2007's Savviest Celebrity Businesswomen

2007's Savviest Celebrity Businesswomen

Jennifer Aniston picked up $10 million for shilling water. Sandra Bullock banked double that for selling George Lopez into reruns. Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks and Madonna all made millions cashing in on the most important asset they own: themselves.

"Celebrities are realizing that they themselves are the brand," says Ryan Schinman, an entertainment consultant who has negotiated corporate deals with hundreds of celebrities, including Madonna with Motorola and Jessica Simpson with DirecTV. "Any time you can have a stake in a company, you are going to work harder to make it successful. It's more than just, 'Hey, we're putting you in a commercial.' "
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Aniston wins the best-timing award, grabbing an equity stake in Glacéau just before the company was sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in May. In exchange, Aniston glowed in ads for a product, SmartWater, that she was previously paying retail to drink. It's estimated that Aniston banked at least $10 million for this deal, including stock.

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