Skip Bayless – What makes him special?

John Edward Bayless II known by his professional name Skip Bayless is a renowned American sports columnist, television personality and author. Bayless gained recognition for his work at the ESPN2 network’s sports program ‘First Take’ on which he was a commentator alongside Stephen A. Smith. He served as the show’s commentator from 2007-2016. Since September 2016, Bayless has been serving as a commentator on the Fox Sports 1 show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe.

Before he was a commentator, Bayless served as a print journalist working at publications such as ‘The Miami Herald’, ‘The Los Angeles Times’, ‘The Dallas Morning News’, ‘Dallas Times Herald’, and the ‘Chicago Tribune’. He also hosted a sports talk show on the radio networks KLIF, KTCK and ESPN Radio. Bayless has received an Emmy nomination and is a recipient of the Webby People’s Voice Award among other honours felicitated to him.

Early Life and Education

Born as John Edward Bayless II on 4 December 1951 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bayless was nicknamed ‘Skip’ by his father right since his birth and opted to legally change his name to Skip Bayless as an adult. He is the son of Levita and John Sr. Bayless. His parents owned the Hickory House restaurant, Oklahoma City. Bayless has two siblings, a younger sister and a younger brother named Rick who is a well-known chef, restaurant owner and television personality.

Bayless attended the Northwest Classen High School, Oklahoma City and graduated in 1970. He was awarded the Grantland Rice Scholarship upon graduation and attended Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, from where he graduated in 1974 with majors in History and English. 

Career Rise

Bayless started a career in print journalism in the mid-70s, writing sports features for ‘The Miami Herald’ for 2 years. He was then hired by the ‘Los Angeles Times’ where he worked on sports stories and gained recognition for his investigative stories. Bayless moved to ‘The Dallas Morning News’ and later the ‘Dallas Times Herald’, serving as the lead sports columnist for both publications. He became the ‘Chicago Tribune’s lead sports columnist in 1998 and served there until 2001. He has also written articles for ‘Sports Illustrated’. Bayless also worked in radio for 13 years, hosting sports talk shows on networks like KLIF and KTKC, hosting ‘The Skip Bayless Show’ on the latter. He served as a guest on ESPN radio’s ‘The Fabulous Sports Babe’. he was named the primary guest host of ‘the Jim Rome Show’ and soon started co-hosting a show on ESPN radio.

Bayless became a regular on the Sunday Morning show on ESPN in the early 2000’s and served as a commentator for the Golf Channel. He made regular appearances on Fox Sport’s ‘The Last word’ hosted by Jim Rome, while also appearing on ‘The Best Damn Sports Show Period’ and ‘Rome is Burning’on the network. Bayless was hired by ESPN in 2004 serving on ESPN2’s show ‘Cold Pizza’ and was also tasked with writing columns for ESPN.com. The show was later renamed ‘First Take’. Bayless appeared on ‘First Take’ for the final time in June 2016 and soon moved to FOX where he debuted his show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe on Fox Sports 1.

Personal Life

Bayless has been married twice. Bayless was first married to his high school sweetheart when he was very young but the marriage did not last for long. He was then involved in a series of romantic relationships with four different women.

Bayless met publicist Ernestine Sclafani on the set of his show ‘First Take’ and the couple became friends instantly. After dating secretly for several years, the couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony and did not reveal about their marriage for several months. The couple do not have any children.Ernestine Sclafani  is the VP of Shandwick Public Relations.

Skip Bayless – Salary and Net Worth

Bayless draws an annual salary of approximately $4 Million and has an estimated net worth of approximately $7 Million.

Neil Cavuto – What makes him special?

Neil Patrick Cavuto is a reputed American television news anchor, business journalist and commentator who is best known for his work at the Fox Broadcasting network. Cavuto serves as the host of two television programs on Fox News channel which include ‘Cavuto on Business’ and ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’. His hosting responsibilities are also extended to the Fox’s sister channel i.e. Business Network where he hosts the show ‘Coast to Coast’.

Cavuto holds the position of being Fox Business Network’s senior vice president of business news in addition to being its managing editor. He is responsible for overseeing the content of business coverage. Additionally, Cavuto tapes business news on a nightly wrap-up basis which is then aired on several local FOX affiliates in the late-night slot. He also has a radio business news segment which is syndicated and airs every afternoon on weekdays. Cavuto is also an author.

Early Life and Education

Cavuto was born on 22 September 1958 in Westbury, New York as the only son of United Nations staffer turned homemaker Kathleen T. Feeley and her husband, a sales executive for a can company, Patrick “Pat” Cavuto. He has Italian and Irish ancestry from his father’s and mother’s side respectively. Cavuto was raised in the city of Danbury, Connecticut.

