Category: Famous People & Their Money

The average NBA salary is more than $7 million USD per year. All that money allows NBA players to indulge their tastes to a degree that’s impossible for most people. Some of their purchases can be a little odd, and others seem downright idiotic in retrospect.

There also seems to be a propensity towards overspending which comes with a big salary. Many professional athletes end up taking a beating on purchases that seem like a good idea at first, but end up costing them a pile when they go wrong!

Gilbert Arenas’ Shark Tank

Gilbert Arenas had quite a go in the NBA. In 2008 he signed a $111-million-dollar, six-year contract with the Washington Wizards, though his tenure there would be cut short.

He was convicted of keeping an unloaded firearm in the locker room and had to do a bit of probation as a result. The pistol was also apparently unregistered. Some of his fellow teammates were carrying guns illegally and had to pay the price alongside Gilbert Arenas.

After he transferred to the Orlando Magic, he decided to install a shark tank in his home that cost more than a half-million dollars up-front, and around six and a half thousand dollars a month to maintain.

Gilbert Arenas didn’t last long in Florida either and had to sell the house and the shark tank when he left to play in Memphis in 2012.

Scottie Pippen’s Jet

Scottie Pippen is a legend. If he hadn’t been playing next to Jordan, he may have been an even bigger star.

Michael Jordan’s massive shadow aside, Scottie Pippen was one of the most powerful NBA players of the 1990s. He was also a member of the fabled 1992 Olympic “Dream Team,” which destroyed any other country by an average of 44 points.

In the world of aeronautics, Scottie Pippen was somewhat less successful.

According to reports, the NBA mega-star tried to save money by buying a fixer-upper private jet. Buying something that doesn’t work with the hope it can be fixed is always a little risky.

In this case, Scottie Pippen pumped at least $5 million USD into a plane that never took off again, and probably couldn’t be sold for much afterward.

The SuperFetish

It’s easy to understand why NBA players could feel like superheroes. Their athletic ability is amazing, and they often have larger-than-life personalities.

Some NBA players take it to the next level. Shaquille O’Neal is well known for his love of Superman. He has spent unknown amounts of money on Superman-themed items, including $15,000 USD on a Superman bed to sleep in, and more than $40,000 USD to have a Superman grill put on one of his many SUVs.

Danny Granger is more of a Batman fan. He is apparently working on a Batcave.

The details on the Batcave are sparse, but he told the media that:

“Actually the builder called me and told me he found a nice little feature, a lift for my car, kind of like Batman had. It’s in the works, it’s a process. (My interest in superheroes) is just a big thing I’ve been a part of. I love Superman, love Batman. It’s just the way I’ve been always.”

Eddy Curry’s Dream Life

Living big comes with a heavy price tag.

Eddy Curry has been notorious for spending money on life’s luxuries, including $1,000 USD a month for cable television. He also retained a private chef for around $6,000 USD a month, which is a pretty sweet deal for the chef!

Like all things in life, Eddy Curry’s ability to demand a multi-million dollar salary didn’t last forever. His Chicago home is in foreclosure according to Wikipedia, and his last professional engagement was with the Zhejiang Chouzhou Bank Golden Bulls, back in 2013.

Making $7 million USD a year sounds pretty sweet. If you can’t figure out how to save any of it, the whole thing seems to end in tears. NBA players have an incredible opportunity to get ahead, but few seem to have the skills to make the money last.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The Hollywood film industry is one of the world’s oldest and most successful motion picture industries. From classics like The Godfather to cultural phenomenon such as Star Wars, Hollywood has created thousands of masterpieces.

These movies, however, owe their success to the team that works arduously hard behind the scenes. Most importantly, Hollywood film producers are the ones who put their careers at stake when they select an idea and spend months on turning it into a movie suitable for a diverse audience.

Fortunately, they are also the ones who reap the benefits of blockbuster hits. While an average film producer earns $750,000 per movie, a top film producer’s upfront payment easily crosses $1 million.

