Category: Famous People & Their Money

Gone are the times when actors were only interested in making movies, and Indian celebrities are no exception. Bollywood stars that invest in startups are common, with over 20 mega-stars investing in startups and backing million-dollar projects with their money and fame.

Here are 10 of the most successful Indian startups and the actors who helped to make them to market.

1. Ziddu and Amitabh Bachchan

In 2015, the Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his son invested $250,000 in Meridian Tech Pte Ltd, a company based in Singapore. The startup owned Ziddu, which was described as a platform that provided free cloud storage, social commerce, and social gaming, among other services.

In less than three years and after two acquisitions, Bachchan’s investment has grown more than 70 times, thanks to Ziddu.com starting to use blockchain technology to improve its services and develop new products.

The platform’s worth continued to grow, together with investors’ increasing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

However, the market wasn’t stable for too long, and the actor saw his $100 million-worth investment wiped out soon after the peak, although the stock in his portfolio is still worth almost $40 million.

2. Furlenco and Aamir Khan

The online furniture rental platform Furlenco received $300,000 from Aamir Khan, in December 2017. The actor, who had previously had an endorsement agreement with the e-commerce store Snapdeal, got non-convertible debentures from this deal–which means he can’t convert the bonds into company equity or stock.

Furlenco, based in Bengaluru, is owned by Kieraya Furnishing Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The company has more than 4,000 monthly consumers that purchase furniture rental subscriptions.

In 2015, the startup raised $6 million from Lightbox Ventures in a Series A round. One year later, the company raised other $30 million.

Despite his consistent investment, Khan hasn’t signed a contract as brand ambassador for Furlenco.

3. Stylecracker and Alia Bhatt

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt became an investor at the end of 2017 when she bought stock in the fashion-tech startup StyleCracker. The amount invested hasn’t been disclosed, according to The Economic Times.

Dhiman Shah and Archana Walavalkar founded StyleCracker in 2013, as the first online personal styling platform. The concept behind the startup is bringing platform users closer to their favorite designers.

StyleCracker reunites over 100,000 users with more than 200 brands. It also provides access to fashion catalogs and tips on how to manage your wardrobe.

The fashion startup has raised $1 million in seed funding.

4. CureFit and Hrithik Roshan

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan invested $878,200 in CureFit, for which he is also a brand ambassador. The value of the endorsement contract is estimated at $14.6 million.

Founded in 2016 by Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, CureFit is a startup that provides fitness and health products divided into four categories–gyms (called Cult.Fit), yoga and meditation centers (Mind.Fit), food (Eat.Fit), and primary care (Care.fit).

This summer, the company has raised $120 million in a series C round of funding. The leading investors were Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures, and Accel Partners.

5. Rakyan Beverages and Jacqueline Fernandez

Jacqueline Fernandez is no stranger to startups, making a deal with the startup Rakyan Beverages. The company that makes juices under the Raw Pressery brand captured public attention when it raised close to $4.5 million in series B funding from investors like DSG Consumer Partners, Saama Capital Management, and Sequoia Capital.

Jacqueline invested the equivalent of $480,000 and became the first Indian celebrity to finance a part of a consumer products firm. Thanks to her increasing popularity (the actress has 22.6 million followers on Instagram), the company believes that the association will help drive sales for good.

6. Ketto and Kunal Kapoor

Kunal Kapoor is a co-founder at Ketto, a crowdfunding startup that supports social causes. The actor initiated the project in 2012, together with his business partners Varun Sheth and Zaheer Adenwala. According to the company’s website, Ketto has raised over $40 million from 2.5 million supporters for 80,000 fundraisers.

In 2015, Ketto Online Ventures Pvt Ltd, the company that owns the Ketto platform, raised $700,000 in an angel round from investors like Indus Age Ventures, Anthill Ventures, India Internet Fund, and Ah Ventures.

7. Holberton School and Priyanka Chopra

After being successful in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra started her investor career with the tech startup Holberton School. It’s a coding education company that trains people to become software engineers with no upfront payment.

Chopra’s investment is part of an $8.2 million round of funding that closed in April 2018. Through her undisclosed investment, the actress wants to contribute to minimizing the tech industry’s gender disparity.

She’s also decided to build herself a substantial portfolio by investing in multiple companies. Last month, she announced her collaboration with Bumble, a tech startup that wants to launch a localized version of its dating and social media app in India.

8. Flickbay and Farhan Akhtar

Actor and movie director Farhan Akhtar backs the Indian startup Flickbay. It’s Bollywood’s official app, which allows its users to personalize content, from news and trailers to songs and box office collections. Other famous actors that support Flickbay are Anil Kapoor, Sayani Gupta, Anushka Sharma, Ritesh Sidhwani, and Sidharth Malhotra.

