We mentioned speech writing in passing when we talked about authors and writers earlier on, but there are some people who do nothing but speech writing for a living, and they do very nicely out of it financially. Typically, such people work closely with politicians or other high-profile figures who are frequently required to make speeches. Ever heard a politician give a speech and crack a joke that surprised you? That almost certainly wasn't the politician talking - it was their speech writer trying to make them more appealing to you!
A good speech writer can condense what someone wants to say about an event or an occasion, turn into entertaining text and include hints of the speaker's personality in there, too. If you're considering getting into the profession, the good news is that you don't technically need any qualifications; you just have to be very good with the written word. Finding work to build up your portfolio may be tricky, though.
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.