The world's most expensive painting cost more than some countries' entire annual budget

In 2017, "Salvator Mundi," attributed (not without controversy) to Leonardo da Vinci, sold at a Christie's auction for over $450 million — the highest price ever paid for a work of art.

The twist: the painting's authenticity is genuinely disputed among art historians — some experts question how much of it is actually Leonardo's own hand versus the work of his studio or students.

Despite that uncertainty, the price still shattered records anyway — showing that in the art market, value can be just as much a function of story and prestige as of certainty about who actually painted the thing.

The stakes: since the sale, the painting has essentially vanished from public view — its exact current location has never been officially confirmed, which has itself become a whole separate thread of speculation in the art world.