The biggest celebrity money moments of 2020

By Wonderwall.com Editors 5:58am PST, Dec 17, 2020

Stars are constantly making major money moves — and as we've proven time and again, they're truly nothing like us when it comes to their paychecks, lavish lifestyles, outrageous spending habits and deep generosity! Join Wonderwall.com as we round up the biggest celebrity money moments of 2020… Forbes might have stripped Kylie Jenner of her "billionaire" status in a scathing April report, but the business and money magazine bestowed a new title on the reality star-turned-beauty mogul in December: the world's highest paid celebrity of 2020. Forbes' financial experts determined that Kylie brought home $590 million this year after making a deal to sell a 51% stake in her Kylie Cosmetics brand to Coty Inc. in January. The No. 2 spot went to her brother-in-law Kanye West, who earned $170 million, most of which came from his Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas, according to Forbes. Rounding out the top 10? Several global sports stars raked in huge amounts with tennis great Roger Federer earning $106.3 million (No. 3) and soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 4 with $105 million), Lionel Messi (No. 5 with $104 million), Neymar (No. 7 with $95.5 million) following, and basketball god LeBron James earning $88.2 million (No. 9). Hollywood's other entries? Tyler Perry was No. 6 ( $97M), Howard Stern was No. 7 ($90M) and Dwayne Johnson was No. 10 ($87.5M). Keep reading for more headline-making celebrity money stories of 2020…

George Clooney finally confirms and explains his wild $14M generosity with his core group of friends

George Clooney finally publicly confirmed a story told by pal Rande Gerber a few years earlier about how the Oscar-winning movie star and director is so generous, he in 2013 gave 14 friends suitcases filled with $1 million — taxes already paid — to thank them for supporting him in myriad ways over the decades. In a story in GQ's 2020 Men of the Year issue, which hit the internet on Nov. 17, George copped to it and explained why he did it: "I just thought basically if I get hit by a bus, they're all in the will. So why the f*** am I waiting to get hit by a bus?" At the time, George was a single man and getting older and didn't expect to start a family (he's now married with twins). "And I thought, what I do have are these guys who've all, over a period of 35 years, helped me in one way or another. I've slept on their couches when I was broke. They loaned me money when I was broke. They helped me when I needed help over the years. And I've helped them over the years. … And I thought, you know, without them I don't have any of this."

Sienna Miller reveals Chadwick Boseman gave her part of his "21 Bridges" salary so she'd be paid fairly

In the August issue of Empire, which was dedicated to the Chadwick Boseman's life and career, his "21 Bridges" co-star Sienna Miller revealed a moving story about the actor, who died from cancer in August. "He produced '21 Bridges,' and had been really active in trying to get me to do it," she told journalist Alex Godfrey. "He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold. So he approached me to do it, he offered me this film, and it was at a time when I really didn't want to work anymore. I'd been working non-stop and I was exhausted, but then I wanted to work with him." Sienna also revealed that she was having a difficult time negotiating the terms of her contract, especially when it came to discussing her salary. She said Chadwick got involved and gave her some of his own salary so she'd be able to get the amount she asked for. "That kind of thing just doesn't happen," Sienna said. "He said, 'You're getting paid what you deserve, and what you're worth.' It's just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully. In the aftermath of this I've told other male actor friends of mine that story and they all go very, very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while. But there was no showiness, it was, 'Of course I'll get you to that number, because that's what you should be paid.'"

RELATED: Stars we lost in 2020

"The Office" star kills it on Cameo

"The Office" star Brian Baumgartner — who played accountant Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom that wrapped in 2013 but has found new fans in the streaming world — is hitting a milestone money moment in 2020, but it's not for his acting. On the Dec. 7 episode of the New York Times "Sway" podcast, Cameo CEO Steven Galanis revealed that Brian's earning more money on the platform — which allows fans to hire celebrities to tape personalized video messages — than any other star this year. "The person that did the most in revenue this year is Brian Baumgartner who is Kevin from 'The Office,'" the Cameo exec said. "He'll do over $1 million this year in bookings." Brian, who currently charges $195 per video, does so well because he "really takes a lot of pride in his craftsmanship of the videos. And I do think the quality of the Cameo is something that is really important to people," the exec explained. "He's reliable. He turns them around quickly. And the content is really funny."