The app aims to gather data about the way its users consume content and deliver it to movie-makers, who can use the information to make educated decisions.

Flickbay was founded in 2015 by Trishant Sidhwani and Vishal Ramachandran. One year later, the startup raised $890,000 in seed funding.

9. What’s Up Life and Rannvijay Singh

Rannvijay Singh is a brand ambassador and investor for What’s Up Life (WUL), a local lifestyle app that can help users to find events, parties, and places for dining-out, among other things.

The app is currently available in Gurugram, New Delhi, Kolkata, Noida, and Hyderabad. With Rannvijay Singh’s help, founder Gaurav Luthra hopes to expand his business to other five cities, including Mumbai and Bengaluru.

WUL isn’t the first startup that captured Singh’s attention. The actor had invested in two other apps, one that allows car and bike pooling, called Liftiee, and the fashion app IStyleYou.

10. Innsaei Ventures and Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput is another Bollywood star that wants to expand his activities outside the movie industry. Thanks to his passion for technology, he founded Innsaei Ventures, a company that performs in fields like education and healthcare using emerging technologies.

Rajput is a co-founder of the startup, together with partner Varun Mathur. The actor invested more than $400 million in Innsaei, for projects that include augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing.

10 Bollywood Stars That Invest in Startups

The digital evolution has conquered Bollywood. Even if a few years ago actors were tempted to invest in real estate or e-commerce, the trend today is investing in tech startups.

Most Bollywood superstars that decide to become investors prefer technology-driven business to traditional companies. They also become brand ambassadors and promote these apps or platforms through social media to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In most cases, it’s worth more than all the millions they paid during the fundraising series.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Is being paid $50 million to “go away” embarrassing or a damn fine paycheck? It depends who you are. World-famous pop songstress Mariah Carey was paid the “inconvenience fee” by ex-fiancé James Packer when the couple separated in 2016.

Mariah Carey is a multiple Grammy Award winner and had 18 number-1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in her illustrious singing career. And although she is good at choosing a magical melody, she doesn’t seem so great at choosing a man. Or does she?

Golden Handshake for Mariah Carey

The revelation that Mariah Carey was paid $50 million as an ‘inconvenience fee’ to go away has come to light in her ex-fiancé’s new book, The Price of Fortune: The Untold Story of Being James Packer.

The Australian billionaire investor has a net worth of $3.6 billion and he wasn’t shy in relinquishing $50 million to get Mariah out of the picture.

Carey and Packer were together for approximately 18-months, which is quite a long time for a Hollywood relationship. The 51-year-old Packer called off their engagement in 2016 and amidst the breakup. Packer has confirmed he became very toxic at this time. According to the book, he paid Carey a cold $50 million as an inconvenience fee for breaking up with her.

Relationship Ended Due to Depression

Packer proposed to Carey in January 2016 and gave her a stunning 35-carat diamond ring that was worth $10 million. However, within a month Packing was having issues and was in his own words “struggling” and “in a bad, bad way” with depression and mental illness. It dramatically affected his relationship with Carey and he called off their engagement just a month later.

In a way, the news from the book shed Mariah in a good light. At the time, the entertainment media thought the famous songstress was to blame for the split, but they couldn’t have been further from the truth. Rumors were rife that Carey’s spending habits were affecting her relationship with the billionaire investor, but it was all bluster.

Mariah might not be so fortunate with men, but in terms of money, she has done well. The inconvenience fee is not the first time Mariah has been given a lump sum to get out of the picture.

Back in 2001, she signed a new 5-year record deal with Virgin Records worth $100 million. She was given a signing fee upfront of $21 million. She only went on to make one album on that deal and was paid a further $28 million by Virgin to eventually get her off the label.

In essence, Mariah Carey was paid $49 million for one album that only sold 3 million copies. That’s nearly as impressive as $50 million for an 18-month relationship. Good for you Mariah!

Featured image from Biography.

Trouble and Elon Musk seem to make good bedfellows. While the controversial SpaceX and Tesla CEO gets trigger-happy launching rockets, it seems he can’t keep his hands off his Twitter account either.

Without the constant mix of jibes and adoration from his social following, life for Musk would be incomplete.

On Friday, he took to the social media platform to bemoan the engagement levels of Twitter compared to Instagram. He said that 10% of followers like even the lamest of posts on Instagram compared with just 1% on Twitter.

