many of whom gave just $1.
Second, since the Americans were still coming up short, Bartholdi and other organizers started floating the idea of donating the statue to Boston instead of New York. It's not clear this was ever actually serious, but the "forced scarcity" worked, and New Yorkers came through.
Here's the surprising final financial total: The entire cost of the statute was about $650,000 in 1880s dollars, working out to the equivalent of $13 million today. Even if you were to add the 1980s restoration to the price tag, that would be another $96 million in today's dollars.
In other words -- just over 1/4 the cost of the 747 that the government of Qatar supposedly wants to make a gift of.
Again, I don't think it's going to happen in the end.
But at least we got a good story out of it.
7 other things worth knowing today
The U.S. and China agreed to slash reciprocal tariffs in major step toward easing trade war. The world’s two biggest economies agreed to a 90-day pause on most of their levies after a first round of trade talks in Switzerland over the weekend. (NBC News)
Yet another equipment outage at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) caused widespread delays and a ground stop over the weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration said the third outage in less than two weeks happened Sunday morning after a backup air traffic control system momentarily failed. (CBS News)
Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza, was released by Hamas on Monday, ending an 18-month ordeal that began with the militant group’s October 7 attack, after several days of talks with the United States as part of an effort to reach a ceasefire and resume the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The group handed Alexander to the Red Cross on Monday, and he returned to Israeli soil shortly later. (CNN)
Walgreens is doubling down on prescription-filling robots to cut costs and free up pharmacists amid its corporate turnaround. (CNBC)
The U.S. elite have moved on from The Hamptons; here’s where they’re going instead: From rural Wyoming to alternative Austin, and even a private Hawaiian island, these are the boltholes now favoured by America’s uber wealthy. (The Telegraph)
Billy Evans, the hotel fortune heir and romantic partner of Elizabeth Holmes and the father of her children, reportedly has raised millions of dollars to start up a new blood-testing company that is strikingly similar to the one that landed the Theranos founder in federal prison: a health-testing company that can make diagnoses from users’ blood, urine and saliva. (The Guardian)
The New Ways Bosses Talk About Workers: Step it up, stop complaining—and make way for AI. CEOs are no longer lauding employees as the talent. (The Wall Street Journal)
Thanks for reading. Photo by Avi Werde on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments.
wish the top story would have been the release of Edan Alexander.
eta: I do like the comparison list you researched for 'gifts given'...
Edan could have been the top of the 7 👍
The New Ways Bosses Talk About Workers is quite the turnaround from the Costco article... however, the attitude of some workers could be quite "irritatingly derserving", especially if they are some of those who entered college w/out having read a book, having to take remedial classes, relying on AI, & now find that AI CAN do their jobs...
There are a myriad of reasons to question the plane gift, from what happens to the two planes already in production, to how long it would take to gut/retrofit another plane, to the emoluments clause. None of it makes sense other than perhaps a way to put pressure on Boeing. Even then, I understand the Air Force is responsible for the key steps behind the delays. The one question I haven’t seen discussed is why?
What’s the benefit of this “gift” for Qatar? Sure they are rolling in money but you don’t do something like this for fun and games. Anyone with any sense understands trump is by his very nature transactional in every single thing he does. What is the quid pro quo here?