Ryan Reynolds makes hundreds of millions selling his gin brand

On Aug. 17, Bloomberg revealed that Ryan Reynolds sold his Aviation American Gin and other liquors under the Davos Brands LLC he co-owns to Diageo, one the world's leading beverage companies, for a total consideration of $610 million. That's $335 million upfront plus a further potential consideration of as much as $275 million, based on how Aviation performs over the next 10 years. Ryan will also maintain a stake in Davos Brands, which also owns Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and TYKU Sake. "A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit," Ryan said in a statement. "What I didn't expect was the sheer creative joy learning a new industry would bring. Growing the brand with my company, Maximum Effort Marketing, has been among the most fulfilling projects I've ever been involved with. I want to thank Diageo for their incredible team and passion. We're so excited for the next chapter of Aviation Gin, which, I promise, will require just as little reading."

MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos's ex-wife, becomes the world's richest woman

According to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, in September, MacKenzie Scott became the world's richest woman. The novelist, who divorced Jeff Bezos in 2019, reportedly has an estimated net worth of $68 billion. As part of her divorce settlement from the Amazon CEO and founder, MacKenzie earned millions of shares from the company, which were valued at a reported $38 billion. The philanthropist beat out L'Oreal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, who owns 33% of the world's largest cosmetics producer and has a net worth of $66.8 billion, to claim the top spot. In December, it was revealed that MacKenzie had found a wonderful way to deplete her net worth: She donated more than $4 billion over the previous four months to hundreds of charities and aid organisations including food banks fighting the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Rock is the highest paid actor for the second year in a row

On Aug. 11, Forbes published its list of the highest paid actors of the year, revealing that Dwayne Johnson was No. 1 for the second year in a row. The business magazine reported that he made $87.5 million — and that $23.5 million of it came from Netflix for his upcoming action movie "Red Notice." His successful Under Armour line, Project Rock, is also responsible for a big part of his 2020 earnings.

Johnny Depp is still getting paid his full multimillion-dollar salary despite being forced to exit "Fantastic Beasts" sequel after filming one scene

Johnny Depp might be out of a job after resigning from his role as villainous wizard Grindelwald — at the firm request of Warner Bros. — in the "Fantastic Beasts" movie franchise in the wake of a libel lawsuit loss, but he's not out of a paycheck. Due to his "pay-or-play contract," which guarantees he'll be fully compensated whether or not the film is made or his character is recast, Warner Bros. still has to pay the actor even though he's only shot one scene of the third installment in the film series, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in early November. According to multiple reports, it's believed to be an eight-figure payday. Johnny sued Britain's The Sun tabloid over an article in which he was branded a "wife beater" but failed to convince a London judge that he never assaulted ex Amber Heard.

Scooter Braun sells Taylor Swift's masters for more than $300M, sparking a new battle in their ongoing war

Taylor Swift has been embroiled in a public feud with music manager and label exec Scoot Braun since June 2019 after learning he'd acquired her masters — after she was denied the opportunity to buy them back — when his investment group purchased her old label, Big Machine Label Group, for $300 million. On Nov. 16, their bitter war took a new turn as Variety reported that Scooter had closed on a deal to sell Taylor's masters to an investment fund (later identified as the Disney family's Shamrock Holdings private equity firm) for "north of $300 million." Taylor — who began re-recording her first six albums in November, when her contract allowed it — was livid and publicly detailed how her team "attempted to enter into negotiations" but said they were foiled as Scooter's team "wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive, before we could even look at the financial records of BMLG (which is always the first step in a purchase of this nature)." She explained she would "have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work. My legal team said that this is absolutely NOT normal, and they've never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off. … These master recordings were not for sale to me." Read her lengthy statement in full here.

