You may not be familiar with the name of eccentric millionaire Dean Kamen, but you will know his most famous invention - the Segway. Kamen has achieved far more in his life than just creating the Segway, but even if he never did anything else, that creation will keep all of his bills paid forever. Kamen paid an eye-wateringly high price of $2.5m for a tiny two-acre island called North Dumpling off the east coast of the USA in 1986. He wanted to build a wind turbine to fuel it, but New York refused to give him permission, so he did the only sensible thing. He declared independence.
Kamen's old friend (and then-serving President) George Bush jokingly signed a treaty of non-aggression between the USA and Dumpling Island, and from there Kamen has created a flag, a miniature replica of Stonehenge, a national anthem, a daily newspaper, and a one-boat navy. Visitors to his island are invited to commemorate the occasion by leaving an imprint of their own buttocks. No, we're not joking!
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.