The Top 10 Richest Hollywood Film Producers

1. George Lucas

At the age of 74 and with a net worth of $5.6 billion, George Lucas is the creator of the Star Wars franchise. The first movie from the original trilogy was released in 1977 under his production company Lucasfilm. Lucas was given licensing and merchandise rights since Fox believed the movie would be a disaster at the box office.

However, the franchise became an instant success and earned him an Academy Award nomination. He returned as the producer for the next two sequels and earned a great deal of money after 40 million Star Wars action figures were sold for over $100 million in 1978.

Lucas also created the prequel series from 1999 to 2005, where Episode I grossed over $1 billion worldwide. He proved himself once more by creating another masterpiece: Indiana Jones. The first movie in the series was released in 1981 and it earned more than $389 million worldwide.

Even though Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion, he remains Hollywood’s richest film producer to date.

2. Steven Spielberg

Aged 71, Steven Spielberg follows his friend George Lucas closely behind with a net worth of $3.7 billion. His name is attached to blockbuster movies such as Jaws, Indiana Jones series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park series and Saving Private Ryan.

Spielberg also co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Studios (DWA) and became the executive producer of the Men In Black series and the Transformers series.

He has been nominated for seven Academy Awards and has won three of them for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. His latest movie Ready Player One earned $582 million worldwide.

Spielberg works as a consultant for Universal theme parks and earns millions of dollar per year in return.

 3. Arnon Milchan

Arnon Milchan has a net worth of $3.6 billion and has produced over 132 movies under his production company New Regency Enterprises. Prior to joining the film industry, he transformed his bankrupt family business to a successful chemical company.

Milchan’s filmography includes movies from different genres. He has produced romantic comedies such as Pretty Woman, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, What Happens in Vegas and Bride Wars, as well as blockbusters and critically acclaimed hits such as Fight Club, Gone Girl, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Revenant and 12 Years A Slave. Overall, his movies have grossed $11 billion at the box office worldwide.

Milchan is listed number 652 on Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires 2018.

4. Thomas Tull

At the age of just 48, Thomas Tull has a net worth of $1.2 billion. Tull became a billionaire by following his heart and investing in movies based on comic books. He founded the production company Legendary Entertainment by raising $500 million and partnering with Warner Bros. in 2005.

Tull is listed as the executive producer of Superman Returns, 300, The Dark Knight, Hangover Series, Inception, Man of Steel, Interstellar and Jurassic World. In 2016, Legendary Entertainment was bought by Wanda Group for $3.8 million. Even though Tull left his position as CEO of the company in the next year, his net worth remains above $1 billion.

Tull is currently leading an investment holding firm Tulco, which uses Artificial Intelligence techniques to select different companies.

5. Steve Tisch

69-year-old Steve Tisch has a net worth of $1.1 billion.

Tisch has won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award due to his compelling projects. His earlier works such as Risky Business and Outlaws Blues weren’t box office hits, but they were widely appreciated by critics. However, movies like Forrest Grump earned him various prestigious awards.

Tisch founded his production company Steve Tisch Company in 1986. It was merged with Black & Blu to form Escape Artists in 2001. Some of the movies listed under the company include The Pursuit of Happiness and Knowing.

Tisch became New York Giants’ chairman and Executive Vice President in 2005. He also inherited a large sum of money from his mother’s shares in his father’s company Loews Corp.

6. Jeffrey Katzenberg

At 67, Jeffrey Katzenberg has a net worth of approximately $1 billion.

Katzenberg has been a part of some of the most famous animated movies of all time. He was the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. He later co-founded DreamWorks Animation (DWA), along with Steven Spielberg, and served as the CEO from 2004 to 2016.

Katzenberg is the executive producer of Academy Award nominees Shrek and Shark Tale. However, his net worth increased when he received $400 million after Comcast Corp. acquired DWA for $3.8 billion in 2016.

Katzenberg founded consumer tech holding company WndrCo in 2017.

