Former Olympic diver Greg Louganis has been living as an openly gay man for over twenty years now. The Californian's route to coming out wasn't the happiest story; he was in what he describes as an abusive relationship with his former manager Jim Babbitt for most of the 1980s, and contracted AIDS from him in 1988. Fearing the worst, he held a 'goodbye' party for friends and family in 1993. His health was failing, and he didn't expect to live another year.
Happily, he did, and was around to publicly come out to the world at the Gay Games in 1994. Thanks to new treatments his health improved, and Louganis is still with us today. He's still active in diving, having mentored the US Diving teams at both of the last two Olympics, and has been married to his paralegal husband Johnny Chaillot since 2013.
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.