Depends on your perspective. If you had infinite money, everything would effectively be free no matter how much it costed, and "value" to you wouldn't be a function of cost at all, but rather one of factors like time and convenience.
No one has infinite money, but the more money you have, the less the cost of something matters, and in exchange the other factors matter more.
For a relevant example, I think that a liberal arts degree is a wonderful thing. The experience itself is hugely positive. If you're not already financially secure, however, I think that spending $200,000 on a liberal arts degree is a bad idea. The return on investment is low compared to some other things you could spend $200k. It is, indeed, a "ripoff." If you're already very wealthy, the equation changes. $200k has less value to you, so the education itself is relatively more valuable in exchange. If you're wealthy enough, the economic benefits may become completely irrelevant, which makes the liberal arts education an extremely efficient use of your resources because of the other benefits it provides that you'd struggle to obtain any other way.
A $200k liberal arts education may only provide minor benefits over a $50k one, so you could say it's "not worth" 4x the cost. A scam, practically. But if you're wealthy enough, the $150k may not matter as much as the minor benefits do.
Basically, "worth" is not some intrinsic property of an object, but instead entirely dependent on your frame of reference.
No one has infinite money, but the more money you have, the less the cost of something matters, and in exchange the other factors matter more.
For a relevant example, I think that a liberal arts degree is a wonderful thing. The experience itself is hugely positive. If you're not already financially secure, however, I think that spending $200,000 on a liberal arts degree is a bad idea. The return on investment is low compared to some other things you could spend $200k. It is, indeed, a "ripoff." If you're already very wealthy, the equation changes. $200k has less value to you, so the education itself is relatively more valuable in exchange. If you're wealthy enough, the economic benefits may become completely irrelevant, which makes the liberal arts education an extremely efficient use of your resources because of the other benefits it provides that you'd struggle to obtain any other way.
A $200k liberal arts education may only provide minor benefits over a $50k one, so you could say it's "not worth" 4x the cost. A scam, practically. But if you're wealthy enough, the $150k may not matter as much as the minor benefits do.
Basically, "worth" is not some intrinsic property of an object, but instead entirely dependent on your frame of reference.