Cavuto attended and graduated from the Immaculate High School, Danbury and as a high school student, served as a manager of a local fish and chips restaurant. He also served in the capacity of an intern at the White House during the administration of United States President Jimmy Carter. Cavuto later attended St. Bonaventure University, New York from where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication in 1980. He then enrolled into American University, Washington D.C., to earn his master’s degree.

Career Rise

Cavuto started his career in broadcasting in the capacity of a host of the CNBC network show ‘Power Lunch’. He also made appearances on the NBC show ‘Today’. For almost 15 years, Cavuto served as a member of the Public Broadcasting Service. He also served as the chief of New York City bureau.

Cavuto started gaining prominence in his career after being employed by the Fox Network in early 1996 when he was named as the managing editor for business news. He was also named the host of his own show ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox News Channel’ which started airing in July 1996 and was later named the Vice President for Fox’s Business News network in March 2006. His show ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’ on Fox News Channel is named as the main business news show for Fox. Cavuto continues to serve in all three positions at the network. He also hosts the shows ‘Cavuto on Business’ and ‘Coast to Coast’ on FNC and FBN respectively.

Cavuto was awarded with the Wall Street Journal award for four consecutive years. He has also received five Cable ACE award nominations. He has authored two books; ‘Your Money or Your Life’ and ‘More Than Money’ both of which became best-sellers.

 Neil Cavuto – Wife

Cavuto dated Mary Fulling for a few years and married her on 15 October, 1983. The couple have been together ever since. Together, the couple are parents to one biological daughter named Tara. They also have two adopted sons named Jeremy and Bradley. The family resides in Mendham, New Jersey.

Trivia

Cavuto has experienced several health problems. He has battled cancer and was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after being free of cancer. Cavuto underwent an open-heart surgery in June 2016.

Neil Cavuto – Salary and Net Worth

Cavuto draws an annual salary of approximately $7 Million and has an estimated net worth of approximately $23 Million.

Sandra Smith – What makes her special?

Sandra Kaye Smith is a renowned American television journalist who is best known for her work at the Fox network where she serves as a reporter and anchor. Smith is associated with both, the ‘Fox News Channel’ and the ‘Fox Business Network’ with its base in New York City. Previously, Smith served in the capacity of the co-host of the popular daytime news and talk series ‘Outnumbered’ on Fox. In addition to her journalism career, Smith is also a renowned Field and Track runner, having been active throughout her years at college running for the Louisiana State University.

Although Smith started her career in the finance space, serving for big financial organizations such as Hermitage Capital Management and Aegis Capital Group as a research associate, her television career began when she was hired as an on-air reporter by Bloomberg television. In 2007, she started her career with Fox Business network and has since appeared on several popular Fox shows including ‘Fox Business Happy Hour’, ‘Imus in the Morning’ ‘Hannity’ and ‘ Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld’.

Early Life and Education

Smith was born on 22nd September 1980 in the city of Chicago, Illinois but was raised in Wheaton, Illinois by her parents. She is the only daughter of her parents.  While her mother is a homemaker, Smith’s father is a former floor trader, having served at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor. Smith has White-American ancestry.

Smith studied at the Wheaton Warrenville South Public High School, Wheaton, Illinois graduating in 1998. She ran both, cross country and track, as was the school teams captain for cross country during her senior year. She was the Illinois High School Association state qualifier, and earned the honour at the All-DuPage Valley Conference. Smith then enrolled into Louisiana State University, continuing as a track field and cross-country runner and created several athletics records, some of which are still unbeaten. She took business classes and minored in speech when she graduated LSU.

Career Rise

Smith was initially inclined to a career in business management and started working as a research associate with Aegis Capital Group serving as an assistant in the stock retail analysis and research division, where she was tasked with preparing weekly stock newsletters and classifying investment prospects for the clients. She then shifted to Hermitage Capital Management in the capacity of a trader where she was responsible for the execution of option orders and equities, conducting analysis of stock portfolios and preparing commission reports until she moved to Terra Nova Institutional, Chicago serving as an Institutional trading and sales director. She also handled investment management and hedge fund accounts.

Smith’s career into television began when she was offered a position at Bloomberg television where she served as an on air-reporter. She covered stories on derivative markets and U.S. equities and contributed breaking business news stories. In October 2007, when the Fox Business network was launched, Smith was hired as a reporter. Since then, Smith has made appearances on various FBN show which include ‘Imus in the Morning’, ‘Fox Business Happy Hour’, ‘Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld’ and ‘Hannity’. In April 2014, Smith started serving as the co-host of the FNC show ‘Outnumbered’ on which she discusses current news and national events as well as cultural topics with Harris Faulkner and Meghan McCain as her co-hosts.