When asked by one of his cheeky Twitter followers what the like ratio was on the tweet that cost him a $20-million fine from the SEC, the outspoken billionaire simply responded:

“Worth it”

 

Worth it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2018

In true Elon Musk style, he provoked a veritable tweetstorm of comments, varying from adoring fans calling Elon the King, and saying it was the “best response ever,” to others accusing him of being overly flippant with his money and with the money of Tesla investors.

 

Elon, you are the👑👑👑👑 pic.twitter.com/0ChM4L4Dch

— Simha Degani (@DeganiSimha) October 27, 2018

 

I’m sure all potential Tesla investors will find it very gratifying to know there’s a guy up top with the confidence not to give a crap about pissing away their capital

— Russell Moxham (@RussellMoxham) October 29, 2018

To be sure, if most people had $20 million to spend they’d probably buy a car, a luxury home, or drinking water for a village in the developing world. It’s doubtful that they would spend it on a tweet. But then again, they probably wouldn’t be looking for life on Mars either.

Featured image: The Independent. 

Love him or hate him (or just listen to his music in secret), you have to admit, 24-year-old Justin Bieber has done pretty well for himself. With a net worth hovering around $225 million, he’s certainly stored up a nice nest egg if he wants to retire early and live off the royalties from his tunes.

And that’s exactly what he’s doing if sources speaking to People magazine are to be believed. Apparently, the love-struck singer who tied the knot last month to model Hailey Baldwin is dedicating all his time to his marriage instead of his career. What could possibly go wrong with that?

Justin Bieber Got Married Against Many People’s Advice

When you’re young, handsome, and stinking rich, you can pretty much do anything you want. And if that means disappointing fans and staying in to binge-watch Netflix with your supermodel wife, so much the better. His manager’s probably not over the moon, though. And neither, it seems, is his newlywed bride.

People magazine reported that a source close to the Canadian millionaire said that Hailey was ready to go back to work but Justin wanted to enjoy married bliss a little longer… Except that they’re already fighting about it. The source said:

“They are not on the same page when it comes to work.”

As the new face of Tommy Hilfiger, wife Hailey at 21 is understandably ambitious and not ready to become a housewife just yet. She was also recently named Adidas and JD’s Style Creator and worked with a 90s-inspired fashion show last month in London.

So while the singer procrastinates over his music and enjoys some time out, his entourage will have to wait. Maybe for a long time.

A Well-Deserved Break

Starting out as a teenage sensation, Bieber has been producing hit records since 2009, racking up more than 200 awards, appearing in a bunch of movies, and recording several albums, as well as being constantly on tour during a time when most teenagers and young adults are either studying for college or pretending to be studying for college.

It seems that Justin had a lot of responsibility to deal with for a long time. And well, if you had $225 million in the bank, a hot model for a wife, and a subscription to Netflix maybe you’d retire at 24 too.

Featured image by Wikipedia.

Can you lose $1.6 million for using an iPhone during a television interview? The answer is yes if you’re a Samsung ambassador.

According to the Mirror, Ksenia Sobchak, Russian TV star, politician, and Samsung ambassador could lose £1.25 million ($1.6 million) for using an iPhone on TV, while having a contract that requires her to appear in public with a Samsung smartphone.

Images from the interview have already gone viral. Sobchack covers her smartphone while using it and, when placing it on the table, she tries to hide the iPhone behind a piece of paper. But internet users noticed that the smartphone wasn’t a Samsung and the incident generated viral discussions on social media.

According to journalists, this wasn’t the first time the reality show TV host had used her iPhone in public. She was repeatedly seen using it both on television and during social events. Samsung and Sobchak have yet to comment on the news.

Ksenia Sobchak is Believed to Be Putin’s Goddaughter

The connections between Ksenia Sobchak and Vladimir Putin are no secret to the Russian media. Sobchak’s father is Anatoly Sobchak, the Russian president’s mentor and the first elected mayor of St. Petersburg.

Journalists and the general public have long speculated that Ksenia Sobchak is Putin’s goddaughter. The woman, also known as the “Russian Paris Hilton,” has built herself a career in politics, even posing as Putin’s opponent. In 2018, she ran for president against Vladimir Putin but racked up just 1.5% of votes.

The two families, Sobchak and Putin, are known to have an excellent relationship, however, and the media speculated that the candidacy was intended to split the opposition.

Samsung Has a Long History of Unhealthy Endorsement Deals

Ksenia Sobchak isn’t the first Samsung brand ambassador to break the rules and use an iPhone instead of an Android smartphone.

