That’s what makes it revenge. Its about being able to have a negative affect on people after you are dead. Its a dish served cold.
As an addendum, later on, some of those numbers were litigated, and the dog ended up getting less ($2 milliion instead of $12 million), and the disinherited grandchildren got $3 mil each.
It’s not an expensive revenge though, anything that occurs after your death can’t cost you anything.
What about the Ford GT40 racing car & racing program? That’s widely seen as Ford’s revenge against Ferrari who backed out of a buyout deal at the last minute.
IIRC from “All The Money In The World” Getty put most of his investments in a foundation while he was alive, as a tax dodge. So there was not a lot (relatively speaking) for the relatives to inherit as cash in their pocket. The Ford Foundation IIRC is the same concept - at the time, any inheritance would be taxed to death and the shares in any major company would be split up - so simpler to put them in a foundation and have assorted relatives become well-paid board members.
While it’s not exactly expensive, I’ll put it in for an honorable mention simply for the dedication and the time involved.
Hidden Message From Feuding Neighbors Revealed On Google Maps
The “Queen of Mean” wasn’t known for her kindness which is why this Far Side cartoon is so funny:
Another one that won’t win the “most expensive” award, but for sheer pettiness it’s impressive: Crocker’s Spite Fence. Basically, rich asshole wants to buy another guy’s property on Nob Hill in San Francisco, but he won’t sell. So, rich asshole erects a 40 foot high fence around the guy’s property, completely eliminating the view and killing all of his vegetation due to lack of sunlight.
Not sure on the private side, Elon Musk might count for tweeting about taking Tesla private. A lot of short sellers amongst others were pissed at him