Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the top-earning actor on Forbes’ list of highest-paid entertainers in 2022, coming in at number four with an estimated annual salary of $270 million.
Johnson’s annual earnings were boosted by big paydays for the movies Black Adam and Red Notice. The actor's box-office bankability sees him command an average of more than $20m per movie.
This year’s list is dominated by stars profiting from the sale of creative properties. About half of the top 25 earners, including Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson (at number 1, with $580m) and rocker Bruce Springsteen (number 2, $435m), made the list by selling all or part of their music catalogues or studios.
Rounding out the top five are Jay-Z, who was ranked third with $340m, and Kanye West in fifth place with $235m.
Franchise favourite Johnson, 49, has a net worth of $800m, according to wealth tracking website Celebrity Net Worth. A former WWE wrestler, he is one of the highest-paid actors on the planet, taking home an estimated $100m from film and endorsement earnings in a typical year.
The Fast and Furious actor’s films have grossed more than $10.5 billion worldwide. He has also been associated with brands such as Ford and Apple.
But he’s also an astute businessman. The near-$1bn estimate of the actor’s net worth includes his stake in the disruptive Teremana beverage brand he founded in 2020 with co-owners and business partners Ken Austin, Jenna Fagnan, Dany Garcia and the Lopez family from Jalisco, Mexico. Ms Garcia is Johnson's former spouse.
Johnson is thought to own between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of the brand, which could be conservatively valued at about $2bn based on a recent interview the actor gave to CNN, accounting for the biggest portion of his wealth. His goal this year is to make the beverage “a truly international brand”.
Johnson and Ms Garcia, an American businesswoman, founded multi-platform production company Seven Bucks in 2012 to develop original content for television, film, emerging technology and digital networks.
From the Baywatch movie to last year’s Red Notice, the company has taken more than $2.7bn in box-office sales. The figure does not include revenue from productions for other mediums, such as NBC’s television programme Young Rock.
Once an aspiring professional footballer, Johnson and Ms Garcia teamed up with Redbird Capital to rescue the XFL professional American football league from bankruptcy court and paid $15m for the franchise.
Last week, he announced a collaboration between the XFL and National Football League. The XFL will now serve as a testing ground for new technology and rule changes for the NFL, possibly in return for financial and industry endorsements.
Johnson also co-founded sports drink brand Zoa and is the beverage's chief energy officer. Additionally, he works with US sports equipment company Under Armour, collaborating on a line of athletic wear, shoes and headphones called Project Rock Collection.
“I consider myself an industrialist and an entrepreneur and a businessman as well. And I'm in the relationship business. I’m in the customer service business. I’m in the consumer product business. And I’m certainly in the movie business,” Johnson told Vanity Fair last year.
“I love creating products and brands that have a certain quality to them to deliver to people. But I think the stripped-away answer here is: I love it. I love what I do. Honestly, I love building from scratch with these two old dinosaur hands.”
Anuskha Sharma and Virat Kohli
Indian celebrity couple Virat Kohli and Anuskha Sharma are the latest stars to endorse plant-based meats. In February, they joined Mumbai brand Blue Tribe as investors and brand ambassadors for an undisclosed amount.
The brand retails a wide range of fake meat products, including plant-based mincemeat, sausages and pre-packaged momos. It is one of several start-ups in a sector valued at between $30m and $40m, largely driven by consumer-packaged foods.
The collaboration with Blue Tribe is a step to tell people how they can be more conscious and leave less impact on the planet by switching to a plant-based diet
Anuskha Sharma,
Bollywood actress
“Virat and I have always been animal lovers. It has been years since we decided to adopt a meat-free lifestyle. The collaboration with Blue Tribe is a step to tell people how they can be more conscious and leave less impact on the planet by switching to a plant-based diet,” Sharma said.
Kohli is estimated to have a net worth of between $86m and $120m, thanks to his earnings from cricket, as well as investments in India and abroad. Sharma’s net worth is estimated to be about $34m, according to Indian media.