Cardi B spent $100,000 on COVID-19 testing to safely film "WAP" music video

While chatting with i-D magazine in August, rapper Cardi B revealed that she spent a large sum to ensure proper health protocols were followed on the set of her viral music video for "WAP" alongside Megan Thee Stallion. "It was kind of weird shooting the video in the age of corona," Cardi told the magazine. "Like, we had to spend $100,000 just on testing. Everybody on the shoot had to get tested for coronavirus." She went on, "We had a tiger and a leopard there, but we didn't film with them in there because of safety and because of the pandemic. We spliced those scenes together."

Pierce Brosnan lists 12,500-square-foot Malibu pad for $100 million

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, James Bond alum Pierce Brosnan listed his 12,500-square-foot Malibu home for $100 million in late September — making it the eighth most expensive property on the market in Los Angeles County. "I said to [my wife] Keely, 'Go build your dream house.' And she did," the movie star told WSJ. She designed a space inspired in large part by Pierce's 1997 film "Tomorrow Never Dies," which was filmed in Thailand. While the couple raised their two sons at their spacious Malibu mansion, 18 years later, Pierce and Keely are ready to trade in this beachfront for another — they've since relocated to their property in Hawaii.

Tyler Perry reaches billionaire status

On Sept. 1, Forbes reported that actor, writer, producer and media mogul Tyler Perry was officially part of the billionaires club: He'd reached a net worth of $1 billion. "I love when people say you come from 'humble beginnings,'" he told the publication. "[It] means you were poor as hell." He added, "Ownership changes everything."

Kurt Cobain's "MTV Unplugged" guitar sale price breaks auction record

On June 20, the guitar that Kurt Cobain played during Nirvana's famed 1993 "MTV Unplugged" session, which was taped just a few months before his death at 27, sold for a record-breaking $6 million. The 1959 Martin D-18E was purchased by Peter Freedman, who owns Røde Microphones, at a Music Icons auction run by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills. Deadline reported that the sale price was 50% higher than any other guitar ever sold at auction.

Kirk Douglas leaves $50 million of his fortune to charity upon his death

According to The Mirror, Kirk Douglas left $50 million of his $61 million fortune not to his family but to his charity, the Douglas Foundation, when he passed away in February. The charity benefits Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The Kirk and Anne Douglas Childhood Center, a St. Lawrence University scholarship and other groups. Following his father's death at 103, actor Michael Douglas publicly commended him for his philanthropic work: "Kirk's life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public."

Kim Kardashian West inches closer to billionaire status

In late June, Kanye West publicly congratulated wife Kim Kardashian West for reaching billionaire status after Coty paid $200 million to acquire a 20% stake in her KKW Beauty brand. However, Forbes soon clarified that though Kim was indeed very, very rich, she's not a billionaire quite yet. Though the deal puts KKW Beaty's value at $1 billion, Kim only has a 72% stake in the company while momager Kris Jenner has 8%, according to Forbes. So, once all her other earnings are taken into account, that puts Kim's worth at about $900 million — which is just a tad above sister Kylie Jenner's net worth of what Forbes estimated in May at "just under $900 million."

Kanye West feuds with Forbes about his billionaire status

2020 seems to have been a year filled with quarrels between Forbes and the Kardashian clan! In late April, the money magazine reported that Kanye West had officially become hip hop's second billionaire (JAY-Z did it first) with an estimated net worth of around $1.3 billion. An impressive number, right? Well, the "Jesus Is King" rapper thought otherwise. Kanye claimed the magazine published a number that was significantly lower than his true worth: He insisted it's really $3.3 billion. According to Forbes writer Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Kanye texted him personally to accuse the business magazine of "toying" with him. "It's 3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count," Kanye asserted. However, despite Kanye's pushback, Forbes stood firm with its calculation of his net worth. "Welcome to the 10-digit club, Kanye. You may not like our number, but in that regard, you've joined the highest company," Zack wrote in a follow-up article. Kanye made headlines for his fortune again over the summer…

