France burial lottery: Win a chance to be buried near famous people

The City of Paris have launched a lottery to offer a chance to Parisians to be buried next to famous people, including some of history's famous artists, Jim Morrison from the Doors, the author Oscar Wilde and legendary French singer Edith Piaf.

There is a finite amount of burial land and an infinite amount of dead people. So wrap up the competition, the Paris city council will hold a lottery in the overcrowded cemeteries like Pere-Lachaise, Montparnasse and Montmartre. Ten gravestones in each cemetery are being offered for €4000 each. The purchaser has to restore the gravestones to acquire a burial spot next to them; the winner will be chosen by January 2026. The new owner will be responsible for the burial in the new burial plot, costing from €976 for 10 years, €17,668 for perpetuity. If the owner fails to comply, he will forfeit the burial plot and the deposited money. These applications are open only to residents of Paris.

Marylin Monroe set the trend

Famous Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe set the trend who was much maligned during her lifetime, had set the trend of famous grave burial. Richard Poncher, a wealthy Californian man, purchased the tomb above Monroe’s in 1986 and asked to be buried upside down on the award-winning star. Poncher's wife auctioned the site for $4.5 million on eBay. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner purchased the land next to her. So she is the trend setter even in death, till today, people around the world visit her grave in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Monroe first set the trend of making the burial place a visiting spot.