Forbes List-Highest Paid Celebrities 2015 Goes Global

When Forbes listed the 100 Highest Paid Celebrities 2015, the list is not business as usual. The list still measures money earned in one year, before management fees and taxes are subtracted, but the 2015 list includes candidates from all corners of the globe. The variety on the 2015 list is interesting, from Beyonce (#29 at 54.5 million), Jackie Chan (#38 at $50 million), Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova (#88 at $29.5), to Canadian rapper Drake (#54 at 39.5 million). Thirty-two list members are from outside the U. S. and 15 are from the U.K., including Gordon Ramsey,”the chef who ate the world”, (#21 at $60 million) and singer-songwriter-musician Ed Sheeran (#27 at $57 million). Take a look at the top ten:

1.      Floyd Mayweather $300 million

2.      Manny Pacquiao     $160 million

3.      Katy Perry               $135 million

4.      One Direction          $130 million

5.      Howard Stern          $95 million

6.      Garth Brooks           $90 million

7.      James Patterson       $89 million

8.      Robert Downey Jr.   $80 million

9.      Taylor Swift             $80 million

10.  Cristiano Ronaldo     $79.5 million

 

Katy Perry is part of the burgeoning batch of stars cashing in on an increasingly global entertainment landscape. She used her Super Bowl Globe to showcase her talents to audiences abroad. As part of her Prismatic World Tour, she played 124 shows during our scoring period; 75 of them took place abroad, in 27 different countries. According to her managers, 60% of her income now pours in from foreign markets.

Believe it or not, the Gender Gap applies to both the celebrities on this list as it does to the wider society. Only 16 of the world’s highest paid celebrities are women, including Perry and Taylor Swift among the top 10 list members. Women on the list made a combined total of $809 million dollars, while men made $4.35 billion. The UN estimates it will take 70 years to close the gender gap at the current rate.

One Direction takes the No. 4 spot for similar reasons: The world’s biggest boy band played 74 dates over the past 12 months, averaging seven-figure grosses at every stop, hitting every continent besides Antarctica. Thanks to a strong touring drive—and profound changes in the concert business, spurred by the rise of the global middle class—the group earned more than twice as much as the Rolling Stones.

 

Hollywood is benefiting from this sort of trend as well. Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $240 million in China, whose monthly box office surpassed the U.S. for the first time this past February. Robert Downey, Jr. (No. 8) earned double-digit millions for playing Iron Man in that film en route to a career-high $80 million payday, tying him with Taylor Swift, whose best-selling album 1989 moved 3.7 million units in 2014.

 

 

Taylor Swift won wide acclaim for slaying a giant. The singer wrote an open letter to Apple Music saying "please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation". Apple bowed and Senior Vice President Eddy Cue tweeted "we hear you @taylorswift13", indicating that Apple Music would pay artists for streaming even during the customer's free trial period. How that for flexing your muscles.

 

Meanwhile, Vin Diesel (No. 43) banked $47 million thanks to a back-end cut on Furious 7, which brought in $1.5 billion worldwide. More than $1 billion of that sum came from abroad, including roughly $400 million in China, where it’s the highest-grossing film of all-time.

 The entertainment market is global and savvy entertainers are finding ways to tap into new sources of wealth.

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Using the "N" Word: Is It Ever O.K.?

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has come under attack for using the N-word when referring to a photo of two of her African American friends Jay-Z and Beyonce.

People are confused about the etiquette of using the "N" word.

The author of the article gave this advice: There's one simple rule. If you are not African American there is no instance for using the word that is not going to be taken offensively."

I'd love to hear your comments.

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Beyonce Charged With NIP-Shame, Shame

Beyonce and Baby Blue Ivy-

Mega star Beyonce is in the middle of yet another controversy, recently charged with NIP, nursing in public. Yes, everything is a media event nowadays and many nursing mothers, including Beyonce find that some people object to breast feeding in public. The new mother and her seven week old daughter Blue Ivy were spotted at a restaurant and, heaven forbid, the star was breastfeeding at the table. Some folks believe that mothers should hid this "shameful" practice, leaving the table and hiding out in the Ladies' Room to perform this dastardly deed.

As the mother of three, I am proud of the fact that I breastfed each of my children.  I don't remember leaving the table or hiding out, even though it's been years since my kids were of nursing age. I was completely oblivious to complaints or disapproval.  All I knew was that breastfeeding was good for babies and I committed myself to doing it as long as possible.

Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka and Jeanine Valrie, the co-founders and editors of FreetoBreastfeed.com, probably are ecstatic that a woman as famous as Beyonce will lend support for their efforts to encourage new African American mothers to do the same.

It's time for us to push aside any Puritanical attitudes and get over these outdated taboos. Right on Beyonce.  You do you, Boo!

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People Get a Life-Stop Hating on Beyonce and Jay Z

You'd think that fans of Beyonce and/or jay Z would be happy about the birth of daughter Blue Ivy Carter.  Other who are not fans could and should be about other business that interests them. But, not so in today's world of hate, stupidity and malicious behavior.

If you thought it was just politicians who were ignorant with their "Birthier Theory" and "he's a Muslim" rhetoric about President Obama", or even that "George W. Bush was involved in the September 11th tragedy", you were sadly mistaken. Folks are going out of their way to create outrageous stories about the happy couple as they celebrate their daughter's birth.

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On The Record: Idris Elba

British actor Idris Elba made his initial mark playing gangster Stringer Bell in “The Wire”, acclaimed as one of the best police shows America has ever produced. Elba loved portraying the cold-blooded character, but was glad to see him come to a bad end.

Idris was born in East London to African parents. His father was from Sierra Leone and his mother from Ghana. At the age of 14, he worked with his uncle, a DJ who played music at Sierra Leonean weddings and christenings. By 15, he was a DJ in his own right. In his early twenties he started trying out for parts on British television. After playing several supporting characters, he got a steady part on “Family Affairs” in 1997.

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