Were it not for the unreliable nature of trains in her home of England, the world may never have seen or heard of Harry Potter. JK Rowling was working as a secretary for Amnesty International in 1990, when having nothing to do whilst waiting for a delayed train between Manchester and London gave her enough time to imagine Harry's existence. Despite having no previous writing credits to her name, she started putting her ideas to paper, and five years later, the very first Harry Potter book was finished.
Everybody knows the rest of the story; the book series is the biggest selling in history, the movies based on the books have grossed billions of dollars, and Rowling is the first billionaire author ever. Not wanting to be known just for Potter, she penned a series of crime books under a male pseudonym once her wizarding tales were over, and these were also picked up for publication before she was outed as the true talent behind the work. Known for her left-wing views and support of worthy causes, Rowling would be even richer if she didn't give so much money away to charity.
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.