Remember what we said a little earlier on about all the real money being in tech companies? This might be an even better example than Bill Gates and Larry Page ('Larry' is obviously a great name for tech billionaires. Remember that when you're naming your children). Larry Ellison founded Oracle, which is a software company so enormous that only Microsoft have then beaten for size or net worth. With all the money it generates, Ellison has found the income to buy the Hawaiian island of Lanai for somewhere between five hundred and six hundred million dollars.
It's easily the most expensive island on our list, but Ellison isn't even going to live there; he's turning it into a state-of-the-art tourist resort! Given that we've seen other celebrities charging up to $30,000 per night to stay on islands that cost less than a tenth as much as Lanai, we shudder to think what a night on Lanai may cost visitors in a few years' time.
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.