10 Biggest Things That Have Ever Been Stolen

Theft is wrong, morally. It’s one of the basic tenants of being a “good” person – don’t take things that don’t belong to you. It’s also disturbingly common. While some theft is petty, like shoplifting a fancy lipstick, and some is for survival like stealing food, a lot of it is just bad people taking instead of earning. That said, it’s still sometimes really…impressive…both the ability to steal large objects and the determination of those who dare to. Here are 10 Biggest Things Ever Stolen.

* The Empire State Building

Sort of. Well, on paper. In 2008, The New York Daily News, in an effort to show what a joke the city’s record keeping department was, drew up fake documents, with a fake notary stamp, and submitted them to the city to transfer the deed to the building. The point they made? Those oh so important government documents that are so costly to file were not required to be verified by the office of the city register.

* 200 Ton Bridge

In January of 2008, thieves in Russia stole a 200 ton bridge overnight, presumably to sell for scrap metal. That’s just…impressive.

* Another Dinosaur

Yeah. A man from Gainesville Florida named Eric Prokopi forged papers to take skeleton of a Tyrannosaurs Bataar (close to the T-Rex) out of Mongolia and sell it to a buyer in Manhattan for over a million dollars. The heist was stopped by the FBI in Queens.

* $100 Million Worth of Diamonds, Gold, & Jewelry

The largest amount of diamonds, gold, and jewelry ever stolen was arguably the Antwerp Diamond Heist. The thieves hit the heart of Belgium’s diamond district, stealing over $100 million dollars worth of stuff, bypassing some of the most high tech alarms in the world, and opening over 100 safe deposit boxes to do so.

* Ronald McDonald Statue

A 250 pound, life size, Ronald McDonald statue (complete with bench) was stolen from a McDonald’s in New Jersey in late April 2017. The biggest question here is not how or why, but rather…life size Ronald McDonald? So the same size as the Ronald McDonald clown is…in real life?

* M60 Tank

A man who had nothing to lose stole an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in May of 1995. He ran over everything he could at the tank’s max speed of 30 MPH for 23 minutes until the police surrounded him, and sadly he was shot.

* Buddhist Monastery Bell Ball

In 2005, the ball from the inside of a Buddhist monastery bell was stolen in Washington State. The thieves were caught trying to sell the 3,000 pound piece for scrap metal.

* Bathroom Condom Machine

In 1994, a man in Waterford, Michigan stole an entire condom machine from the bathroom in a pub. He literally just carried it out of the pub, which considering the size of those things, is both awkward and impressive.

* WWII Mustang Fighter Plane

In 1992, an Israeli Air Force Reservist named Major Ishmael Yitzhaki told a museum that their WWII Mustang fighter plane needed a new coat of paint. Being the trusting sort, the museum said, “Sure, that sounds great!” and Yitzhaki wheeled it out the of the museum, flew it – flew the WWII fighter plane – to Sweden where he sold it (for over $300,000).

* The World's Largest Egg Hat

The World’s Largest Egg Hat containing over 1,000 eggs (yes, it’s a thing) was stolen in Germany while its owner, one Greg De Silva was there on Holiday. Mr. De Silva ended up in the hospital for heat stroke, and when he went back to retrieve his hat after being released, it was gone. It’s a shame, it was truly an eggtraordinary headpiece.