7. Jerry Bruckheimer 

At 75, Jerry Bruckheimer has a net worth of $900 million.

Bruckheimer has produced hits in both film and TV industry. His movies and shows have earned 41 Academy Award and 77 Emmy Award nominations and won six Oscars, four Golden Globes and 17 Emmys. Hence, he is famously known as ‘Mr. Blockbuster’ in Hollywood.

Bruckheimer produced the Pirates of the Caribbean series — the first movie earned $654 million worldwide. Some of his other movies include Top Gun, Con Air, and the National Treasure series. He has also worked as an executive producer for The Amazing Race, Modern Men, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami. 

Bruckheimer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.

8. James Cameron

James Cameron of Titanic fame has a net worth of $700 million at 64 years old.

Cameron is the reason why every movie is being released in 3D nowadays. Up until Avatar was released in 3D, he was known for producing blockbuster hits such as The Terminator series, Aliens and Titanic.

Titanic grossed over $2.1 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing movie of all time. However, it was de-throned by Avatar in 2010, which went on to earn more than $2.7 billion. Cameron is currently working on four Avatar sequels which are expected to release in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025.

Cameron co-developed Fusion Camera System to shoot 3D movies, which has been used in 23 movies. He was also named one of the 100 most influential people of 2010 by the Time Magazine.

9. Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson is just 57 yet has already amassed a net worth of $450 Million.

From New Zealand, Jackson has produced the fifth-highest grossing film series of all time: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Following the success of these movies, Jackson became a part of King Kong and The Hobbit trilogy.

Jackson received his Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2014. He owns an aircraft restoration company titled The Vintage Aviator and is known for his World War I aircrafts collection.

Jackson planned to launch a movie museum in a convention center located in New Zealand to display movie props, collections, and other antiques. However, the plan was abandoned when he couldn’t get into an agreement with the city.

10. Micheal Bay

Michael Bay is just 53 and is worth some $430 Million.

Bay is the artist behind the box office success of the Transformers series. He worked as an intern in his early teens at the sets of the first Indiana Jones movie. He broke into the film industry when Jerry Bruckheimer hired him to direct Bad Boys in 1995.

Bay went on to co-produce Armageddon, which was nominated for four Academy Awards. His most successful project, Transformers, became the 13-highest grossing film series but failed to win over movie critics.

Bay co-founded production company Platinum Dunes in 2001, which has released horror movies such as A Quiet Place, The Purge series and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

When news broke earlier this week about Floyd Mayweather fighting Japanese kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan, it was met with much skepticism. Apparently, Floyd was ambushed by Japanese fight company Rizen and the whole press conference was a set-up to give Rizen some exposure in Western markets.

I originally wrote two days ago that something was fishy in regards to the Tokyo press conference to announce the fight. It seems I was right. But to be fair, even a broken clock is right two times per day.

Almost predictably, 50-Cent came out on social media to pour scorn on the fight and surmise Floyd was going broke.

The Truth about Floyd Mayweather and Rizen

Floyd released a 300-word statement on his Instagram page on Wednesday to clear up the issues pertaining to the supposed New Year’s Eve bout against the Japanese kickboxer. He basically called the fight off and said he was scammed by Rizen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp49AUphcLu/

Floyd took to Instagram to claim that he was supposedly in Japan discussing a private behind-doors 9-minute exhibition fight for a small group of wealthy people.

But by the time he got to a pre-arranged press conference, the Japanese MMA company Rizen Fighting Federation flipped the script and announced a real fight on New Year’s Eve in Japan. Here is Floyd’s take on the press conference:

“This exhibition was previously arranged as a ‘Special Bout’ purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide. Once I arrived at the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately.”

Is Floyd Telling the Truth?

Mayweather claims he went along with the press conference so as not to cause any disturbance, but in reality, this is exactly what it has caused. The myriad of YouTube boxing channels who have been reporting on this story since the press conference are still not sure that Floyd is telling the whole truth.