 

Personal Life

Smith was involved in a romantic long-distance relationship with business commentator John Connolly for many years, with Smith being bases in New York City while Connolly resided in Chicago. The couple tied the knot in 2010 and welcomed their first child, daughter Cora Belle in 2011. In 2015, they became parents for a second time with the birth of their son John Connolly Jr. The family resides in New York City.

The media refers to the 1.73 meter Smith as a “tomboy” due to her athletic frame and her passion for running. She also embraced hunting as a sport after being introduced to it by her husband.

Sandra Smith – Salary and Net Worth

Smith draws an annual salary of $300,000 and has an estimated net worth of approximately $2 Million.

The Rise of Omarion!

Omari Ishmael Grandberry, known popularly as Omarion is a famous American singer, rapper and songwriter. He is also known for his acting and dancing talents. Omarion gained prominence after being named the lead singer of B2K, the American R&B boy band. The band produced chart topping singles such as “Bump, Bump, Bump”, “Girlfriend” and “Uh Huh”, all of which reached top positions on the Billboard Hot 100 charts across the United States.

Omarion started his career as a solo artist, marking his debut with album ‘O’ in 2005 after B2K split up in 2004. The album debuted on the top of the Billboard 200 chart and earned Omarion a Grammy nomination in the category ‘Best Contemporary R&B Album’. He released his second solo album, titled ’21’ in 2006, which became the highest-seller of his career. Omarion then went on to release his next two solo albums, ‘Ollusion’ in 2010 and ‘Sex Playlist’ in 2014, both of which were successful. He then ventured into acting, appearing in films like ‘You Got Served’, ‘Somebody Help Me’, ‘Fat Albert’, and ‘The Proud Family Movie’.

Early Life and Education

Omarion was born in Inglewood, California on 12 November 1984 as the oldest of the seven children of Leslie Burrel and her husband Trent Grandberry where he was raised along with his younger siblings; sisters Arielle, Amira and Kira and brothers O’Ryan, Tymon and Ukil. He is an American citizen with African-American ethnicity.

Omarion started performing at the young age of five and was known for his unique dance moves. As a child, he appeared in commercials for McDonald’s and Kellogg’s Corn Pops. Omarion was never interested in studies. He played on his high school’s football team but dropped out mid-way when he was discovered by music producer Chris Stokes who cast him in the boy band ‘B2K’ in 1999, when he was 15.

Career Rise

Omarion was part of the R&B boy band ‘B2K’ from 2001 to 2004 during which time, the band released two successful albums; ‘B2K’, and ‘Pandemonium’. ‘B2K’ featured the hit singles “Girlfriend”, “Bump, Bump, Bump” and “Uh Huh”, all of which became hugely successful and featured on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The band also appeared together in the 2004 film ‘You Got Served” but split in 2004 and Omarion embarked upon a solo career. Around the same time, Omarion started his career on the big screen appearing in films like ‘Fat Albert’, ‘The Proud Family Movie’, ‘Somebody Help Me’ and ‘Feel the Noise’.

The 1.68 meter tall Omarion made his solo debut in 2005 with the album ‘O’ which reached the number 1 spot on U.S. Charts. He released his second solo album, ’21’ in 2006 featuring the hit single “Ice Box”, which became a huge hit. In 2010, Omarion released ‘Ollusion’, his third solo album, which featured the hit single “I Get It In” and 4 years later, in 2014, released ‘Sex Playlist’, his fourth solo album which featured the 3x platinum certified single “Post to Be”, which reached number 13 on Billboard Hot 100 and went on to become the highest charting single of his career. His TV appearances include. ‘The Bernie Mac Show’, ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’, ‘Let’s Stay Together’ and ‘Love & Hip Hop’.

    

Personal Life

Omarion was in a relationship with his ‘You Got Served’ co-star, actress Jennifer Freeman. The couple dated from 2003 – 2005 when they announced their split.

Omarion then started dating Apryl Jones and the couple announced the birth of their son, Megaa Omari in August 2014. Jones gave birth to their second child, a daughter named A’mei Kazuko in March 2016. The couple announced their breakup in late 2016.

Omarion – Net Worth

Omarion has an estimated net worth of approximately $8 Million

Samantha Bee – What makes her a favorite?

Samantha Bee is a famous Canadian-American comedian, actress, television host and writer. She is also a political commentator and a media critic. Bee rose to prominence when she started appearing on the 21 Prime-time Emmy Award winning late-night talk show, ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ in the capacity of a correspondent. The show airs on Comedy Central and became its longest-serving regular correspondent until she left the show in 2015, after serving for 12 years. She has since been hosting her own show on TBS titled ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’.

