LOS ANGELES: American boxer Floyd Mayweather was named the world’s highest-paid entertainer on Monday on a list that saw actor George Clooney take the No. 2 spot with the highest annual pay of his career.
Reality star Kylie Jenner, 20, came in third on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list, largely thanks to her booming cosmetics line that Forbes said put her on track to become the youngest self-made billionaire in the US.
Forbes compiled its 2018 list estimating pre-tax earnings from June 2017-June 2018, before deducting fees for managers, based on data from Nielsen, touring trade publication Pollstar, movie database IMDB, and interviews with industry experts and celebrities themselves.
Mayweather pulled in some $285 million in the period, largely thanks to his August 2017 comeback fight win over mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor.
Oscar-winning star Clooney earned an estimated $239 million after selling the Casamigos tequila company he co-founded to British spirits company Diageo in June 2017. Forbes said the sale gave Clooney the best annual earnings of his 35-year career in film and television.
Forbes said entertainers on its 2018 Celebrity 100 list earned a combined $6.3 billion before tax, up 22 percent from last year’s list. Many of the highest earners came from celebrities leveraging their brands through side ventures and through their social media presence.
“There’s never been a more lucrative time to be famous than now, with 11 superstars earning $100 million or more over the past year,” Zack O’Malley Greenburg, senior entertainment editor at Forbes, said in a statement.
“Entertainers have found all sorts of new ways to monetize their audiences, especially with the help of social media,” he added.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson almost doubled his earnings from the previous year to land in 5th place with estimated earnings of $124 million. Forbes said the earnings of the “Jumanji” and “Fast & Furious” star were the largest acting-related earnings it had recorded in 20 years.
The top earner on last year’s list, musician Sean Diddy Combs, dropped to No. 32 on the current list. His earnings on the 2017 list were inflated by a tour and the sale of part of his Sean John clothing line, Forbes said.
Musicians and athletes fared well, with Irish band U2, British band Coldplay and British singer Ed Sheeran appearing in the top 10. Soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo also earned more than $100 million, Forbes said.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather, George Clooney lead world’s highest paid entertainers
Boxer Floyd Mayweather, George Clooney lead world’s highest paid entertainers
- Mayweather pulled in some $285 million in the period, largely thanks to his August 2017 comeback fight win over mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor
- Oscar-winning star George Clooney earned an estimated $239 million
Ramadan recipes: Roasted seabass in a delicious tomato sauce
DUBAI: Chef Elias of Dubai’s La Maison Ani shares the recipe for a refined Mediterranean dish that highlights simplicity, balance and freshness.
Roasted seabass
2 seabass fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup tomato sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp capers
½ small yellow courgette, thinly sliced
¼ small green courgette, thinly sliced
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh chives
Lemon zest
Sumac rice
¾ cup cooked sumac rice
Tomato sauce
2 cups diced ripe tomatoes (fresh or canned)
½ small white onion, finely diced
1 small garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
½ cup water
Sumac rice
1¼ cups basmati rice
1¾ cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1½ tbsp sumac
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp grated garlic
Method
Seabass
Season the seabass fillets with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear the fish skin-side down for 3 minutes, flip and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a preheated oven at 180 C and bake for 5 minutes.
Courgettes
Season the sliced courgettes with salt. Sear in a hot pan for 2–3. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Tomato sauce
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook gently until soft. Add water and let it reduce. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20–25 minutes, until thickened.
Sumac rice
Rinse rice until the water runs clear. Add rice, chicken stock and salt to a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes. Melt butter in a pan, add garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes. Stir in sumac. Fold the butter mixture through the rice gently.
To serve
Spoon warm tomato sauce onto each plate. Place the seabass on top and arrange the courgettes over the fish. Serve with sumac rice on the side.
