Russian professional tennis player and model Maria Sharapova has an estimated net worth of $195 million in 2015. Sharapova made her professional breakthrough in 2004, at age 17, when she defeated two-time defending champion and Serena Williams in 2004 Wimbledon final to win her first Grand Slam singles title, becoming the 3rd youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title, behind Martina Hingis and Lottie Dod. Despite not having good record on court, Sharapova remains the top-earning female athlete in the world according to Forbes Magazine.
Sharapova's portfolio extends beyond tennis, she has been featured in several high-profile modeling assignments, like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and in many advertisements with Nike, Prince and Canon, and as face of several fashion houses like Cole Haan. She renewed her Nike deal worth $70 million at the start of 2010 and it has been very lucrative for the number one as she receives royalties on her own line of apparel which was up 26% in 2010, as well as for her ballet flat which was the top selling shoe in 2010 at Cole Haan, a Nike subsidiary.
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.