Bee has been felicitated with several awards which include 3 Canadian Comedy Awards, 1 Television Critics Association Award, 1 Women’s Media Center award, 1 Gold Derby Award, 1 Dorian and 1 Gracie Award. Additionally, her show, ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’ has received 4 nominations across different categories at the upcoming 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards. Bee was named in the Time Magazine list of ‘100 most influential people in the world’ in 2017.

 

Early Life and Education

Bee was born on 25 October 1969 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to her parents, mother Debra and father Ronald Bee. Her parents divorced when she was just an infant and Bee was raised in the Roncesvalles Avenue area of Toronto by her grandmother, who served as a school secretary. Bee is of White Ethnicity.

During the early years of her life, Bee attended a Catholic school, where her grandmother was a secretary. She enrolled in Humberside Collegiate Institute and later at the York Memorial Collegiate Institute from where she graduated high school. Bee then enrolled into McGill University to study humanities but was dissatisfied and moved to University of Ottawa where she joined a theatre class. She discovered her acting talent and enrolled into Toronto’s George Brown Theatre School.

Career Rise

Such was her timing that she was given her own segment, “Samantha Bee’s So You Want To Bee A…”. She also hosted the “NILFs” (“News I’d Like to F#@k”), segment which became immensely popular. Bee started her acting career in 2004 with the Canadian film ‘Ham & Cheese’ which won her a Canadian Comedy Award. Bee continued to be the only female correspondent on ‘TDSWJS’ until she was joined by Kristen Schaal in 2008. She bid the show adieu in April 2015.

Bee started hosting ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’ in February 2016 making her the first woman in US TV history to host a satire show in the late-night slot. The show received critical acclaim and became a fan favourite and was renewed for season 2. Some of her film roles include ‘The Love Guru’, ‘Motherhood’, ‘Furry Vengeance’ and ‘Sisters’, while she made appearances on television shows like ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie’, ‘Law & Order’, ‘Sesame Street’, ‘Good God’, ‘Bounty Hunters’, ‘Creative Galaxy’ and ‘Game On’. She is that author of the book ‘I Know I Am, But What Are You?’ published in 2010.

Husband and Children

Bee dated actor Jason Jones for a few years until she married him in 2001. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Piper Bee-Jones in January 2006. In 2008, Bee announced the birth of their second child, a son named Fletcher Bee-Jones and in 2010, Bee became a mother for the third time with the birth of her daughter Ripley Bee-Jones.

Jason Pierre Jones is known for the TBS comedy series called The Detour, which he co-produced with Samantha Bee. He was also associated with the show ‘ The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ from 2005 to 2015.

 

Samantha  Bee – Net Worth and Salary

Bee has an estimated net worth of approximately $2.5 Million. Her estimated salary is around $2 million.

Sheryl Sandberg – What makes her Special?

Sheryl Kara Sandberg is a renowned American technology executive, author and activist who currently serves in the capacity of Facebook’s chief operating officer (COO). Sandberg is also the founder of the company Leanin.org (known popularly as the Lean In Foundation). Sandberg became the first woman to be elected to Facebook’s board of directors in June 2012 after being elected by its existing board members unanimously.

Sandberg previously served as the chief of staff for Lawrence Summers, the United States Secretary of Treasury. Sandberg also worked at Google, serving as the Vice President of Google’s global online operations and sales before joining Facebook and played an instrumental role in the launch of Google.org., the company’s philanthropic arm. Additionally, she sits on the board of The Walt Disney Company, Women for Women International, Center for Global Development, V-Day and SurveyMonkey. Sandberg was named in By Time Magazine in their list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.

Early Life and Education

Sandberg was born on 28 August 1969 in Washington D.C. to parents Adele Einhorn and Joel Sandberg as the couple’s oldest child and raised in Miami Beach, Florida. Sandberg’s father served as an ophthalmologist while her mother was a French and English language teacher, who founded the non-profit organization ‘Ear Peace-Save Your Hearing. She was raised in a Jewish household along with her younger siblings, sister Michelle and brother David Sandberg.

Sandberg was a student of North Miami Beach High School, where she was class president in her Sophomore year and was a National Honour Society member. Sandberg enrolled into Harvard College in 1987 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1991. At Harvard, she co-founded the ‘Women in Economics and Government’ organization. She was later recruited by mentor and thesis adviser, professor Larry Summers to serve at World Bank as his research assistant and travelled to India to work on health projects. Sandberg also earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

Career Rise

Sandberg served at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant for a year from 1995-96. She went back to working for Larry Summers from 1996 to 2001 during his tenure as United States Secretary of Treasury under the Bill Clinton Administration but left the job when the Republicans gained US Presidency in 2000. Sandberg started her career at Google Inc. in 2001 where she was named the Global Online Operations and Sales Vice President serving at the company until March 2008.

