Taylor Swift's private jet has emitted more carbon than any other celebrity's plane, according to a new report from UK-based digital marketing agency Yard.
The private jet used by Swift, which is also rented by other people, has been in the air for 22,923 minutes this year, completing 170 flights with the shortest journey a 36-minute flight from Missouri to Nashville.
Emissions clocked up on the jet represent 1,184 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions.
But the singer isn’t admitting fault.
“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect,” a representative for the singer told Rolling Stones magazine, which contacted all the celebrities on the list.
Yard said the rankings are based on the biggest offenders according to data on the Celebrity Jets Twitter account, which tracks private aircraft owned by A-listers, but admitted it was not conclusive.
The marketing company also confirmed that data was based on the planes and their time in the air, rather than whether celebrities were passengers on each of the recorded journeys.
According to the report, jets owned by A-listers have emitted an average of 3,376.64 tonnes of CO2 emissions so far this year. That's more than 480 times above the average person’s annual emissions.
Other top offending jets include ones used by Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott and Oprah Winfrey.
A jet owned by boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is also among the worst culprits.
The sportsman ranked second after his jet emitted more than 7,000 tonnes of CO2 this year. Mayweather's $50 million plane has flown more times than any other on the list, averaging around 25 flights per month. The retired boxer also has the shortest trip in the ranking, with a 10-minute jaunt in Las Vegas.
“It’s easy to get lost in the dazzling lives of the rich and famous, but unfortunately, they’re a massive part of the CO2 problem we have with the aviation industry,” said Chris Butterworth, digital sustainability director at Yard.
“Research shows a vast divide between the super-rich and the rest of us regarding flights, travel, and even general emissions.”
The worst private jets used by celebrities
1. Taylor Swift
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Jay-Z
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Blake Shelton
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Kim Kardashian
8. Mark Wahlberg
9. Oprah Winfrey
10. Travis Scott
Kylie Jenner, who sparked a social media backlash last week after posting a picture of hers and Travis Scott’s planes on Instagram, didn’t rank in the top 10.
Instead, the reality TV star was the 19th worst celebrity for CO2 offences via private jet, but her partner rounded out the top 10.
Yard compiled the rankings by scraping data from Celebrity Jets, which was cross-compared to the general population’s CO2 emissions and each celebrity's CO2. It considers the number of flights each star's jet has taken, the average length of each flight, distance travelled and the total CO2 emissions created from flying since the start of 2022.
Earlier this week, Drake was called out after the same Celebrity Jets Twitter account revealed his Boeing 767 had taken multiple short flights, including one lasting only seven minutes.
The Canadian singer attempted to defend the flights, posting on Instagram that “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics … nobody takes that flight.”
However, critics responded that empty flights were even worse for the environment, as the pollution created was even more futile.
Because they carry so few people, private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger, according to Transport and Environment, a clean transport campaign group in Europe.
The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:
What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.
Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.
When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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The five pillars of Islam
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The five pillars of Islam
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full