Drake reveals his custom-built 50,000-square-foot mansion valued at $100 million

In the April issue of Architectural Digest, Drake unveiled his lavish, 50,000-square-foot mansion dubbed The Embassy. The modern Art Deco-style home — which features an NBA-regulation-sized basketball court, a 4,000-pound black marble bathtub, a 3,200-square-foot master bedroom suite and 1,100-square-feet of terraces — is valued at a whopping $100 million. The luxurious property is located in the rapper's hometown of Toronto. "Because I was building it in my hometown, I wanted the structure to stand firm for 100 years. I wanted it to have a monumental scale and feel," the rapper explained. "It will be one of the things I leave behind, so it had to be timeless and strong." Complete with a Bösendorfer grand piano designed by Takashi Murakami and a replica of Lobmeyr's chandelier that was designed for the Metropolitan Opera in 1963, the "Feel No Way" rapper's Canadian manor is, as he describes it, "overwhelming high luxury." "I think the house shows that I have true faith in myself to take on this task when I was just 27 and see it through," said the now 33-year-old superstar. "I also think the house says that I will forever remain solid in the place I was born."

Marie Osmond announces plans to donate her fortune to charity when she dies

It's never too early to plan ahead, right? In February, singer-actress and "The Talk" co-host Marie Osmond revealed on her show that she plans to donate her fortune to charity when she dies. "My husband and I decided, I think you do a great disservice to your children to just hand them a fortune because you take away the one most important gift you can give your children and that's the ability to work," she explained. "You see it a lot in rich families, where the kids, they don't know what to do and so they get in trouble. Let them be proud of what they make and I'm going to give mine to my charity." Marie's co-hosts were quick to disagree with her decision, with Sheryl Underwood asserting that a child who grows up in a wealthy family has a "healthy respect for money" and Sharon Osbourne stating that she believes her fortune with husband Ozzy Osbourne should remain within the family.

Notorious B.I.G.'s $6 crown sells for nearly $600,000

On Sept. 15, the New York Post reported that the $6 plastic crown late rapper Notorious B.I.G. wore in his last photoshoot was sold for $594,750 at auction. "This crown is a novelty item; I bought it at a place on Broadway called Gordon's," Brooklyn-based photographer Barron Claiborne, who took the famous photos of Biggie in the crown in 1997, told the Post. "Without Biggie, the crown would not be worth [six figures]. I only paid six bucks for it." As for what Barron thought of the auction price? "Some people have told me that it's too low," he said. "That shows you how strong the symbol really is. I always thought Biggie was a king."

"Friends" stars negotiate deal with $2.5 million each for HBO Max reunion special

Fans were delighted when news broke revealing that our favorite group of New Yorkers would be returning to television! In February, Variety reported that the entire "Friends" cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc — would appear for an "exclusive untitled unscripted special" that would be available to stream on HBO Max, which launched in May. According to the trade magazine's sources, the stars — who famously made $1 million an episode at the end of their sitcom's run — negotiated a hefty payday for their participation: at least $2.5 million each! However, fans will be waiting longer than expected to see them together again as the highly anticipated reunion special has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Travis Scott gets his own meal at McDonald's

Travis Scott seems to have reached a new level of stardom. On Sept. 8, McDonald's launched their "Travis Scott Meal" — a $6 order that includes a Quarter Pounder burger with cheese, fries with barbecue dipping sauce and a Sprite. This marked only the second time the fast-food chain had unveiled a celebrity-endorsed meal — the first was Michael Jordan's in 1992. The "Sicko Mode" rapper's meal was an immediate hit: Just one week after it launched, there was a Quarter Pounder shortage! "We're working closely with our suppliers, distributors and franchises to resupply impacted restaurants as quickly as possible," a representative for McDonald's told CNBC.

