It's not an illusion; David Copperfield really is a billionaire, and it would take a lot of time and effort to make that amount of money disappear. His rise through the ranks of the secretive Magic Circle is astonishing; his grandfather taught him his first card trick as a child. By age 12 he was a member of the Society of American Magicians, and already performing on stage. At 16 he was so skilled he was actually coaching and training other people to perform magic, and before he was 20 he had a residence in Hawaii. From making the Statue of Liberty disappear to walking through the Great Wall of China, there's seemingly nothing Copperfield can't do.
For years he's been the most in-demand magical performer in the world, and so he can charge what he wants. That wealth has enabled him to acquire the most valuable collection of magic memorabilia in the world, featuring priceless artifacts from Houdini and Georges Melies.
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.