Alaska Was Sold
In 1867, Alaska belonged to the Russians, but they didn’t want it because it was costing them a lot of money to pay officials’ salaries. So, despite the gold mines in the area and the success of Russian bureaucrats and merchants of the time period, the Russians sold the landmass to the United States for $7.2 million. But over time, the gold and oil industries in Alaska made the United States over $700 million, which is over a hundred times the cost that the Russians got in the deal.