Aside from brand endorsements and her movie work, she is a producer, in addition to being one of India’s most sought-after actresses. Sharma also owns Nush, a fashion brand that she launched in 2017.
The couple’s joint investments include a $295,000 investment in Pune-based insurance start-up Digit. In 2020, the pair bought a 0.25 per cent stake in the company as part of a $84m fund-raising round that valued the three-year-old start-up at $870m, the Economic Times reported.
Will Ferrell
He famously trolled Norway’s electric cars, but Will Ferrell is now cashing in on Scandinavian advanced technology. This month, the Hollywood actor accepted a double role at Danish challenger bank Lunar, which also operates in Sweden and Norway. He is the bank’s newest investor and also the face of a large advertising campaign.
The announcement was made alongside a 30-second video posted to LinkedIn. In the video, inspired by a 1990s Swedish commercial for Postbanken, Ferrell plays a life coach and money guru.
Lunar was launched in 2015 and received its banking license in 2019. The mobile-based banking app has more than 400,000 customers and has raised a total of €345m ($387.7m) in capital from investors. Following a series D funding round worth €210m last summer, Lunar is now valued in excess of €1bn.
The bank is now focused on growing customers in Sweden, it said.
Also last week, Lunar expanded its product offering with Lunar Block, a trading platform for cryptocurrencies.
The size of Ferrell’s investment was not disclosed. The Anchorman star will help to develop the company’s public profile and brand.
“I am happy to now be a part of the work Lunar does to give consumers and companies more power over their money. By joining Lunar, I am expanding my commitment to the Nordic countries, which are close to my heart,” Ferrell said.
“Nordic people are smart, sexy and are tired of having their money messed with. That’s where Lunar comes into play as a digital disrupter in the financial industry.”
The actor and comedian, 54, is estimated to have a net worth of $160m, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
A significant part of Ferrell’s fortune comes from acting fees, including back-end participation profits. At the peak of his career in the early 2000s, he was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars, earning a $20m salary for movies such as Bewitched, Kicking & Screaming, Talladega Nights and Semi-Pro.
Ferrell is also part-owner of the Los Angeles FC football team, a purchase he made in 2016.
Together with comedy partner Adam McKay, he founded the video website Funny Or Die in 2007. It was acquired for an undisclosed sum last year by designer, activist and Democractic fund-raiser Henry R. Munoz III, who bought it from former stakeholders including AMC Networks, WarnerMedia’s Turner and Sequoia Capital.
Ferrell stayed on in an advisory capacity, according to Variety. When the site was first evaluated for sale in 2014, its owners were reportedly seeking between $100m and $300m, according to Bloomberg.
Ferrell and McKay have also co-produced several television shows for HBO, including Eastbound & Down and Succession.
Joe Rogan
Controversies can be good public relations, but what should they cost? Streaming platform Spotify reportedly paid podcast host Joe Rogan more than $200m for a contract spanning three and a half years, the New York Times reported last week.
That is double the original estimate of a $100m paycheque when the deal for his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast was announced about two years ago.
In recent weeks, Rogan, 54, has been at the centre of several controversies. He has been criticised by Spotify users and artists over his use of racist language in past episodes of his show, as well as accused of spreading misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, leading to a number of musicians, including Neil Young, pulling their music from the streaming service.
The American comedian, martial arts expert and Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator has a net worth of $120m, according to estimates. After hosting the TV shows News Radio, Fear Factor and The Man Show, Rogan is now considered one of the most financially successful podcasters in the world.
Andrew Wilkinson, chief executive of internet investment company Tiny Capital told The Sun this week that Rogan’s self-reported 200 million podcast downloads per month could result the host making up to $240m a year in advertising revenue and could lead to him being the first billionaire podcaster.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
Kandahar%20
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
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The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
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
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