Sandberg who has earlier met Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg informally in late 2007, was hired by him in March 2008, as the company’s Chief Operations Officer because he deemed her “a perfect fit” for the role. Sandberg, after becoming a Facebook employee strove to find means to make the company profitable. While Facebook’s strategy early on was to build a “cool site”, allowing profits to follow, Sandberg proposed the idea of discreet advertising and the company became profitable by 2010. Sandberg oversees the business operations, which include sales, business development, marketing, public policy, resources and communications. She was named as the eighth member and first woman on the board of directors of Facebook in 2012.

Personal Life

Sandberg has been married twice. She was first married to Brian Kraft but their marriage lasted for only a year from 1993-94.

Sandberg then married Yahoo! executive Dave Goldberg in 2004, who later became the CEO of SurveyMonkey. Together they have two children; a boy and a girl. Sandberg’s husband passed in May 2015 after he fell off a treadmill and sustained injuries to his head which resulted in severe loss of blood. Sandberg   lives with her family at Menlo Park, California.

Sandberg is in a relationship with her long-time friend and video game publishing company Activision Blizzard’s CEO Robert Kotick. The two fell in love after being friends for a long time. Activision is the owner of  King Games last week, the company being the world’s most popular and addictive game, Candy Crush.

Sheryl Sandberg – Salary and Net Worth

Sandberg’s  salary is an estimated US$24 million. She has an estimated net worth of approximately US$1.65 billion.

 

Brian Kilmeade – Knowing him Better!

Brian Kilmeade is a popular American television and radio personality and TV show host best known for his work at FOX network’s Fox News Channel where he serves as the co-host of the popular morning show ‘Fox and Friends’ alongside Ainsley Earhardt and Steve Doocy. He also serves as the host of ‘Kilmeade and Friends’ on Fox News Radio and occasionally hosts the show ‘The Five’ on Fox News Channel.

Kilmeade is also an author having written both fiction and non-fiction books on sports and politics. Some of his best-selling books include ‘The Games Do Count: America’s Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports’, pulished in 2004, ‘It’s How You Play the Game: The Powerful Sports Moments that Taught Lasting Values to America’s Finest’ in 2007, ‘George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution, published in 2013, and ‘Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War that Changed American History’ published in 2015.

Early Life and Education

Kilmeade was born on 7 May 1964 in New York City, New York, USA where he was also raised. He is the middle child of his father and his mother Marie Kilmeade and has two brothers. His older brother is named Steve Kilmeade while the younger one is Jim Kilmeade. Kilmeade has Italian and Irish ancestry and was raised as a Roman Catholic.

Kilmeade attended the public high school, Massapequa High School, New York where he was very active in sports and cultural activities, hosting several events. He graduated in 1982 and later enrolled into C.W. Post (Brookville, New York) from where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Arts with a minor in Political Science. 

Career Rise

Kilmeade started his career in the capacity of a correspondent at Channel One News, the national high school TV news program that airs daily. He later served as a host on Ontoria, California’s KHSC-TV. Kilmeade’s next job was as the co-host of Jim Brown on ‘The Jim Brown Show’ that aired on the all-sports radio network XTRA-AM, affiliated to FOX Sports, San Diego and in 1993, joined Brown on the announcing team of the inaugural UFC 1 (Ultimate Fighting Championship) event where he conducted interviews, post-fights. He later served as a play-by-play commentator in 1994 for both UFC2 and UFC3.

The 5 feet 10 inch Kilmeade opted for more freelance sports anchoring opportunities from 1997, beginning with serving as a sports anchor for the WVIT(NBC) network in Hartford, Connecticut. He later worked as MSG network’s side-line reporter covering major league soccer team New York/New Jersey MetroStars. He then served at Newsport TV as an anchor and feature reporter, hosting Newsport Journal and Scoreboard Central. Kilmeade Joined Fox News Radio in April 2006 and currently serves as the co-host of ‘Fox & Friends’, while also hosting ‘The Five’, frequently. He also hosts ‘Kilmeade & Friends’ on Fox News Radio.

Wife and Children

Kilmeade dated Dawn DeGaetano for several years until he finally married her in December 1993. Together they have three children; a son named Brian Kilmeade and two daughters, Kirstyn and Kaitlyn Kilmeade. The family currently resides in Massapequa, New York along with their Burmanese dog, Duke.

Kilmeade owned a home in Long Island, New York that was destroyed when Hurricane Sandy hit New York in November 2012, in which some of his neighbour’ homes completely exploded.

Brian Kilmeade – Salary and Net Worth

Kilmeade draws an annual salary of approximately$200,000 and has an estimated net worth of approximately $2.5 Million.

 

Kobe Bryant – The NBA Legend!