In 2013, tennis player David Ferrer endorsed the Galaxy S4 on Twitter using an iPhone 5. Fans saw the message:

“Configuring S Health on my new #GalaxyS4 to help with training @SamsungMobile” published via “Twitter for iPhone.”

Other borderline endorsement deals included celebrities like Adam Levine, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jay Z.

In most cases, the stars have promoted the Samsung smartphones during social events, despite being known as traditional iPhone owners.

In 2014, Adam Levine promoted Milk Music at a Samsung event in New York City. A few days later, fans noticed the singer was again tweeting from an iPhone.

Featured image by Wikipedia.

Music Producer DJ Khaled is a millionaire in his own right, and with so much luxury at his disposal, you’d hardly think he needed to start buying lottery tickets. But the controversial producer has been trending of late after he reportedly purchased a stack of lottery tickets for the $1.6 billion prize at stake.

Fans went for his jugular on social media platforms, and the reason is not far-fetched. Why are the rich always keen on getting richer when there are so many people in need?

42-year old Khaled is worth well over $20 million and surely wants to climb higher on the wealth ladder. Joining the billionaire’s league isn’t a bad idea after all.

The Mega Millions lottery comes with a jackpot of a staggering $1.6 billion, the biggest lotto payout since 1776 when the US got its independence.

DJ Khaled Called Out for Being Greedy

Are fans fair for labeling him a greedy freak? His lifestyle might have painted him in that light. It is typical of celebrities to brand themselves as ‘exceptions’ in the way and manner they live.

In one of the videos which he posted on his Instagram handle, Khaled, while at a convenience store in Florida bragged about spending a “whole bag” on as many lottery tickets as he could afford.

His jauntiness was quite imposing in the video as he was so preoccupied with the sign that read the $1.6 billion prize boasting:

“I’m gonna get me mine!”

His exuberance got on the nerves of those who queued behind him as they impatiently gestured at the cashier for spending so much time in printing the tons of tickets purchased by Khaled.

The permutation on each ticket provided as many as ten numbers, and his stack was simply massive. Extravagance is no big deal for someone of his clout so it wouldn’t have mattered even if he purchased thousands of tickets. His tickets were nevertheless so many that he had to get black jumbo binder clip to hold them together.

While some fans couldn’t help but call him greedy for wanting to amass more wealth at the expense of others, a few others would rather rue the capitalist system where the wealth has never been evenly spread.

The potshots came from different directions, but virtually all of them had the undertone of describing him as being greedy.

The Mega Millions is open to all Americans, but many feel that individuals of Khaled’s wealth should be ruled out of the game.

Featured image by Wikipedia.

Former boxer Floyd Mayweather might be retired, but ‘Money’ is making the news more often than when he was an active fighter. The retired pugilist has just purchased a breathtaking Las Vegas mansion for a whopping $10 million.

Over the past couple of days, Mayweather has been making the news in more ways than one. He has allegedly become embroiled in a lawsuit in regards to supposedly promoting what is now being reported as a cryptocurrency scam. How does Floyd respond to the bad news? He buys a $10-million house. That’s how he rolls!

Luxury 16,357 Square-Foot Las Vegas Mansion

Floyd might not be making the same cash as when in the fight game, be he’s still living big-willy style. The 42-year-old Grand Rapids native has just purchased a luxury 16,357 Las Vegas mansion on a private compound.

Floyd Mayweather has lived in Las Vegas for the main part of the last decade, which is where he fought the last several fights of his career.

The mansion comes equipped with a pool house, a small vineyard, two guesthouses, and an underground garage, as reported by the listing broker Kamran Zand.

Floyd Mayweather Comes in Second Place

Apparently, the sale was made on Monday, and although his new pad isn’t the biggest or most expensive in Vegas, it’s still pretty impressive.

Another 12,945-square-foot mansion sold earlier this year in Las Vegas for a reported $13 million, which beats Floyd’s purchase into second place in 2018. We all know that ‘Money’ doesn’t like to come second to anyone. And he didn’t throughout his meteoric career.

The 50-0 former boxer has a net worth of $285 million according to Forbes. Although his last fight was against Connor McGregor in August 2017, rumors have been rife that the star might make a comeback soon against former foe Manny Pacquaio.

Former middleweight boxing kingpin ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler once said that it is difficult to get out of bed for training every morning when you’re wearing silk pajamas.

No one is quite sure at this time if Floyd is serious or just flexing after the announcement that another former foe, Mexican golden boy Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, has scooped a $365-million megabucks TV deal with the streaming service DAZN.

Featured image from Wikipedia.

Chad Kelly, a quarterback of National Football League’s (NFL) Denver Broncos, was arrested on Tuesday morning after he broke into someone’s house while wearing a cowboy suit.

