Ever feel like things are in chaos around town? Haha. Of course you do. Just this morning, as this column was wrapping up, news of the Disney leadership shakeup hit. Which says something about the new bloodsport at work in entertainment as the stakes grow higher, but also more unidentifiable. And yeah, so it seemed like another well-timed peg to write about the tumult underlying the business of Hollywood.
But let’s start with what may be a success story. But as you know, the higher you rise, the harder the potential fall. This headline hit my newsfeeds a few times:
Even as a diehard Lakers fan, I rolled my eyes pretty hard when I read this. The topic of “How much is this celebrity worth?” is one of my least favorite types of “news” stories, since occasionally this happens:
Jenner isn’t the first billionaire to officially lose their totally unofficial status as a billionaire. Could LeBron James potentially join her in this ignominious club?
Diving even just a pinch deeper into the LeBron James billionaire story, we find that a huge portion of his net worth is driven by the exorbitant valuation of his production company, The SpringHill Company. Specifically, recent investments valued this production company at $725 million, and as majority owner, that makes LeBron’s share worth roughly $300 million. Consider this: if LeBron’s stake is valued at just $100 million, he loses his billionaire status.
Could that happen? Look at The SpringHill Company’s Wikipedia page:
That’s it? That’s seems like a lot of money for a company with only a dozen released credits to its name! And no library catalogue!
This has been a sneak preview of today’s edition of The Ankler, the industry’s secret newsletter. To read the rest of this issue, subscribe today for just $17 a month and don’t miss out on who’s in the hot seat next!
New on The Ankler
Paramount’s State of Slate: Analyzing Shari’s suddenly swaggy studio.
Martini Shot – Other People’s Money: The methods networks use to predict what shows will be hits.
