Martin Luther King always seemed to know that he wasn't going to make it to the end of his life naturally. Even in his most famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, he noted that he 'might not get there with you.' His method of peaceful protest - like that of Mahatma Gandhi decades earlier - had both furthered his cause and captured public imagination. Nobody - other than perhaps Rosa Parks - ever did more in the name of the Civil Rights movement than Dr. Martin Luther King.
King had a lot to be happy about at the time he was assassinated. He'd seen his movement turn from a murmur to a roar, and was winning over large audiences and friends in influential places. He smiles here for this picture at the Lorraine Motel on April 3rd, 1968. The following day, he was shot dead by James Earl Ray in Tennessee. In death, King became a symbol and a martyr. He died, but his dream never has nor ever will.
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.