Some of the channels are covering these three possibilities:

Option 1: Floyd was completely blindsided by Rizen and what he said in the statement was the truth.

Option 2: Floyd kind of knew what was happening, but by the time he got back home he was talked out of the fight by his advisers and friends and then released the statement.

Option 3: Floyd completely knew what he was getting himself into, but had cold feet as and called a halt to the proceedings before it went any further.

One thing is for sure. Wherever Floyd Mayweather goes, intrigue and controversy go along for the ride. He should hurry up and fight Manny Pacquiao for a second time while his name can still write 9-figure checks.

Featured image from SportingNews.

The Queen of England went for a ride this week, despite the chilly November weather. The monarch, who is now 92 followed her husband, Prince Philip, spotted in his horse and carriage at Windsor on the same morning. The Queen was also accompanied by her Head Groom, Terry Pendryon.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband ride regularly on the grounds of the Windsor Castle, home of the royal couple. The images showing the Queen riding her favorite Fell pony quickly went viral, as she shows impressive riding skills despite her age. Proving that when it comes to equine activities, age is just a number.

Apparently, the monarch never misses an opportunity to take her horse through gardens on her estate. She was spotted riding this spring, and also last year, in March.

Dedication to Great Britain’s War Heroes

During her morning ride, Queen Elizabeth showed her dedication to the country and its fallen war heroes. Her pony wore the distinctive red rosette made out of four poppies.

The Queen attached the flowers to the horse’s bridle to mark the season of remembrance, an important celebration to the Royal family.

This year, the ceremony during Armistice Day will mark 100 years from the end of the first World War. Just like last year, this Sunday (November 11) Prince Charles will have the central role in honoring the fallen war heroes while the Queen will be watching the service from the balcony.

The Queen Has Ridden Since She Was Three

With excellent riding skills, the Queen doesn’t use a riding hat these days. On Monday morning, she wore her usual headscarf, tinted glasses, and a navy blue coat.

Prince Phillip preferred to ride in a carriage. He wore a hat, gloves, a warm with a winter coat, and had a blanket on. His presence at the service for the Armistice Day wasn’t yet confirmed by the royal family.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband have a known passion for horses. She started riding lessons when she was only three and received her first pony when she turned four years old.

The monarch loves both riding and watching the races. She also has excellent knowledge of breeding horses. Her thoroughbreds have won more than 1,600 races, according to the Horse and Hound.

Featured image from The Telegraph.

Amy Adams Strunk isn’t your typical NFL owner. Her father was Bud Adams, the original owner of what is now called the Tennessee Titans. Unlike many NFL team owners, Amy Adams Strunk didn’t grow up in her father’s stadium. In fact, the opposite is true.

When her father died a few years ago, there were some problems in the Titan’s organization. Morale was low, and the team wasn’t performing well at all. Although she wasn’t supposed to be the one to take over the reins from her father, Amy Adams Strunk has proven that she has what it takes to make an NFL program run the right way.

Amy Adams Strunk, the Unlikely NFL “Owner”

In truth, Amy Adams Strunk owns a third of the Tennessee Titans. Her sister and the family of her departed brother also own a third. The details of how the Titans fell into shabbiness are almost as interesting as Amy’s ascent to power, and how she was finally able to set her family’ NFL legacy straight.

Bud Adams, Amy’s father, was old school. He made his first fortune in the Texas oil business, which is how he financed the Houston Oilers way back in the 1960s.

He never thought that women could play a role in his organization, and he kept Amy and her sister away from football as she was growing up.

Amy’s brother, Ken Adams, was supposed to be the man to take over from his father. Unfortunately, Bud was something of a control freak, and Ken blew his body apart with a pistol at the age of 29. According to Amy:

“He was crushed by the pressure.”

No Country for Young Men

In the wake of his son’s unnerving suicide, Bud Adams decided that more control was a good thing. Amy told a reporter from ESPNW that:

“After Ken died, his obsession with control ramped up.”

