White elephants, also known as albino elephants, were considered holy in ancient times, specially in some Asian countries. To keep these animals was very expensive, because it was necessary to give them special food, and also to give access to the people who wanted to worship them. In Thailand, if a king was dissatisfied with someone, he would give him a white elephant, which would surely make that person lose all his money. Nowadays, this expression is used to refer to something that costs a lot of money to maintain but is useless.

Los elefantes blancos, también conocidos como elefantes albinos, eran considerados sagrados en la antigüedad, especialmente en ciertos países asiáticos. Mantener estos animales resultaba muy caro, porque era necesario darles comida especial, y también dar acceso a la gente que quería adorarlos. En Tailandia, si un rey no estaba conforme con alguien, le regalaba un elefante blanco, lo cual seguramente haría que esa persona pierda todo su dinero. Actualmente, esta expresión se usa para referirse a algo que cuesta mucho dinero mantener y no tiene ningún uso.