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Flagship turns to Novartis HR guru in latest addition; David Grainger saddles up to new position at Centessa while Pfizer’s Rod MacKenzie prepares to ride into the sunset

David Grainger
→ In a development that just seemed to add up neatly given Medicxi’s involvement with Centessa, the brainchild of Francesco de Rubertis has named fellow Medicxi co-founder David Grainger as chief innovation officer. Diving in here at…

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David Grainger

→ In a development that just seemed to add up neatly given Medicxi’s involvement with Centessa, the brainchild of Francesco de Rubertis has named fellow Medicxi co-founder David Grainger as chief innovation officer. Diving in here at Centessa means that Grainger will cede his previous Medicxi responsibilities but he will “continue in a consulting capacity,” as confirmed by our Amber Tong on Tuesday.

“By jumping into a full-time operations role I feel I can have the biggest impact, bringing innovative medicines to patients as quickly as possible, while creating significant value for Centessa shareholders,” Grainger told Endpoints News.

Rod MacKenzie

→ Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tweeted out plaudits for Rod MacKenzie when he announced the chief development officer’s retirement on Wednesday. Mackenzie began at Pfizer 35 years ago as a medicinal chemist and has performed a cavalcade of roles ever since, getting the nod as development chief in 2016. This marks the third major retirement in the last year at the drug giant, with Aida Habtezion taking over for CMO Mace Rothenberg, who stepped aside to kick off 2021, and CBO John Young leaving after 34 years. (Pfizer already has named Aamir Malik as Young’s replacement.) And like Young, MacKenzie is set to retire in early 2022.

Steven Baert

→ Flagship Pioneering has poached Steven Baert from Novartis, making him chief human capital officer. It’s a huge task in front of him, but 15 years at the Swiss pharma equipped him for it: He will be in charge of piecing together leadership teams for the 6-8 companies that Flagship forms annually. Baert had steadily climbed through the ranks in human resources at Novartis, eventually becoming global head of HR and then chief people officer, a position he had held since 2014.

Valeria Fantin

→ One year wonder: Valeria Fantin has changed Big Pharma allegiances from Gilead to Sanofi, becoming the global head of oncology research at the French multinational after just a year leading oncology research at Gilead. Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson has made several oncology plays recently, scooping up a checkpoint inhibitor from Biond Biologics for $125 million upfront in January and acquiring Kiadis and its NK cell platform in November 2020. Fantin, the ex-CSO at Zai Lab, will be overseeing immuno-oncology and molecular oncology research.

→ Still smarting from the FDA rejection of its hemophilia A gene therapy — with durability questions that continue to linger after presenting more data this summer — BioMarin has turned to former University of California, San Francisco professor Harold Bernstein to be CMO and head of clinical development, and Ganesh Vedantham is now part of JJ Bienaimé’s team as SVP, technical development. During almost four years at Vertex, Bernstein was head of translational medicine and VP of global medicines development. Vedantham spent almost 20 years at Amgen, and in his last role there, he led process development organization at the pharma giant’s manufacturing facility in Singapore.

Morgan Molloy

→ Launched in January with support from Biogen and Genentech, Boston neuro biotech Atalanta Therapeutics has ushered in three new staffers, starting with chief corporate development officer Morgan Molloy, who recently held the same title at Akouos. Molloy, the ex-CCO at Enzyvant, is formerly the head of US commercial for Spark. Joining Molloy is head of neuroscience Stefan McDonough, a 12-year Amgen vet who was recently the head of human genetics at Pfizer. Finally, VP of chemistry and Ionis alum Garth Kinberger strides to the plate for Atalanta after five years at Regulus Therapeutics, closing out his time there as executive director of chemistry, CMC and pharmaceutical development.

Theresa Heggie

→ Theresa Heggie starts anew after only a year as CEO of Freeline Therapeutics, joining Dutch rare disease player ProQR as chief commercial officer. Heggie bid adieu to Freeline in August while president and COO Michael Parini — who just arrived from Vertex in February — stepped in as her successor. Around that time, CMC issues forced a two-year delay on Freeline’s gene therapy trial for hemophilia B candidate FLT180a. Things are getting serious at ProQR with Eli Lilly’s $1 billion partnership for five RNA editing targets in a space that already saw significant Big Pharma traction from Roche’s $3 billion bet with Shape Therapeutics.

→ One of the stars from Constellation Pharmaceuticals is shining elsewhere. CMO Jeffrey Humphrey has landed at Magenta Therapeutics in the same position, filling a vacant space that was once held by John Davis. Before taking over for Adrian Senderowicz as CMO of Constellation, Humphrey was president, CMO and then chief development officer at Kyowa Kirin, and he owns Big Pharma leadership experience at Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Bayer. Davis, who was also R&D chief at Magenta, cited family reasons for his May departure.