Kobe Bean Bryant is a famous American professional basketball player who has now retired from the game. He is also a businessman. Bryant spent his entire 2 decades as a basketball player, playing for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Los Angeles Lakers. He was recruited to the NBA team directly from high school and was part of five NBA championships won by the Lakers team. Upon retirement, Bryant remains an 18-time All-Star, while also serving on the All-NBA Team 15 times and on the All-Defensive team 12 times.

Bryant has led the NBA on the scoreboard in two seasons. He holds the third and fourth ranks in scoring in NBA’s all-time regular season and all-time postseason lists respectively. Bryant also holds the NBA record for playing with the same franchise throughout his entire career. He also holds the record of being the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 points in his career and for being the leading scorer of all-time in the history of Lakers franchise, surpassing Jerry West’s record. Bryant, who played on the U.S. National team, won two gold medals at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012.

Kobe Bryant won an Oscar in 2018 for writing the best animated short film ‘Dear Basketball’. It was certainly a moment of triumph as he stood his own against the likes of people like Harrison Ford and Christopher Nolan

Early Life and Education

Bryant was born on 23 August 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest child of Pamela Cox Bryant and Joe Bryant, a former NBA player. He has two elder sisters named Sharia and Shaya. Although born in USA, Bryant spent a huge part of his formative years in Rieti, Italy, where his father moved to advance his basketball career after leaving the NBA. Bryant speaks Italian fluently and was raised as a Roman Catholic.

Bryant attended Lower Merion High School, Lower Merion, Philadelphia where he was a star player and played on the varsity basketball team all through his freshman, Junior and Senior year in high school, leading his team ‘The Aces’ to their first state win after 53 years. Bryant chose to embark upon a professional NBA career at age 17, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Career Rise

Bryant started his basketball career at age 17, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA season of 1996-97, and became the youngest player in NBA history. He also became the youngest champion at the 1997 ‘Slam Dunk Contest’, and earned his place in the second ‘NBA All Rookie’ team. He was voted as the starter for NBA All-Star’ in 1997-98, and again became the youngest player to receive the honour. Bryant started excelling as a shooting guard and was recruited on the ‘All-NBA’, ‘All-Star’ and ‘All-Defensive’ teams. He led the Lakers to victory in the 1999-2002 seasons and became the ‘Pacific Division’ title winner in 2003-04.

Bryant made the record of scoring 81 points while playing against the ‘Toronto Raptors’ in 2006 and went on to become the first player in NBA history to score 45 points in 4 games. Bryant was once again selected for the ‘All-Star Game’ in 2006-07, winning the ‘All-Star Game MVP Trophy’, a second time. He became the youngest player to ever reach 20,000 points in 2007 and won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, representing the American basketball team. The Lakers became NBA champions in 2009 and 2010 and Bryant broke the record of being the highest scorer in Lakers’ history set by Jerry West. The U.S. team won Gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics and in the December of the year, Bryant reached 30,000 points in his career, becoming the first player in the history of NBA to achieve this milestone.

Kobe Bryant – Career Stats

Points 33,643 (25.0 ppg)
Rebounds 7,047 (5.2 rpg)
Assists 6,306 (4.7 apg)

Personal Life

There was a time when the 1. 98 meter tall Kobe completely immersed himself in a rap career, with the hiphop director Hype Williams directing the first single,  K.O.B.5.  The song didn’t get the kind of response he was hoping, but in the bargain, he met his future wife Vanessa  This was in November 1999 when he was 21 and she was 17. The two  dated  for six months before the couple got engaged in May 2000, while Laine was still a high school senior and married in 2001.

 

The couple’s became parents to their first child; a daughter named Natalia Diamante Bryant. They have two more daughters; Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant and Bianka Bella Bryant born in 2006 and 2016 respectively.

When they got married, Vanessa was  an 18 year high school student. The marriage was not a smooth ride, considering Bryant was accused of se**al assault by a 19 year old hotel worker. Bryant said that the act was consensual; the charges were dropped by the woman who said she didn’t want to go ahead with the charges.

2011 was the time when  Vanessa filed for divorce in 2011 citing irreconcilable differences. In 2013, the couple stated that they were calling off their divorce.  After Kobe’s retirement in 2015, Vanesa said that the couple were entering a new chapter in their life.

Kobe Bryant -House

Bryant owns and resides in a 8,741 square feet mansion on New Port Beach, California, which features an 850-square-foot movie theatre, an indoor gym, a custom indoor shark tank and a hair salon, a huge swimming pool with a waterfall and an outdoor spa, a tennis court, an outdoor kitchen, four bedrooms, six bathrooms, a private sitting room, a walk-in closet, a large office, a library, and a garage.

Bryant also owns two more homes in Orange County and Pacific Palisades. The Orange County home is 14,000 square feet huge while the Pacific Palisades home has huge living spaces with six bedrooms with 11 bathrooms. All the three homes are in Orange County. Kobe also owns a helicopter that he uses to go and play his games.

