Never let it be said that the creation of the TV and movie industry made it impossible for authors to earn money the old fashioned away. James Patterson sits well above a number of the world's most famous directors on this list, and he's done it all with his writing.
The creator of the popular 'Alex Cross' series, Patterson has sold over 300m books worldwide, and he has the distinction of being the first person ever to sell 1m e-books after the invention of the internet. Keen to encourage young people to maintain an interest in reading, he founded the James Patterson Pledge in 2015, an initiative designed to ensure that books are always freely available to children. Never shy of a major or unusual project, Patterson recently co-authored 'The President is Missing', which is the first foray into creative writing by former President Bill Clinton.
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.