Madonna
Pop star Madonna has sold her home in Hidden Hills, California, for $23 million after more than a year on the market, earning a profit of about $4 million.
News of the property sale comes as the singer recovers from a bacterial infection that forced her into intensive care, postponing the July 15 start of her nearly sold-out Celebrations tour.
Madonna bought the three-acre Los Angeles property from Canadian R&B star The Weeknd in 2021, paying $19.3 million.
The singer first listed the nine-bedroom, 11-bathroom compound in April 2022 for $25.9 million. Amenities include a home theatre, five-car garage, gym, dance studio and spa that can accommodate 10 people.
The buyer was identified as South Korean billionaire Kim Hyoung-nyon, co-founder of Asian cryptocurrency exchange Dunamu, according to property website Dirt.
Madonna, 64, is one of the richest self-made women in the US. She has a net worth of $580 million, according to Forbes magazine, which puts her behind Rihanna and Taylor Swift, but ahead of Beyonce.
The singer is regarded as the best-selling female artist of all time. She has sold more than 300 million albums over a 40-year career, according to her label, Warner Music Group. Her 1990 double-album compilation, The Immaculate Collection, sold 30 million copies.
Separately, she has grossed more than $1.2 billion in tour revenue over her career, Forbes reports.
Madonna has a wide range of business interests. In 1992, she founded entertainment company Maverick together with Time Warner. It released books and music, including her children's book The English Roses. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music in 2004.
Madonna has collaborated extensively with fashion brands, including ventures with H&M and Dolce & Gabbana.
MG Icon, the company she established with her manager, Guy Oseary, and the Iconix Brand Group, launched two apparel and lifestyle brands, including Material Girl, a range of clothes for seven to 24 year olds.
Her skincare brand, MDNA Skin, was launched in Japan in 2014 and subsequently expanded to other international markets.
In 2007, she partnered with events company Live Nation, an agreement that included music, merchandise and touring.
In 2021, she returned to WMG in a deal to issue an extensive, multiyear series of 17 catalogue reissues, including personally curated deluxe editions of her landmark albums and special event-based releases.
Madonna has endorsed several brands over the past four decades, including Pepsi and Bored Ape non-fungible tokens.
The singer’s real estate portfolio is worth $80 million, according to wealth tracking website Celebrity Net Worth. She has owned marquee properties in New York City, Beverly Hills and London.
She also reportedly owns more than $100 million worth of art, including works by Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Damien Hirst, according to the online database Artnet.
Nelly
Rapper and singer Nelly has sold “select” recorded music assets to asset-management company HarbourView Equity Partners, the company said.
The news was first reported by TMZ. The Grammy winner, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr, has been paid $50 million for 50 per cent ownership over his entire catalogue, the website said, citing a source close to the rapper.
The deal valued the entire catalogue at $100 million.
Nelly’s oeuvre includes eight albums and several US No 1 singles, including Shake Ya Tailfeather, Dilemma, featuring Kelly Rowland, and Hot in Herre.
“As artists, we put our heart and soul into each track and there comes a time when you consider preservation of that artistry,” trade publication Variety quoted the rapper as saying.
“My music is my legacy, which I want to last beyond me, continuing to make my existing fans happy while reaching new generations and new audiences. I am excited to partner with HarbourView to create opportunities for discovery of my music decades from now.”
The agreement follows a spate of music catalogue acquisitions in recent years as, like Nelly, artists look to consolidate their legacy.
Artists who have sold rights to their work include Bob Dylan in a $300 million deal with Universal Music, Justin Bieber in a $200 million song rights agreement with Hipgnosis, and Tina Turner, who sold her music rights to BMG for $50 million.
HarbourView has previously signed catalogue acquisition agreements with artists such as rock band Incubus and country acts Brad Paisley and Lady A.
Nelly, 48, has a net worth of $70 million after the sale, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Outside music, he has launched two clothing lines: Vokal, a hip-hop fashion brand, and Apple Bottoms, a label of garments, perfumes and accessories for women.
Both have ceased production, although Nelly hinted at a comeback for Apple Bottoms in a 2020 social media post.
He has endorsed major brands, including Frito-Lay and the Ford Motor Company. In 2021, he was one of several celebrities to promote new menu items for Burger King.
But that is only the latest in a series of sponsorships and endorsements that came from a variety of companies, including Ford Motor Company and the Got Milk advertisement campaign.
The Dancing With The Stars contestant has owned homes in the cities of Eureka and St Louis, in Missouri.
Lucky Ali
Indian pop and playback singer Lucky Ali has joined a $1 million pre-series A funding round in content production and publishing platform Knocksense.
The round includes the participation of a number of Indian investors, including Nazara Technologies’ Nitish Mittersain and portfolio investors Mohit Satyanand and Alok Nath De, India’s BW Businessworld magazine reported.
Speaking about the Knocksense team, Ali said: “I am truly impressed by their innovative business model that merges hyperlocal commerce with pop culture. Knocksense is fostering an authentic community that connects the youth in smaller cities with greater opportunities through engaging content and commerce.”
Ali, 64, has a net worth of $6 million, according to Indian media.
His debut album, 1996’s Sunoh, sold more than 10 million copies, according to news website Rediff.com.
Felix Lengyel
Controversial streamer Felix Lengyel, better known by his Twitch username of xQc, last month signed a two-year contract worth $70 million with rival platform Kick.
With incentives, the deal could grow to $100 million, The New York Times reported, quoting his agent, Ryan Morrison.
“This is more than most professional athletes and megastars,” Mr Morrison said. “This is one of the highest deals in entertainment, period.”
By comparison, basketball superstar LeBron James signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for $97.1 million last summer.
Lengyel has 11.8 million followers on Twitch. His content – live streaming, engaging with fans and reality vlogs – attracts tens of thousands of viewers at any given time. In May, he averaged 51,959 concurrent viewers per stream.
Kick has increasingly signed popular streaming stars in recent weeks. Less than two days after Lengyel’s move, Amouranth, Twitch’s most-watched female streamer with 6.4 million followers, said she too would be joining Kick.
The company is reportedly offering creators 95 per cent of subscriber revenue. By comparison, Twitch has a 50/50 split for most creators, although that rises to 70 per cent for the most popular streamers.
Lengyel, 27, has a net worth estimated at $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. By contrast, Amouranth’s net worth is $25 million, Celebrity Net Worth estimates.