The end result of this was an NFL team that got continuously worse in every regard, eventually posting a record of 2-14 in 2014, the year after Bud’s death.

When Bud Adams died, Amy’s sister’s husband took control of the Titans. Tommy Smith had been working with the team for years, and apparently, he was able to deal with Bud.

After his boss went to the big game in the sky, the tools that he acquired in years past didn’t seem to be doing the job. At first, Amy and her departed brother’s family were willing to let him have a go at running the Titans, but it didn’t last long.

Tommy Smith may have been in power, but Amy and her brother’s family had majority control of the Titans:

“I felt bad… but we’d given him 18 months. He’d had his opportunity.”

Rebuilding the Program

Amy Adams Strunk didn’t think she would be the one to look after her father’s football team:

“I never saw myself in football… It wasn’t the life I wanted. My dad could be very charming, and there were times he was a great father. But he was very hard. He wouldn’t have brought me along, ‘Someday I want you to run the team.’ Nooooo. It would have been about control.”

While her father had been distant from the community in Nashville, Amy made sure that everyone knew that the Tennessee Titans were a part of their city.

She also gutted the team. She fired the coach and GM, and over two years nearly half of the organization was replaced under her watch.

Great Ideas Get Results

No one in their right mind would ever suggest that Amy is afraid to make changes.

She also revamped how the locker rooms were laid out:

“We needed to come out of the dark ages and adapt to how things work now.”

Before she came to power, the players couldn’t see each other when they were in the locker room. She changed that and also installed equipment to dry and cool the players’ pads.

Taylor Lewan left tackle on the Titans said:

“Actions speak louder than words… For her to come in and be excited to see me, to give me a hug when I’m all sweaty in my pads, it does something.”

The changes she made seemed to take effect quickly. The Titans went from their shameful 2014 performance to a record of 9-7 in 2016 and made it close to the national championship.

That is a huge move in a better direction, and Amy Adams Strunk was clearly the force behind the change.

Featured image from Titans Wire.

In a recent Hello article about the 10 most expensive celebrity houses in the UK, it came as no surprise that David Beckham was in the top spot. The dashing former footballer owns a house in London that is worth over $40 million.

In the late-1990s and early 2000s, David Beckham was simply the most famous footballer on the planet. Not the best, although pretty good, but definitely the most famous.

David Beckham Hits Top Spot

The $40 million house that should perhaps be called ‘Beckingham Palace,” is located in the luxurious and high-end Holland Park in West London. David and his wife Victoria purchased the mansion back in 2013 and spent a further $10 million on renovations and customizations.

The home enjoys a very stately design features with an elegant monochrome color scheme. Although not much is known about the interior, only from a few Instagram posts from the Beckhams, the house is home to a coffee machine worth more than $3,000.

The mansion fits in nicely with some of the Beckham’s other real estate purchases such as their $30 million Los Angeles house and their barn-conversion in the Cotswolds.

David and Victoria Beckham Are Loaded

His model-like chiseled looks, his football ability, and vast marketing appeal amassed David Beckham a jaw-dropping $750 million in career earnings just for kicking a pig’s bladder about a green field and looking good in a few photoshoots.

During his football career, he played for some of the most famous football clubs in the world such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris SG, AC Milan, and LA Galaxy.

David Beckham is also famously married to Victoria Beckham, more commonly known as former Spice Girl “Posh Spice.” Living up to her ‘posh’ moniker, it is said that Victoria’s net worth is also around the $450 million mark, which is impressive in its own rights.

Also making the Hello list was megalomaniac music industry mogul Simon Cowell in second place. Former Take That pop star Robbie Williams came in third, while footballer Wayne Rooney and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver came in fourth and fifth respectively.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

According to sources, Brazilian soccer star and ex-Barcelona forward Ronaldinho has a net worth of 90 million. Where he keeps his money is a mystery though since Brazilian authorities found just six euros in his bank accounts upon a seizure order by a judge.

The decision was taken to freeze Ronaldinho’s accounts over lack of payment of debts totaling some 2 million euros which the Barca star racked up with his brother over a failed construction project.

