Football star and entrepreneur David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham, the fashion designer, singer and businesswoman, have paid $72.3 million for a waterfront mansion in Miami Beach.
Beckham, the 49-year-old co-owner of the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, and his wife bought the 14,270 square foot, nine-bedroom estate at 4736 North Bay Road, real estate website The Real Deal reported.
The sale closed on October 14 and the property was on the market for $80 million. The home has nine bathrooms, four half-bathrooms, a gym, spa, home theatre, pool, an outdoor kitchen and lounge, along with 124 feet of water frontage, the website reported.
Other property owners on North Bay Road include billionaire media mogul Barry Diller, who is married to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, as well as Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber.
In 2020, the Beckhams bought a $24 million Miami penthouse in a Zaha Hadid-designed tower to call their home while living the US.
The Beckhams are estimated to have a combined net worth of $450 million, according to wealth tracking website Celebrity Net Worth.
Football earnings have provided the lion’s share of those assets, but the couple also have several businesses and endorsement deals, which include ownership stakes in football clubs, such as Salford City in the English Football League.
In 2019, Beckham co-founded Studio 99, a production and content studio focused on unscripted films and advertising content for global brands. In 2020, he was announced as the co-owner of British professional e-sports company Guild Esports.
His brand endorsements include adidas, EA and Diageo.
In 2002, the couple were reported to have bought a villa in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah for $1.6 million, which they reportedly gave to Victoria's parents. In 2009, they purchased a property in Burj Khalifa for about $5 million, Celebrity Net Worth said.
They also own a $4 million home in the South of France as well as a mansion in West London's Holland Park neighbourhood that they bought for $41 million in 2013.
Taylor Swift
After becoming a billionaire last year thanks to her record-breaking Eras concert tour, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has now surpassed Rihanna to become the world’s richest female musician with a net worth estimated at $1.6 billion, business magazine Forbes reported.
Last October, Swift became a member of the exclusive billionaire club with a net worth of $1.1 billion, boosted by her earnings from the Eras tour and the value of her music catalogue.
However, the 12-time Grammy winner could earn as much as $4.1 billion from the tour, according to estimates based on her share of 85 per cent of all revenue generated, The Washington Post reported.
The 152-date Eras tour across five continents has already shattered several records and sparked ticket frenzies. It is expected to be the highest-grossing concert tour of all time when it ends in December.
By then, the US leg of the tour could add $5.7 billion to the country’s economy, software company Question Pro said last August.
Swift is one of the few entertainers to reach billionaire status based on her music and performances only, according to Bloomberg.
Among Swift’s estimated assets are $600 million from touring and royalties, as well as $600 million from her catalogue.
She also makes millions of dollars every year from endorsements with companies such as Capital One, Diet Coke, AT&T and CoverGirl, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The Forbes ranking puts her ahead of fellow female icons such as Dolly Parton ($450 million), Barbra Streisand ($460 million), Celine Dion ($550 million), Beyonce ($760 million), Madonna ($850 million) and Rihanna ($1.4 billion).
Swift, 34, ranks No. 2 on the list of richest musicians, trailing Jay-Z, whose personal fortune is estimated to be about $2.5 billion.
As one of the world’s richest self-made women, the Shake it Off singer has primarily earned her fortune from her successful music career, which she began at the age of 16 with her self-titled debut album.
Since then, her 11 studio albums have sold millions of copies, both physical and digital, according to Investopedia.
Swift also invests in real estate to build her wealth. With eight homes, her property portfolio is worth about $150 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
She has four homes in New York City, a seven-bedroom home in Massachusetts, properties in Nashville, Tennessee, and an estate in Beverly Hills, California.
Emma Watson
Harry Potter actress and model Emma Watson has invested in UK-based women’s health company Hertility, bringing its total funding to more than $14 million, according to online news platform TechCrunch.
The investment amount was not disclosed.
Watson, 34, is known for supporting women-led initiatives. She is a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and helped launch the HeForShe campaign, which promotes gender equality.
Helen O’Neill, the chief executive and co-founder of Hertility, said she met Watson through one of her investors who felt the actress’s stance on women’s rights would make her a natural fit as an investor.
“Hertility was founded by women and focuses on women’s health – an area that historically hasn’t received enough attention or funding,” Ms O’Neill told TechCrunch. “By investing in a female-founded company that aims to revolutionise women’s health care, Watson contributes to empowering women in both business and health.”
Hertility seeks to provide more personalised testing and services, including diagnostic testing, egg freezing and telemedicine, to women through their reproductive journeys.
The company, which launched in 2019, counts venture capital firms LocalGlobe and the Sequoia Scout Fund among its investors.
By investing in a female-founded company that aims to revolutionise women’s health care, [Emma] Watson contributes to empowering women in both business and health
Helen O’Neill,
chief executive and co-founder, Hertility
The start-up’s last official funding round was community-led and raised about $7.5 million, TechCrunch reported.
Watson is estimated to have a personal fortune of $85 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
She rose to fame at a young age thanks to her role as Hermione Granger in the eight popular fantasy films based on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels.
Outside of acting salaries, Watson has earned millions from endorsements with companies such as Calvin Klein, Lancome, Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry.
She earned $70 million in salary from the Harry Potter franchise and receives between $5 million to $10 million per year from endorsements, Celebrity Net Worth reported.
Watson earned about $15 million for her work in Beauty and the Beast, with performance bonuses.
In 2020, Watson joined luxury brand Kering's board of directors to advocate sustainable fashion.
In 2018, she donated £1 million ($1.3 million) to kick-start the UK justice and equality fund to help women facing harassment and abuse at work.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets