Hailing from Rayville, Louisiana is 'Big Cat' Ernie Ladd who was one of the first Black-American heels in professional wrestling back in the early 1960s. Surprisingly, wrestling was not Ladd's original calling as he was also a professional football player and was drafted 15th overall by the San Diego Chargers in 1961. Ladd worked as a wrestler during the offseason but on the field won the AFL title in 1963 and also played for the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs before retiring from football in 1968.
'Big Cat' Ernie Ladd's cocky interviewing style and dirty in-ring tricks helped him become a household name for wrestling fans everywhere while he held titles in the National Wrestling Federation (NWF), National Hollywood Wrestling Association (NWA) and the World Wrestling Association (WWA). Unfortunately, Big Cat lost his battle with colon cancer at the age of 68 in 2007. Ernie Ladd was and still is one of the most cherished and personable two-sport athletes in wrestling history.
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.