The brothers were fined for building illegally upon a protected area (something that Brazilians are particularly adept at) however the fine has remained unpaid.

Even mortgaging the property has proven insufficient since the high level of interest generated on their debt over four years vastly overshadows the mortgage earnings. It’s a sad and yet fairly common tale in South America where most countries have hyperinflation, rising interest rates, and political discord.

Except, Ronaldinho is hardly your average Brazilian. And, the authorities have noticed that the ex-soccer player’s lavish lifestyle does not represent his bank balance.

Ronaldinho Is Currently Traveling the World

The high profile player has traveled to China and Japan in the past couple of weeks for advertising contracts and has also been spotted in Europe and Africa at conferences and product shoots.

If that wasn’t enough to anger the Brazilian authorities further, shoemaker giant Nike has just launched a new series of sneakers in his name as a tribute to the popular player.

This, the judge notes should bring him a sizable income, more than enough to pay his hos debts several times over. According to UOL, the player is also scheduled to play in a friendly ‘Game of Champions,’ in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Brazilian judge has also ordered that his passport be seized. If he can find him that is.

Featured image from Goal.com.

If you’ve ever agreed to meet someone and ducked out at the last minute you probably felt pretty bad about it. And maybe the pang of guilt kept you up that night. It probably didn’t cost you a possible $45 million (£35 million) like Bahraini Royal family member Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali al-Khalifa.

Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali al-Khalifa Sued for Pulling Out of a Deal

It appears that the dozens of Bollywood stars who had mobilized to meet with the Sheikh where less-than-impressed by the Royal’s absence. They are accusing him of reneging on an exclusive agreement that he had with Egyptian businessman Ahmed Adel Abdallah Ahmed to meet the stars, spend time with them–and presumably, invest bucketloads of money into their movies.

Among the snubbed Bollywood A-listers are Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Deepika Padukone. However, the alleged meetings were meant to include 26 stars in total and the Sheikh had drawn up a list of those he wanted to meet.

The papers filed at London’s High Court of Justice by the infuriated businessman stated that the Bahraini royal had agreed to pay $1.5 million (£1.15 million) for each meeting and also foot the bill for any expenses incurred.

This is a deal that the Sheikh backed out of after having met with just four stars between January and March of 2016 and paying just $3 million (£2.3 million) for the pleasure.

Failed to Foot the Bill

Other charges against the currently unpopular royal include his broken promise of sponsoring the Times of India Film Awards, where his deep pockets would have come in extremely handy. And which would have given him the perfect opportunity to mix with the stars he wanted to meet. Neither the Sheikh nor the money appeared. Perhaps he was catching birds of prey with his children instead.

While Mr. Ahmed admitted to feeling betrayed, the Sheikh denied any legally binding agreement–which should be a reminder to us all that there’s no such thing as a handshake agreement.

In his defense statement to the court, Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali al-Khalifa said that he felt unfair pressure and that Mr. Ahmed was:

“making unwarranted demands for very large sums of money and seeking to arrange meetings which were not convenient.”

He maintained that he had been enthused by the chance to meet up with the Bollywood stars but that Mr. Ahmed had set the original price tag at just $50,000 (£38,000) per actor.

The Sheikh maintains that he originally held up his part of the bargain, paying through the nose to meet the first four actors. But after spending $3.4 million (£2.6 million) his didn’t wish to arrange any further meetings.

The Sheikh’s Legal Team Failed to Get the Case Thrown Out

The Sheikh and his legal team last year applied to the High Court requesting that the case be thrown out. He argued that he had no substantial connection with England and that:

“The pursuit of the claim in Bahrain would best serve the ends of justice.”

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Ahmed failed to agree, suspecting that he may not get a fair hearing on the Sheikh’s royal turf.

In what looks to be a case of he said/he said, it will be interesting to see how the hammer falls next week on the final hearing–and whether the Sheikh or the Egyptian businessman will be left out of pocket.

