Saturday, 8 June 2013

How stars make big bucks offstage (2)

P-Square, Genevieve Nnaji, D’banj, Ini Edo, Waconzy Although most celebrities earn much from entertaining their fans, they also venture into other businesses from which they rake in a lot of dough. Saturday Beats beams the torch on some celebs and their various businesses.
Genevieve Nnaji
She is unarguably one of the highest paid actresses in the industry and has always strived in raising the bar. In 2009, she was paid $25,000 to star in the hit movie, IJE, produced by Chineze Anyaene. Even at that, the dark skinned actress has other sources of income. She is a model and also had a stint with music, which earned her a lot of criticism. She released her debut album, Longolongo, in Ghana. In 2004, she became the Face of Lux and later moved on to endorse Pronto beverage and Omo detergent. These deals fetched her big bucks but Genny, as she is fondly called by friends, did not stop at that. The television diva also has her own clothing line, St.Genevieve, which is presently being managed by fashion icon, Zizi Cardow. In September 2009, American television talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, named her one of the 100 most famous people in the world.

Ini Edo Ehiagwina
It is said that no other lady in the industry invests heavily in landed properties like Ini Edo. Saturday Beats learnt that she has about six buildings, all in her name. It was gathered that most of the buildings are rented out. Some of her properties are in Ikotun and Ikorodu areas of Lagos State while the rest are in her home state, Akwa Ibom. She is an actress, model and also a producer.  She recently produced her debut movie, ‘Memories Of my Heart’. The delectable actress is a Globacom brand ambassador and is also part of the project to move Nollywood to another level. She is fully involved with Nollywood USA led by J. J. Bunny and has featured in the latest film by Nollywood USA titled, ‘This Is Houston’.
Waconzy
This young man from the city of Port Harcourt came into our consciousness with his hit song, Celebrate. Ever since, he has refused to leave the limelight. It comes as no surprise that he has other businesses asides his music. He also has a degree in project management. He recently acquired an outfit, DV8 Innovation, for about $100,000. Apart from music, the young man handles several contracts that fetch him good money. He imports cars and inverters. The artiste also has an event solutions company that leases production equipment like speakers, lights, smoke machines, cameras amongst others.
D’banj
He is definitely one of the most business-oriented entertainers in the country. The question is, what hasn’t the Koko Master gone into? D’banj has in the past launched Koko Mobile, a telephone product. He also invested in Koko Garri, where he said he aimed at exporting garri to the western world. He also had the Koko Mansion Season One, a reality television show. The entertainer has staged several Koko concerts at home and abroad and they have fetched him much money and fame. Recently, he launched his label, DB Records, and is a brand ambassador of the Bank of Industry. The energetic entertainer also owns a night club, One Eleven, which he opened earlier in the year, that is excluding his Koko Lounge and his Koko Foundation. In the past, he had different juicy deals, including a N30m deal with Virgin Colours; N25m with Virgin Airline; N20m with Nutricima; the deal with Globacom; and the N100m deal with UAC.
P-Square
That the duo of Peter and Paul Okoye popularly known as P-Square, is wealthy is not in question. They have woven their way to the top through hard work. It has seen them reap dividends in form of endorsements, concerts and love from fans all over Africa. They have had a N24m deal with Globacom. In 2010, P-Square won the KORA award for Best Africa Artiste and earned N150m. They own a house valued at N300m in Lagos, a hotel, as well as two multi-million naira factories in Jos. They are also building a house at Parkview Estate, Squareville2, estimated to gulp about N500m.

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