Barbara Corcoran scammed out of almost $400,000 — then gets it back

In February, financial thieves nearly made off with $400,000 of "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran's funds, TMZ reported. The scammers were able to initiate a wire transfer for a $388,700.11 payment to a German company by sending the star's bookkeeper a funds request via an email that appeared to come from Barbara's executive assistant — but one letter in the address was changed. The bookkeeper approved it and the money was sent — but thankfully, the Berlin-based bank handling the transaction caught wind of the scam and froze the account before the funds could be distributed. Phew!

Kylie Jenner is stripped of billionaire status by Forbes

Demotion! News that reality TV star and beauty mogul Kylie Jenner is no longer considered a billionaire emerged at the start of the summer. While Forbes reported in April that she was the world's youngest self-made billionaire for the second year in a row, the magazine retracted that title a month later. In May, the publication claimed that Kylie's team — including momager Kris Jenner — had falsified earnings information and tax figures that were shown to Forbes reporters. It all came to light after beauty conglomerate Coty purchased a 51% stake in Kylie Cosmetics a few months earlier for $600 million, a move that required the filing of public financial disclosures Forbes said painted a very different profitability picture that its staff had been led to believe. Kylie hit back on social media on May 29, tweeting, "all i see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. I've never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. Period." According to Forbes, Kylie is still very rich, just not a billionaire: It revised her net worth to just under $900 million.

Kanye West spent $50 million on his Sunday Services performances

While chatting with Nick Cannon for his Sept. 1 "Cannon's Class" podcast, Kanye West claimed that in 2019, he spent $50 million on his Sunday Services. "I spent every dime that I have from marketing from Yeezy on Sunday Service," the rapper-designer claimed. "Every dollar I had. I spent $50 million last year on Sunday Service."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sign lucrative multi-year production deal with Netflix

On Sept. 2, The New York Times reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix to produce feature films, children's shows, scripted shows, documentaries and docu-series. "Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope. As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us," Megan and Harry said in a statement, adding that Netflix's "unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action." While the exact amount of the deal remains unknown, its value has been estimated at upwards of $150 million. However, Page Six quoted a Hollywood talent agent who said he'd be "shocked if [the ex-royals'] deal was worth more than $2 million per year."

Forbes releases 2020 Celebrity 100 list

In June, Forbes released the 2020 edition of its annual Celebrity 100 list, which featured Kanye West at No. 2 — just behind sister-in-law Kylie Jenner (who earned $590 million the previous year) at No. 1. However, the rapper-fashion designer came out on top on Forbes' list of rich musicians, as it declared him the world's highest paid music star for 2020 with earnings of $170 million (mostly thanks to his Yeezy sneaker deal with Adidas) for the previous year. The rest of the top 5 names on the Celebrity 100 list? Athletes Roger Federer (No. 3), Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 4) and Lionel Messi (No. 5). Three entertainment stars — Tyler Perry (No. 6), Howard Stern (No. 8) and Dwayne Johnson (No. 10) — did, however, crack the top 10.

"Teen Mom OG" stars Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra owe more than $850,000 to the IRS

"Teen Mom OG" couple Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra found themselves in the midst of a financial mess this year. In April, Us Weekly reported that the reality stars owed upwards of $850,000 in taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Legal documents obtained by the news outlet revealed the couple was hit with a tax lien in November 2019 for $535,010 for 2016 and 2017, and that another tax lien of $321,789 was issued for the 2018 tax year.

Ed Sheeran named Britain's richest musician under 30 for second year in a row

At just 29, Ed Sheeran was named the U.K.'s richest musician under 30 for the second year in a row! According to a May report from the Sunday Times Rich List, the singer-songwriter had an estimated net worth of about $244 million when it bestowed the honor — a figure that grew by about $50 million from the previous year. His "Divide" world tour set records that helped him get there: Between March 2017 and August 2019, Ed sold 8.9 million tickets to 255 shows, grossing $776.2 million.

