Celebrity Net Worth: David Beckham kicks off new role in the metaverse

In our fortnightly celebrity investment and wealth round-up, Snoop Dogg plans his own streaming network and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma backs an ancient grain start-up

David Beckham, in his team kit, plays for Manchester United during a match on May 10, 1993. Shaun Botterill /Allsport

David Beckham, in a team top, poses for a portrait for the England football team on February 10, 1997. Stu Forste / Allsport

David Beckham, in an adidas tracksuit, runs with the baton during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, on July 25, 2002. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a khaki knit and highlights, unveils his range of boys' clothing for DB07 at the Urbis Centre in Manchester, England, on September 19, 2002. Getty Images

David Beckham, in ripped jeans and a white blazer, arrives at the Melia Fenix hotel on July 1, 2003 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David Beckham, in distressed jeans and a leather jacket, unveils his autobiography at Waterstones on November 17, 2003 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a fur-trimmed coat over a blazer, poses during the premiere of a new Pepsi commercial at the Palacio Gaviria on February 26, 2004 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David, in jeans, beads and a bandana 'kerchief, and Victoria Beckham arrive at 19 Management's 19th anniversary party at the Royal Albert Hall on April 19, 2004 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a velvet blazer and jeans, unveils his DVD 'Really Bend it Like Beckham' in London, England, on December 1, 2004. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a blazer and silk-blend scarf, attends the premiere of a new Pepsi advert at Circulo de Belles Artes on February 23, 2005 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David, in a classic tux, and Victoria Beckham arrive at the Laureus World Sports Awards at the Estoril Casino in Portugal on May 16, 2005. Getty Images

Victoria and David Beckham, in a waistcoat and flat cap, attend the 63rd Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2006 in Venice, Italy. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a pale blue blazer and half-tucked shirt, signs copies of his new book at Waterstones on September 18, 2006 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, with a 'Peaky Blinders'-esque cut and cravat, attends the Sport Industry Awards at Old Billingsgate on March 29, 2007 in London, England. Getty Images

Dame Helen Mirren and David Beckham, in an open-collared tux, arrive at the Great Britons Awards at London Television Studios on May 21, 2007 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, with bleached locks and a brown leather jacket, presents on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium on July 1, 2007 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, with a new mohawk and checked three-piece suit, attends the Soccer World Cup Final Draw at the CTICC on December 4, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. Getty Images

Prince William, David Beckham, in classic suiting and a striped tie, and Prince Harry attend an FA reception at the Saxon Hotel on June 19, 2010 in Johannesberg, South Africa. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a formal coat and classic tux, and son Brooklyn attend The Sun Military Awards at the Imperial War Museum in London, England, on December 15, 2010. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a cream cardigan and jeans, launches his new range for H&M on February 1, 2012 in London, England. Getty Images

Romeo Beckham, David Beckham, in checked tailoring, Cruz Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Victoria Beckham attend the press night of 'Viva Forever' at Piccadilly Theatre on December 11, 2012 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a Belstaff jacket, attends the opening of Belstaff House on September 15, 2013 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a dapper suit and tiebar, attends the premiere of 'The Class of 92' at Odeon West End on December 1, 2013 in London, England. Getty Images

David, in Ralph Lauren, and Victoria Beckham attend the Met Gala at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, on May 5, 2014. EPA

David, in Dior Homme, and Victoria Beckham attend the 60th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Palladium on November 30, 2014 in London, England. Getty Images

David, in Dior Homme, and Victoria Beckham attend the annual British Fashion Awards at the Coliseum Theatre in London, England, on December 1, 2014. EPA

David, in a silk-trimmed tux, and Victoria Beckham attend the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty gala at the V&A in London, England, on March 12, 2015. EPA

David Beckham, in relaxed suiting and a tee, presents a new collection at the H&M Gran Via store on March 20, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a deep blue suit, attends the opening of the Breitling Boutique on June 3, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David, in Burberry, and Victoria Beckham attend the British Fashion Awards at London Coliseum on November 23, 2015 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in Louis Vuitton, attends the Louis Vuitton menswear show at Paris Fashion Week on June 23, 2016 in Paris, France. Getty Images

