California

It's a huge up-front cost, and a major pain to move - can't just huck it in the back of your sedan; you'd quite possibly need to pay someone to move it, or have to rend equipment to do so. You'd also have to sell it at a loss, or even worse just throw it out, when you inevitably move someplace already furnished with one.

An apartment owner clearly already has sufficient capital, and the appliance would never need to be moved or sold.

Because large appliances do not always fit in all spaces, they are very hard to transport, and have a high likelihood of becoming waste. There's virtually no benefit to buying your own fridge and relocating with it.

Same thing that's wrong with buying your own sink, cabinets, bathtub, flooring, etc.

You sound European. Unlike in your case, American kitchens are very built-in and are typically only removed with a sledgehammer when it's time to renovate.