Featured image from India Legal.

Did you know that contrary to popular belief, 1990s pop-rapper Vanilla Ice isn’t broke? The word is on the streets, or should I say in the divorce courts, that the Ice Ice Baby star is still turning over $800,000 per annum and is worth around $9 million.

Contemporary rivals of Vanilla Ice such as MC Hammer are long broke and bankrupt, but the former flat-top wearer is still blinged-up to the max and doing quite well for himself.

Vanilla Ice Gets a Bad Rap

Vanilla Ice gets a bad rap (excuse the pun). People naturally assume that Ice, real name Rob Van Winkle, was some kind of fake middle-class suburban rapper that was used by the record industry because of his snow-like complexion and his appeal to the white American mainstream. Like the Elvis Presley of modern times, but without the hip-gyrations and talent. Not true on all accounts.

Rob was actually a street kid who grew up in Southern Texas, and also had some skills by all accounts. However, the lure of pop fame encouraged Ice to water down his sound in favor of a more palatable and marketable approach that saw the rapper sell more than 160 million units since in his career.

Rumors of Rob being broke or being dangled off a building by Death Row Records Suge Knight to sign over publishing rights might well be legendary music industry stories, but it seems that the former is definitely not true. The latter? Sounds about right!

Divorce Settlement Reveals Vanilla Ice’s Worth

It has recently come to the surface that Rob Van Winkle is doing pretty well. The details of his divorce settlement with former wife Laura Van Winkle were recently unearthed by the Daily Mail newspaper and hold some interesting facts in regards to Vanilla Ice’s financial situation.

Rob is still raking in a fortune even 30-years after first hitting the scene. An official affidavit revealed that Ice is still making $68,000 per month income and has liquid assets, which are mostly cash, of nearly $3 million.

The ‘Play That Funky Music White Boy’ white boy owns 15 properties, a boat and a load of other assets that total just over $5 million.

Although Ice is still wealthy, he can expect his funds to drop a couple of decimals as he is now ordered to pay his former wife $10,000 a month, plus a further $110,000 to make up for failed payments over the past 11 months.

Featured image by D Magazine.

Another day, another mid-term political rally–another blatant misuse of popular culture from the president and his team. This time around, the slip-up was using Rihanna’s music. The superstar singer took to Twitter in protest of the fact that her hit song “Don’t Stop the Music” was played at a Republican campaign rally on Sunday in Tenessee.

Rihanna was adverted to the fact that her music was being played by the White House bureau chief Philip Rucker, who said enthusiastically:

“Trump’s rallies are unlike anything else in politics. Currently, Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music is blaring in Chattanooga”… It’s like a ball game. Everyone’s loving it.”

To which she replied:

“Not for much longer… Me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip!”

Not for much longer…me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up philip! https://t.co/dRgRi06GrJ

— Rihanna (@rihanna) November 5, 2018

Rihanna’s Music Is Often Used in Politics

Rihanna’s music is often used during campaigns, and the singer is quick to speak out on social injustice. But the star draws the line at representing Trump and his brand of politics.

Earlier yesterday, Rihanna took to the social media platform Instagram to display her support for the Democratic party, and to endorse Andrew Gillum as Florida’s governor. She wrote:

“The US has only had four black Governors in its entire history, and we can help make #AndrewGillum the next one and Florida’s first!”

Rihanna is far from the first singer and star to reject Trump and the use of their work at his rallies. Pharrell Williams also objected to the president playing his hit song “Happy” at a rally in Murphysboro, Illinois–just hours after the deadly synagogue shooting in Pittsborough which killed eleven people.

Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler also sent a cease and desist letter to the White House after the administration used his “Livin’ on the Edge” song at a rally in West Virginia without permission.

And on Friday, HBO, the producer of hit TV series Game Of Thrones announced their dislike of the meme that caused a tweetstorm on Twitter using their branding to announce that “Sanctions Are Coming” to Iran.

Featured image from Twitter.