Publisher: Forbes Magazine
Author: Tom Van Riper
Publish Date: October 26, 2007
Article Excerpt:
No, you may not be able to live among the rich and famous, but you can afford to be dead among them. Exclusive and expensive cemeteries begin–but don’t end–in places like New York, California and Texas, where late stars of industry, politics and Hollywood reside. If you’ve got enough life insurance, and a hankering to get in, you can.
How much? For a plot on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in beautiful Santa Barbara Cemetery in southern California, you’ll pay $83,000, while a spot just a short walk down from the water can be had for just over $20,000. Far more than the $1,000 average price of a burial plot in the U.S., to be sure, but a whole lot less than the millions that water-view property goes for elsewhere in town.
Just down the freeway, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s locations in Hollywood Hills and Glendale, a family mausoleum in a prime location costs up to $825,000. But a basic plot, complete with casket and various services, can be had for $8,000. Created in 1906 by Hubert Eaton, and now expanded to seven locations in the area, Forest Lawn is known for perfectly manicured grounds and a topography that tucks grave markers into hillsides in such a way as to make them virtually invisible to the naked eye from a distance. It was a first of its kind that still endures…
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