As many current and former stars of music will tell you, you should always get legal advice before you sign a recording contract. We don't want to say that the record business is full of crooks, but the evidence suggests that there are plenty of people out there who are happy to take an artist for a ride and profit from their creations. If Toni Braxton - singer of the global smash hit 'Unbreak My Heart' - is telling the truth, for all the millions of records she sold she was paid a grand total of $2,000.
Braxton had a superstar profile but no money to go with it. Trying to maintain her image and career has seen her go bankrupt not once but twice, and only three years apart in 2010 and 2013. She's since found a more stable and reliable income by agreeing to shoot a reality television show which also features other members of her family, but admits on camera that every dollar she earns has to be carefully accounted for.
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.