David Beckham, in Tom Ford, and Priyanka Chopra attend the 70th Unicef Anniversary at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US, on December 12, 2016. EPA

David Beckham, in Louis Vuitton, attends the Louis Vuitton menswear show at Paris Fashion Week on January 19, 2017 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Charlie Hunnam and David Beckham, in Ralph Lauren. attend the premiere of 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword' at Leicester Square in London, England, on May 10, 2017. EPA

David Beckham, in Ralph Lauren, attends a Biotherm Homme presentation at Casa de Velazquez on June 20, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David, in Louis Vuitton, and Victoria Beckham attend the Louis Vuitton menswear show at Paris Fashion Week on January 18, 2018 in Paris, France. Getty Images

David, in Dior Homme, and Victoria Beckham attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in navy suiting, attends the Queen's Young Leaders Award ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in Dior Homme, attends a Dior menswear show on November 30, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. Getty Images

Victoria and David Beckham, in a camel coat and white tee, attend the Victoria Beckham x YouTube after-party at Marks Club on February 17, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

Brooklyn and David Beckham, in a velvet tux, attend the 'Our Planet' premiere at the Natural History Museum on April 4, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham, in a charcoal two-piece, attends a Tudor event at Hotel VP Plaza Espana Design on April 29, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Getty Images

David Beckham, in Tom Ford, attends the GQ Men of the Year Awards at Tate Modern on September 3, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

David Beckham

Football star and entrepreneur David Beckham has kicked off a new game in the metaverse as global brand ambassador for the DigitalBits open-source blockchain protocol.

The role will see Beckham, 46, promoting DigitalBits, which supports digital assets including non-fungible tokens and stablecoins, to consumers and other organisations.

He will also team up with the start-up on several new projects. Among these are new ways to connect with fans, potentially in the next iteration of the internet known as the metaverse.

The metaverse has been defined as a virtual-reality space where users can interact within a computer-generated environment.

“I am always keen to find new ways to connect with my fans across the world,” Beckham said.

“The moment I spoke with [founder] Al [Burgio] and the DigitalBits team, I knew that this was a major opportunity to create new experiences for my fans online. I have always taken pride in working with the best teams, and I am so excited to work on my NFT collections and more innovations in the future.”

The value of the agreement has not been confirmed, but media reports estimate that it is worth £5 million ($6.5m).

Last year, DigitalBits signed an €85m ($92.8m) deal with Italian football club Inter Milan and sealed an agreement with AS Roma for €36m. Other sporting celebrities it has gone into partnership with include former boxer Floyd Mayweather and US professional basketball player Lisa Leslie.

Beckham, the former England footballer, and his wife, Victoria, are estimated to have a combined net worth of $450m, according to wealth tracker Celebrity Net Worth.

Football earnings have provided the lion’s share of those assets, but the Beckhams also have several businesses and endorsement deals. They also own a $24m penthouse in Miami.

Beckham owns the MLS football club Inter Miami. In 2019, he 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.

US rap star Snoop Dogg is planning to launch his own streaming app that will host music from his Death Row Records label. AP

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, known to the world as Snoop Dogg, has been one of the early movers in the metaverse. Now, the rapper is working to launch his own streaming app which will host music from his Death Row Records.

Until then, the music will “live in the metaverse” and operate as an “NFT label”, he said.

Snoop Dogg, 50, said low returns from streaming services prompted him to consider building an alternative revenue stream. He acquired Death Row Records, which launched his career, in February, and almost immediately took the label’s discography off streaming platforms.

“First thing I did was snatch all the music off those platforms traditionally known to people because those platforms don’t pay,” he told Revolt TV’s Drink Champs.

“Those platforms get millions and millions of streams, and nobody gets paid other than the record labels. So, what I wanted to do is snatch my music off, create a platform similar to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu. It’ll be a Death Row app and the music, in the meantime, will live in the metaverse.”