John Cena reportedly gifted $40,000 to late wrestler Shad Gaspard's family

Following the tragic drowning death of former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard in May at a beach in Venice, California — he died trying to save his son from a riptide — fans speculated that John Cena anonymously gave $40,000 to Shad's family. After Shad's death was confirmed, his family created a GoFundMe page to help fund funeral costs. WWE wrestlers including Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan donated to the campaign and an anonymous donor gave the family $40,000 with an accompanying message that read "CTC RIP" — which fans said was a clue that it was from John. During their WWE days, John, Shad and JTG (real name: Jayson Anthony Paul) wrestled as the group Cryme Tyme Cenation, which was also known as CTC.

Taylor Swift donates $1 million to fund tornado relief efforts in Tennessee

After a tornado hit Nashville in March, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to offer her support for her home state. "Nashville is my home and the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me," she wrote. "I've made a donation to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund." What she didn't reveal is just how major that donation was: Reports confirmed it was for a whopping $1 million.

Chris Hemsworth and more celebrities donate big sums to Australian bushfire relief efforts

Over the course of 2020, celebrities have generously come together to finance relief efforts during global crises. In January, various stars announced they'd be making donations to help battle the Australian bushfires that devastated the country. Chris Hemsworth and his family, including actor Liam Hemsworth, gave $1 million, while Elton John and Kylie Jenner pledged $1 million apiece. Leonardo DiCaprio's organization, Earth Alliance, pledged $3 million and Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban pledged $500,000 while Jeff Bezos donated $690,000.

Kylie Jenner loses "Highest paid celebrity on Instagram" title to The Rock

Looks like all good things must come to an end. According to data marketing tool Hopper, which generates annual Instagram rich lists, Kylie Jenner was in June dethroned as the celebrity who earns the most for paid posts on Instagram. Dwayne Johnson — who reportedly earns about $1.01 million per paid post on the social media platform — secured the top spot from the reality TV star and beauty mogul. Kylie's earnings are still nothing to scoff at: She was still making approximately $986,000 per paid post, according to Hopper.

"RHONJ" star Teresa Giudice reveals she paid $1 million of estranged husband's debts

In March, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice told Bravo host Andy Cohen on the "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" season 10 reunion special that she'd spent more than $1 million paying estranged husband Joe's legal fees and back taxes resulting from his financial fraud and deportation cases. On the same reunion show, Teresa's friends and family members urged her to finalize her divorce from Joe sooner rather than later — they split in late 2019 after 20 years of marriage after he got out of prison and moved to his native Italy — so that he wouldn't try to get more money from her. Her brother, Joe Gorga, said he believed his former brother-in-law would gun for more funds, though Teresa insisted he was "not that type" and "[wouldn't] come after anything." Co-star Dolores Catania agreed with Gorga: "Say you meet the perfect guy tomorrow and things go all and you want to move on with your life. He's going to get angry. That'll trigger it," she said.

Harry Styles is creating a London mega-mansion valued at $37 million

Drake wasn't the only music star who shelled out an especially large sum to create an epic living space this year! In March, the Mail on Sunday reported that Harry Styles had purchased two 18th century homes next door to each other in North London — one for about $11.3 million and the other for about $5 million — with the intention of turning them into one gigantic mansion that, once renovated, will be worth around $37 million! With the help of interior designer Vicky Charles — who's reportedly designed projects for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Beckhams and the Clooneys — the "Adore You" singer's English haven will consist of a luxuriously appointed 10 bedrooms and include a game room, movie theater and more.