Cars

He is partial to Italian cars, and owns a Bentley, a Lamborghini and a Range Rover.

Kobe Bryant – Salary

Kobe Bryant is the second all-time highest paid player in NBA history, lagging just behind Kevin Garnett.  His highest single season salary has been $30.5 million, in his  20-season game history.  He has played 5 championships and 18 all-star games.

 

Kobe Bryant – Net worth

Bryant has an estimated net worth of approximately $350 Million. He also earns from endorsements thanks to his tieups with Nike, Panini, Lenova and Hublot.

Business Interests

Kobe started his company Kobe Inc in 2013; it is more of a business partner with other companies rather than standing on  its own. One of its first investments was a 10 per cent stake in BodyArmor, a sports drink brand. He spent close to $6 million to purchase his own office bulding in Newport Beach.

 

Know Lakshmi Mittal Better!

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is a reputed Indian businessman and steel magnate, often dubbed as the “King of Steel” or “Iron Man of Calcutta”. Mittal is based in the United Kingdom where he serves in the capacity of CEO and Chairman of the Luxemburg based steel-manufacturing corporation, ArcelorMittal of which he owns a 38% stake. He also holds an 11% stake in the London based football club Queens Park Rangers F.C. Mittal is also known for his philanthropic endeavors and is currently regarded as the world’s 56th richest person and is the 6th richest person in India.

Mittal was ranked by Forbes as the world’s third richest person in 2005 and was named as the “Business person of the year”, “Person of the Year” and “International newsmaker of the year” in 2006 by The Sunday Times, The financial Times and Time Magazine respectively. He featured in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and was ranked as 57th-most powerful in Forbes’ list of Most Powerful People in 2017.

Early Life and Education

Mittal was born on 15 June 1950 in Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India as the son of homemaker Geeta Mittal and steel business owner Mohanlal Mittal. He was raised as a Hindu in a Marwari Aggarwal caste family in the Indian city of Calcutta, (now Kolkatta) along with his siblings. Mittal has three younger siblings; brothers Pramod and Vinod Mittal, who are also in the steel business and a sister named Seema Lohia.

From 1957-1964, Mittal attended and completed his matriculation from Shri Daulatram Nopany Vidyalaya in Calcutta. He later enrolled in St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, affiliated to University of Calcutta from where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce in first Class. Mittal started his own business at the age of 26.

 

Career Rise

Mittal father owned a steel business called Nippon Denro Ispat and he followed in his father’s footsteps. After the Indian government put a ban on steel production, Mittal moved to Indonesia where he started his own steel business, at the age of 26 by launching his first steel producing called PT Ispat Indo, in Sidoarjo city, East Java. Mittal built his empire by buying out several steel companies that were running losses and turned them into huge successes which include the loss-making Trinidad and Tobago based government owned steel firm in 1989, Mexico’s third largest producer of steel, Sircasta in 1992, Kazakhstan’s Steel Blast furnace plant. He also acquired steel plants in Germany in 1995 and formed two new companies named Ispat Shipping and Ispat international Ltd.

Mittal formed ‘Mittal Steel’ in 2004 by merging Ispat International with LNM holdings and Ohio, USA’s International Steel Group Inc., to become the largest steel producer in the world and extended its empire to 14 countries world-wide. The company took over the European Steel giant Arselor and renamed it ArcelorMittal.

Additionally, Mittal has been on the board of Directors for EADS since 2007 and Goldman Sachs since 2008. He is a member of the executive committee of World Steel Association. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India and the Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Personal Life

Mittal is married to Usha Mittal for many years now and the couple have two children together. Mittal is father to his son Aditya Mittal and daughter Vanisha Mittal. His daughter Vanisha Mittal’s wedding to British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia in 2004, is regarded as the second most expensive wedding in the world’s recorded history.

Mittal is also known for his philanthropy and has donated huge sums of money to several causes including Sports, Education and Medical care in India and UK alike. Mittal is a lacto-vegetarian.

Houses

Mittal resides at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens in West Central London, England, United Kingdom. He purchased the home from Formula One business magnate Bernie Ecclestone for £67 million or US$128 million in 2004, which was, at the time considered the most expensive house in the world. The house boasts of an extravagant show of wealth and is decorated with marble that is supposedly unearthed from the same quarry which supplied marbles for the building of Taj Mahal in Agra, India. As such, the house is often referred to as “Taj Mittal” and has 12 bedrooms, Turkish baths, an indoor pool and a parking space for 20 cars.

Mittal is the owner of three prime properties worth £500 million collectively at Kensington Palace Gardens’ “Billionaire’s Row”. He gifted 9A Palace Greens in the same area, worth £70 million to his daughter on her wedding. He also owns a $30 million colonial Bungalow in New Delhi’s posh Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road which is an exclusive street, home to embassies and billionaires. He also owns holiday homes in Scotland and Switzerland.

