http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2154866 SHANGHAI, China -- Yao Ming topped Forbes Magazine's list of Chinese celebrities again. The Houston Rockets' star signed a five-year, $75 million contract last week, and earned the ranking for the second straight year, the magazine's Chinese version reported on its Web site. The 7-foot-6 center and three-time NBA All-Star has one year left on his rookie contract, which will pay him more than $5.5 million next season. Forbes put Yao's 2004 income at $18.5 million, about 25 percent higher than last year. Second on the list was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actress Zhang Ziyi, followed by Olympic gold medal winning sprinter Liu Xiang.
So he wont start getting paid for his new contract until next season? I figured when he signed it it was effective immediately.
OHHH....first I saw it and thought that's a pretty low number to top the forbes list, but then I saw that it was only celebrities. You'd think with such a large population you'd have more celebrities.
These numbers aren't that low for just salary and commerical endorsement. Most of the American celebs that top the US list are also producers that make most of their money on the production side. People like George Lucas and Oprah, who tend to top these rankings, earn it from owning significant portions of their product.
I know. I meant I thought these were the rankings for the richest people in China. I've heard there are many billionaires in China so it was strange that Yao topped the list.
Awesome, Great for Yao...I mean come on...number one over that...ummm...guy from....uhhhh....well....what about that girl from........ah..... Nevermind....way to go Yao.
LOL - Well said.... Not to mention state income taxes in every state he plays a game that has a state income tax. DD
A celebrity will most likely be a million/billionaire. A million/billionaire however, might not necessarily be a celebrity.
Yes...I understand now. So if a quack is a duck and a muck is a duck then can a duck be a muck but not a quack? (Please don't bother answering this question)
it just shows the richest celebs, movie stars, sports stars, or whatever, in china. not richest people in general.
The Olympics are huge in China, especially with the '08 games coming up in Beijing. A hot Olympian probably has the potential to make lots of $ in China.