Kylie Jenner snags $15 million property in Los Angeles suburb

In 2020, Kylie Jenner expanded her already impressive real estate portfolio yet again. As reported by TMZ in May, this spring, the reality TV star-turned-beauty mogul spent $15 million on a 5-acre lot in Hidden Hills, California — a record real estate deal for that area. (The vacant lot also has a celebrity history: it was previously owned by Miley Cyrus, who bought the land in 2015 as a place to house her horses.) Kylie didn't stop there, though — in April, she also purchased a 15,350-square-foot home in Holmby Hills for $36.5 million. The sprawling single-story estate includes a guardhouse, a chef's kitchen, a home theater, an outdoor projector screen a resort-style pool and not one but two guest apartments!

Seth MacFarlane inks $200 million overall deal with NBCUniversal

Talk about making money moves! Seth MacFarlane, the creative mind behind "Family Guy," "American Dad!" and more, started 2020 off by signing a five-year overall deal with NBCUniversal Content Studios valued at nearly $200 million. Seth and his Fuzzy Door Productions company are set to develop projects for NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, along with internal and external networks.

Kanye West, John Cena, BTS, Jordan Peele, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt make huge BLM donations

In late May and early June — in the wake of African American man George Floyd's May 25 death at the hands of white police officers and nationwide protests against police brutality aimed at black Americans — celebrities were quick to show solidarity. Kanye West was among the stars who offered financial support when he donated $2 million to the loved ones and legal teams fighting for justice for George, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Included in the "Jesus Is King" rapper's donation was a college fund set up for George's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. (Barbra Streisand, meanwhile, gifted Gianna with an unknown number of Disney stocks, which were trading at $115 a share at the time.) Other celebrities also donated large sums to organizations in support of racial justice, among them John Cena and K-pop group BTS, who each gave $1 million to Black Lives Matter. Filmmaker and comedy star Jordan Peele donated $1 million across five organizations including Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective. Jennifer Aniston donated $1 million to Color of Change — a move that was matched by ex-husband Brad Pitt, the Mirror reported on June 13.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend donate $200,000 in bail-out funds for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protesters

Chrissy Teigen was another celebrity who donated big to a racial justice organization in the wake of George Floyd's death. In May, the model and cookbook author took to Twitter to reveal her decision to give a large sum to the defense funds responsible for helping bail out protesters. First, she pledged $100K. But when a Twitter user replied and told her she was supporting "rioters and criminals," Chrissy doubled her donation. "Ooo they might need more money then. Make it $200,000," she responded. Husband John Legend tweeted in support of his wife. "Americans have the first amendment right to peacefully protest oppression and injustice," he began. "Chrissy and I will be donating to these 3 organizations which are organizing, supporting and defending those marching for justice: @Mvmnt4BlkLives @nlgnews @bailproject."

Oprah Winfrey donates $10 million to coronavirus relief efforts

While many celebrities came together this year to help fund relief efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic, Oprah Winfrey is one star who made an especially generous donation. In April, the media mogul took to Instagram to share that she was giving $10 million to worthy causes. Of that amount, $1 million (in partnership with Apple) went to America's Food Fund, which was co-created by Leonardo DiCaprio. "I am donating $10 million overall to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country and in areas where I grew up," Oprah said.

Jeff Bezos sets real estate record in Los Angeles area with $165 million home purchase

Leave it to Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, to set an outrageous real estate record. In February, People magazine confirmed that the Amazon CEO, who has an estimated net worth of $145.4 billion, purchased the Beverly Hills home of studio executive David Geffen for $165 million — making it the most expensive home sale in the Los Angeles area ever. In 1992, Architectural Digest published a piece about the 9-acre state, describing its main building as a "13,600-square-foot, Georgian-style mansion." But Jeff didn't stop there: He also bought 120 acres of land on the estate belonging to late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for $90 million. That property will be used for Amazon-related ventures.

Jeff Bezos donates $10 billion to combat climate change

In addition to shelling out hefty sums for sprawling estates, Jeff Bezos also made a large donation to combat climate change in 2020. In February, the world's richest man took to Instagram to announce the launch of his Bezos Earth Fund, which is committed to funding activists, scientists and non-government organizations. "Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share," he said. "I'm committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let's protect it, together."

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