What seemed like a brilliant real estate investment turned into one of the most famous bad deals in history.
In 1965, French notary André-François Raffray believed he had found the perfect opportunity. A 90-year-old widow named Jeanne Calment lived alone in a valuable apartment in Arles, France, and had no direct heirs.
The two entered into a traditional French agreement known as “en viager.” Under the arrangement, Raffray agreed to pay Calment a monthly stipend for the rest of her life. In return, he would inherit her apartment after her death.
At the time, the deal appeared to heavily favor Raffray. After all, Calment was already 90 years old.
But there was one problem: Jeanne Calment wasn’t an ordinary 90-year-old.
Over the following decades, she continued to defy expectations. She reportedly smoked cigarettes well past her 100th birthday, ate large amounts of chocolate, rode a bicycle until age 100, and remained remarkably active into old age.
Meanwhile, Raffray kept sending monthly payments.
Years passed. Then decades.
By the time the arrangement had reached its 30th year, Raffray had already paid more than twice the value of the apartment. In a twist nobody could have predicted, he died of cancer in 1995 at age 77—while Calment was still alive.
The story didn’t end there.
Under French law, Raffray’s widow was required to continue making the payments. She did so for another two years until Calment finally passed away in 1997.
She was 122 years old, becoming the oldest verified person ever recorded.
Asked about the unusual arrangement, Calment reportedly summed it up with a legendary remark:
“In life, one sometimes makes bad deals.”
The extraordinary story continues to be cited around the world as one of the most unbelievable examples of longevity—and one of the worst real estate gambles ever made.