We live in an era where everyone seems to take a tablet for something. Whether that's because you've been prescribed medication, or just because you feel like magnesium, cod liver oil, multivitamins or folic acid 'do something for you', more people use supplements now than at any previous point in history. You'd have thought that would be good news for supplement providers, but apparently not.
GNC's fortunes have been very much up and down for the past couple of years. It's currently carrying $1.3bn in corporate debt, and not creating enough profit to service that debt properly. In February 2018 they announced what they hope to be a permanent solution; the sale of a 40% stake in the company to Chinese investors, who will then use that 40% share to create and sell products to the Chinese market. Whether they've given away too much in the attempt to stay alive remains to be seen.
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.