Marty Bluke reports:
[According to Mishpacha Magazine] Wealthy Satmar Chasidim spent a quarter of a million dollars for the Seder of the Satmar Rebbe R' Zalman Leib. The new Rebbe could not use his father's (the previous Rebbe's) things because of the dispute [over leadership] between him and his brother [Zalman]. Therefore his Chasidim bought all new stuff. Here is a partial list of what was bought:
Kos Shel Eliyahu - $80,000. The cup weighs 70kg (154 lb) and holds 26 liters (6.8 gallons).…
Kiddush Cup - $30,000
A bed for leaning - $25,000, made out of gold, silver, and silk
Matzah Cover - $6000
Kapotah - a few thousand dollars, made from white silk and pure goldAll in all $250,000.
DovBear points out:
According to the US Census, the medium family income in Kiryas Joel is $15,372 and 62 percent of the village lives below the poverty level. Wonder how their seder table looked.
Of course, the US Census only counts declared income, not the gray and black dollars made by cheating the government and other frauds. Haredim are not shy about taking as much welfare and other government benefits as they can while hiding as much income as they can.
How can hasidim justify this enormous expense for these trivial things in any case? I doubt they even think about it, and that is very sad.
The picture is of the Kos Shel Eliyahu (Elijah's Cup). Please click to enlarge.