Elvis bought Franklin D. Roosevelt presidential yacht

Elvis Presley only paid $55,000 for the enormous boat known as the Potomac in 1964. That equals just over $464,000 in today's currency. During his administration from 1936 to 1945, Franklin Roosevelt used the boat as his "floating White House." However, the yacht was shut down after his passing in 1945. Before Elvis Presley came into possession of the Potomac, it was owned by a number of different persons. The Potomac was built in 1934 and served as a U.S. Coast Guard cutter at first.

The vessel wasn't kept by Elvis for very long for his own amusement. He gave the yacht soon after buying it to Graceland and St. Jude's Children Hospital, both of which have their main offices in Memphis. Then, in an effort to raise money, the charity hospital sold the boat. Elvis Presley did several charity concerts in addition to giving away cash, jewels, cars, and other items to friends and complete strangers. In 1961, one such performance raised more than $50,000 for the Hawaii USS Arizona Memorial's completion.

The project's construction had started years earlier but stagnated because of a lack of funding. It was intended as a memorial to the more than 1,100 soldiers who died aboard the USA Arizona during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. The memorial was dedicated the following year thanks in part to Elvis' concert, for which tickets cost anywhere from $3 to $100.