It all started with Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller’s cowboy-themed Halloween party on Monday at the Gothic Theatre. According to the arrest affidavit, Kelly left the party and stopped in front of a house located in South Lincoln Street at 1:17 am.

The call to 911 explained that one of the occupants was sitting with her child when Kelly came into the house. He simply sat down on the couch beside her and started “mumbling incoherently.”

The second occupant then entered the living room, hit Kelly with an aluminum vacuum tube and chased him out of the house. The police were then showed the security footage of the incident where they were able to identify Kelly, who was wearing a brown vest on top of a long-sleeved white shirt, dark pants, and a red scarf around his neck.

He was later found sitting outside the Gothic Theatre in a black SUV. Kelly was taken to the Englewood Police Department, charged with first-degree criminal trespassing and sent to the Arapahoe County Jail.

Although Kelly is no longer in custody, he is scheduled to appear at the Arapahoe County Justice Center today. He also posted a $2,500 bond, however, the Colorado law states that he could face up to four years in prison.

Cocaine, not Cowboy-Themed Party

Miller was criticized on social media for throwing a “cocaine themed party.” 9News reporter for Denver Broncos, Mike Klis, called out TMZ for spreading false information. He added that Miller forces everyone who plans on driving to wear a yellow wristband so that they’re not allowed to drink alcohol. Other sources also confirmed that Kelly was not tested for drugs.

The Denver Broncos also released a statement expressing their disappointment in Kelly’s behavior. They added that the team is currently contacting him and obtaining more information regarding the situation.

Kelly, who was named Mr. Irrelevant in 2017, after a lackluster season, was previously arrested for getting into a fight outside a nightclub in 2014. He also resisted his arrest and said that he would come back with an AK-47 and ‘spray this place‘. While criminal charges against him were dropped, he was forced to complete 50 hours of community service.

Last year, the 24-year-old quarterback signed a four-year contract worth $2 million with Denver Broncos. His average annual salary is $616,068, with a signing bonus of $64,270.

Featured image by Pro Football Rumors.

Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather and the New York rap producer DJ Khaled are allegedly being sued for promoting the $25 million Centara Tech cryptocurrency scam.

No one epitomizes the ‘money first’ ethos of the modern world quite like Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. It seems that the pugilist’s love for anything spendable might have gotten him in deep water this time as news of a lawsuit is rife across the internet.

TMZ Reports Floyd and Khaled Crypto Scam Lawsuit

The popular entertainment news site, TMZ has reported that both Mayweather and DJ Khaled have both been caught up in a lawsuit pertaining to their promotion of the alleged $25 million Centara cryptocurrency scam on their social media accounts.

Although these two leading figures in the African-American community are not directly involved in perpetrating the scam, the TMZ report alleges that both Khaled and Mayweather are being sued for promoting Centara’s CTR token.

In the report from TMZ, it detailed that investors in the cryptocurrency scam are looking to get some of their money back and also looking for damages from both Centara Tech and Khaled and Mayweather. And although the news is still sketchy on the subject, it has yet to be confirmed whether the lawsuit is part of the original class action filed in June against Centara Tech or if this is a new development.

Promoting Cryptocurrency Scam on Social Media

The three founding members of Centara Tech’s CTR token were initially arrested earlier this year as a magistrate released a report that claimed that the CTR token was violating SEC cryptocurrency regulations. They are currently being held for defrauding investors to the tune of $25 million and face a combined total of 65 years behind bars.

The co-founding trio allegedly made lots of false claims in regards to its relationships with major financial institutions and also partnerships with Visa and MasterCard.

The claims against Mayweather and Khaled relate to the pair using their social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to promote the CTR token ICO in its pre-launch phase.

DJ Khaled was seen promoting the CTR token on his Instagram and Twitter in September that said:

I just received my titanium centra debit card. The Centra Card & Centra Wallet app is the… https://t.co/iIbQwQCwD1

— DJ KHALED (@djkhaled) September 27, 2017

Mayweather has also allegedly promoted the cryptocurrency scam on his Instagram account that called for potential investors to “join Centara’s ICO on Sept. 19th”. He was also reported as using his Twitter account to promote CTR:

Centra's (CTR) ICO starts in a few hours. Get yours before they sell out, I got mine https://t.co/nSiCaZ274l pic.twitter.com/dB6wV0EROJ

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) September 18, 2017

The TMZ article has said that Mayweather and Khaled are now being sued by former CTR token investors, but at the time of writing, we haven’t had an official statement from the pair to clear up the situation.