Snoop Dogg’s move appears to be part of an effort to help artists generate more profits from their work.

An artist whose music has been streamed 100 million times doesn’t make $1m, he said.

“I want to create an avenue to where I can show people how not to always have to go through the slave trade, but create our own trade where we are engaging with our own fans buying our music and then making us money off of the music by it being traded and sold,” he told the show.

The rapper said his most recent album, BODR (Bacc on Death Row), made $21m in the metaverse on the day it was released in February — a sum he said would not have been possible via streaming services.

BODR was initially available in the form of 25,000 “Stash Box” NFTs containing one of the album’s songs for $5,000 each, according to Billboard.

BODR is also available on streaming services.

Snoop Dogg has since also released some Death Row music in the form of limited-edition NFTs.

The American musician has his own virtual world called the Snoopverse, where paid participants can visit a digital version of his home and potentially attend virtual concerts.

On April 20, an early access pass to the Snoopverse was selling for the equivalent of $1,491 on gaming metaverse platform The Sandbox, according to the day’s cryptocurrency exchange rates.

Snoop Dogg owns virtual real estate in The Sandbox, where he has released NFTs and launched a virtual music video for the track House I Built.

Separately, he has released several NFT collections, including on the Cardano blockchain.

Snoop Dogg’s net worth is estimated at $150m by Celebrity Net Worth. His income includes music sales, television and film work, clothing lines and commercial endorsements, including Beyond Meat and Bic lighters.

Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and her husband, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Sharma recently invested in Wholsum Foods. AFP

Anushka Sharma

Bollywood star and new mum Anushka Sharma has been slowly building a portfolio of food-related investments. Last week, the actor joined Indian millet-based start-up Wholsum Foods as an investor and brand ambassador for its flagship brand Slurrp Farm.

The company, founded in 2016, creates millet-based snacks and meals for children that are also available in the UAE, as well as online in the US and UK. The ancient grain is a traditional food in India.

“It’s a realisation that hit home even harder after I became a mother — I want my daughter to develop a healthy relationship with food and I have to start her on that journey early on,” Sharma said.

“Wholsum Foods was started by two mothers so their mission to unjunk the plates of kids and families across the world resonates with me strongly … Through the partnership, I hope to help nurture India’s rich heritage of millets and enable today’s generation to leave behind a healthier lifestyle and planet for those to come,” she said.

Sharma posted a promotional announcement to her Instagram account last week, posing alongside co-founders Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan, a swimmer who represented India at the Asian Games.

Her investment follows Wholsum Foods’ $7m funding round led by Investment Corporation of Dubai and multi-stage venture fund Fireside Ventures. The Gurugram-based company aims to nearly triple revenue over the next year, from 550m Indian rupees ($7.2m) to 1.5 billion rupees by March 2023.

In February, Sharma and her husband, cricketer Virat Kohli, joined Mumbai-based fake meat brand Blue Tribe as investors and brand ambassadors for an undisclosed amount.

Sharma's net worth is estimated to be about $35m, according to Indian media. Her income stems principally from acting and producing work in more than 20 films, and from endorsements for brands such as Standard Chartered bank.

The actor last month stepped away from Clean Slate Filmz, the production venture she founded with her brother, Karnesh, to concentrate on acting. She also owns fashion brand Nush, launched in 2017, and has several investments with Kohli.

Elvis Presley's song catalogue will be managed by Universal Music under a new publishing deal. Courtesy RCA

Elvis Presley

Universal Music is to manage Elvis Presley’s song catalogue under a publishing deal with Authentic Brands Group announced earlier this month. Hits such as Can't Help Falling in Love and Jailhouse Rock are covered under the deal, Reuters reported. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal comes before the June release of director Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, Elvis, starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler.

It is the latest in a series of music catalogue deals, including sales by Bob Dylan, Tina Turner and Sting.

Presley’s estate is worth between $400m and $500m, according to Rolling Stone. At the time of his death at the age of 42 in 1977, the “King of Rock 'n' Roll” was estimated to be worth $5m.