A mahogany tree is worth about $30 to a logging company. However, by the time brokers, traders, and manufacturers make their profit, that same tree can have a value of upwards of $130,000 before hitting the furniture showroom. Little wonder that mahogany has been called green gold.

Interestingly, the United States alone is reported to have imported more than 70 percent of Brazil’s mahogany in the year 2000.