13 weired investemts

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - They all laughed when Jefferson bought half the continent from France. Alaska was called "Seward's folly." Other "crazy" investments have worked out fine, too. But some oddball bets fell flat.

One of the surprising losers in our gallery is Warren Buffett, and there's a host of other investors profiled, both winners (the entrepreneur who bought the formula for a weird brown health drink called Coca-Cola) and losers (remember Webvan?).

Advertising mogul Charles Saatchi made a good call when he bought Damien Hirst's infamous shark installation (a 14-foot tiger shark suspended in a tank of formaldehyde) in 1991 for under $100,000. Twelve years later, he sold it to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen for between $8 million and $12 million. Rumor has it that the shark may soon take up residence at New York's MoMA.

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Kim Basinger didn't make out as well when she helped buy Braselton, Ga., for $20 million in 1989. She hoped it would become a tourist attraction and film festival site, but instead it was sold for $1 million when the actress declared bankruptcy four years later.

See our gallery of off-the-wall investments, from Buffett's stamp bid (big mistake) to Michael Jackson's big win

Outbidding Paul McCartney for the rights to his own songs, Michael Jackson bought 260 Beatles hits for $45 million in 1985. Now those tunes are said to be worth about $500 million. But he may not hold on to his 50 percent stake (shared with Sony) for long -- he's used it as collateral on hundreds of millions in loans.

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Back in 1961, $2.7 million seemed like a lot of money for a hamburger stand and some golden arches -- in today's dollars, that would be $16.8 million -- but Ray Kroc took the plunge. Forty-four years later, there are more than 30,000 McDonald's franchises throughout the world, and the company grossed $19.1 billion last year.