Of all the names to make it onto this list Paulo Coelho may be the most unlikely. The Brazilian author has come from almost nothing to claim his place among the great and the good - and at one point in his youth he was even sent to a mental institution by his parents. Even after his release he struggled, becoming a drifter who traveled the world and getting into drugs.
All of this changed for Coelho on a journey through Spain in the 1980s, during which he believes he had a spiritual awakening which led to him writing the globally successful novel 'The Alchemist'. It's sold more than 65 million copies and made Coelho, whose only real writing achievements previously were as a lyricist on other people's songs, a major name in the publishing industry. Many big-selling books later, half a billion dollars isn't a bad return for a guy who even his parents thought was crazy.
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.