Falana lived a life of glitz and glamour through most of the 1980s, including a famous night at the casino when she won a small stake in the New York Mets during a game of baccarat in 1983. Instead of immediately selling her stake, she took an interest in the team for a period of time before going on to sell it in 1988 for $14m. Sadly she wasn't selling it because she'd lost interest; she was selling it because her health was deteriorating.
Falana suffered a severe bout of multiple sclerosis in 1987. It left her partially blind and paralyzed down her left side. She was eventually able to recover some movement, but her career as a performer was over. She recorded one more song in 1995, but never took to the stage again. During her extended recovery, Falana became very religious, and gave up her public life completely to focus on pursuing spirituality. She is believed to be still alive and living in the Philadelphia area.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.