Cars

Mittal has a fleet of almost 20 cars but is partial to three cars specifically which are his Porsche Boxster coupe, a Mercedes Benz C-Class and a BMW.  He also owns an ultra-luxurious Recreational Vehicle or Vanity  Van, which includes a master suite, a bedroom, a huge living area and lot of entertainment options.

Mercedes Benz C-Class
Porsche Boxster coupe
Lakshmi Mittal vanity van
Lakshmi Mittal vanity van

Yacht and Jet

He also owns 267.47 feet luxury yacht, Amevi and a Gulfstream 550 private jet.

 

Amevi is a 26.47 feet luxury yacht that cost him $150 million in 2007. It is the 34th biggest yacht in the world,  262.47 square feet long.  The yacht can move at a maximum speed of 34.3 kilometers per hour or 18.5 knots; the cruising speed is 26 kilometers per hour or 14 knots.  The yacht has eight VIP rooms; all the other rooms also include luxury bathrooms and jacuzzi. The yacht also has two outdoors bars.

 

 

 

Laxmi Mittal – Net Worth

As of 2017, Mittal has an estimated net worth of approximately $16.4 Billion.

Ravish Kumar – What makes him one of the best News Anchors in India

Ravish Kumar is a reputed Indian news and television journalist, anchor and author who is best known for his work at the New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) news channel, where he serves as a Hindi language news anchor and reporter, dealing with Indian Political stories. Kumar also serves in the capacity of NDTV India’s senior executive editor which is the Hindi language arm of NDTV news network. Kumar hosts some of the most popular shows on NDTV India including ‘Prime Time’ and ‘Hum Log’ and is also the host of his own show ‘Ravish Ki Report’.

Kumar is one of the most popular television news reporters in India. He has been felicitated with several awards including the prestigious ‘Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award’, for excellence in Hindi Journalism in 2010, the Ramnath Goenka Award in broadcasting journalism in 2013 and the Journalist of the Year award by the Mumbai press club in 2015. Kumar was named by the Indian Express in their list of Top 100 influential Indians in 2016. He received the first ever Kuldip Nayar journalism award for his contribution to journalism in 2017.

Early Life and Education

Kumar was born on 5 December 1974 in the Indian village of Jivatpur in historic East Champaran, Motihari district, Bihar, to his parents in a conventional, orthodox family. He was raised as a Hindu along with his two siblings, a brother named Brajesh Pandey, also a Hindi news journalist and a sister named Nita Kumari Pandey.

Kumar completed his matriculation from Loyola high School, Patna, Bihar and later attended Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, from where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts. Kumar aspired to serve in the Indian Administrative Services for which he appeared for the UPSC Civil Services Examination but the newly proposed Mandal Commission of India proposed to give preference to the OBC classes which resulted in Kumar not being selected for the IAS. He later attended the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi earning a post-graduate diploma in journalism

Career Rise

Kumar started his career in journalism in 1996 and was one of the earliest employees of the NDTV network founded by ace journalist Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy. He started off in the capacity of a news correspondent and was later promoted to the studio, where he served as a news reporter. In the early years of his career at NDTV, Kumar claims to have struggled with speaking in English and being intimidated by computers. He started gaining recognition for his non-assuming stance as a Hindi language news reporter, dealing mostly with stories of political significance.

Kumar became a household name after he started hosting his own show ‘Ravish Ki Report’ which deals with several different news stories from politics to human interest stories. He continues to serve as the host of the Hindi language debate-cum-current-affairs-talk- show ‘Hum Log’, while its English version ‘We, The People’ is hosted on NDTV24X7 by Sarah Jacobs. Kumar also serves as the host of NDTV show ‘Prime Time’ on which he covers the big stories of the day, often concentrating on the breaking news stories for which he received great acclaim. Additionally, Kumar is a Hindi language writer, having authored three books, ‘Ishq Mein Shahar Hona’, ‘Dekhate Rahiye’ and ‘Ravishpanti’

  

Wife

Kumar met Nayana Dasgupta while the two were studying at University of Delhi and soon developed a close bond with her. The couple started off as good friends and eventually got married after seven years of courtship. Kumar’s family was opposed to the match since Dasgupta belonged to the Bengali cast, so the couple eloped and married. Kumar and Dasgupta have two daughters together.

Dasgupta currently serves as a professor of history at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.

Ravish Kumar – Salary

His salary is an estimated Rs. 5 -6 lakh per month, not inclusive of employee stock options and perks. His monthly-take home is an approximate Rs. 17 lakhs, making his annual salary at around Rs. 2.1 crore.