Denny Kim

→ Novavax always likes to keep us busy here at Peer Review, and so it is this week with the selection of Denny Kim as chief safety officer & head of global vaccine safety and the promotions of Raburn Mallory to SVP, head of clinical development and Marco Cacciuttolo to SVP, process and analytical development. Kim heads to Novavax from the office of the chief medical officer at J&J, notably overseeing safety strategies for Janssen’s Covid-19 vaccine, and for a short time he was Horizon’s VP of patient safety and pharmacovigilance. Mallory had been VP of clinical development at AstraZeneca and the global clinical lead for its Covid-19 and influenza vaccines before jumping to Novavax in 2020. And as for Cacciuttolo, the MedImmune vet in cell culture development and manufacturing gets the SVP bump after he too came on board in 2020. The ex-COO at PathoVax, Cacciuttolo was head of manufacturing for Nosocomial Vaccine Corporation.

Mittie Doyle

→ In August, Philly biotech Aro Biotherapeutics welcomed three execs, including COO Scott Greenberg. This time around, Sue Dillon has handed CMO duties to Mittie Doyle after her four years at CSL Behring, where she held the role of VP, global therapeutic area head, R&D, immunology. Along the way, Doyle has been a senior medical director at Alexion, VP of clinical research at Flexion, and before joining CSL Behring, the VP, global development team leader in immunology at Shire. Centyrin-focused Aro bulked up its financing with an $88 million round in January.

Ted Yednock

→ Ted Yednock is sliding into the role of chief innovation officer at Annexon after eight years as CSO, while Larry Mattheakis is already in place as the new chief scientist for CEO Doug Love. Once the CSO at Prothena, Yednock pivoted to Annexon in 2013 after his time as head of research with Elan Pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, Mattheakis comes to Annexon after spending almost a decade at Protagonist Therapeutics and was SVP, discovery biology and translational research. Earlier, he led clinical development for PI3Kẟ inhibitor XL499 at Exelixis. The drug that’s furthest along in Annexon’s pipeline is ANX005, a monoclonal antibody in Phase II/III for Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Tran Nguyen

→ While we have Prothena in mind from the previous entry, the Irish biotech has created the chief strategy officer post for Tran Nguyen, who will continue as CFO in addition to the new duties, while Brandon Smith gets bumped up to COO. Nguyen had served as COO since 2018 and he’s been with the company since his CFO stint at Somaxon Pharmaceuticals ended in 2013. Smith joined Prothena as CBO in March 2020 and left Amgen in 2012 as head of strategy for the pharma giant’s biosimilars business unit. Prothena’s lead drug NEOD001 (birtamimab) now has a second wind in AL amyloidosis after a resounding thud in a Phase IIb trial in 2018.

→ Let’s stay in Ireland with antibiotic developer Nabriva Therapeutics — headquartered in Dublin — which has handed the CMO job to Big Pharma vet Christine Guico-Pabia. After 10 years at Merck, Guico-Pabia then worked in clinical affairs at Wyeth (now Pfizer) and also led clinical development and medical affairs at Metagenics. Nabriva has run into problems with Contepo as the FDA issued its second CRL for the antibiotic in June 2020.

Louise Modis

→ Big Pharma alum Louise Modis has signed on to Mogrify — a startup in England taking aim at Luxturna using its in vivo cellular reprogramming therapies — as CSO. Before the leap to Mogrify, which topped off its Series A to bring its total to $33 million in May, Modis was VP of immunology research as part of her seven years at GlaxoSmithKline. Before that, she spent eight years as a scientist with Boehringer Ingelheim.

→ Grabbing $54 million in a summertime Series B for its own spin on protein degraders called AnDCs (antibody neodegrader conjugates), Sung Joo Lee’s Orum Therapeutics has picked up Olaf Christensen as CMO. After a four-year stay at Bristol Myers in the immuno-oncology clinical development group, Christensen headed to EMD Serono in 2015, and before this opportunity at Orum, he had been the US and Canadian Merck KGaA subsidiary’s head of oncology global clinical development for nearly three years.

Robert Lyne

→ Robert Lyne has shed the interim label and is now permanent CEO of London VC Arix Bioscience. Lyne originally signed on to Arix in 2017 as general counsel and also spent some time as COO before ascending to interim CEO in April. Elsewhere at Arix, ex-HarbourVest Global Private Equity chairman Sir Michael Bunbury has been added to the board as senior independent director, and on Oct. 15, former University of Oxford CFO Giles Kerr makes his exit from the board.

→ Mike Weinstein is locked in as CFO of Dallas-area liquid biopsy player Caris Life Sciences, which hauled in a gargantuan $830 million megaround this spring. Weinstein left JP Morgan after 26 years in 2018, becoming SVP, strategy and a member of the executive committee at Medtronic. The influx of cash is nothing new at Caris: Since 2018, total financing has hit the $1.3 billion mark.

Joanne Chang

→ Several months removed from its Series C round, Swiss ophthalmic biotech Oculis has filled a key position on its leadership roster with Joanne Chang as CMO and head of portfolio management, concluding a run at Novartis that began in 2008. Chang had spent the last three years leading global medical affairs for the Big Pharma’s ophthalmology portfolio. Oculis is using its SNP (solubilizing nanoparticles) technology on lead candidate OCS-01, which is being developed as a topical alternative for eye injectables.

→ New Jersey-based biosimulation player Certara has enlisted Drayton Virkler for the newly created CCO position. Virkler spent the last decade at IQVIA, where he served as VP and global head of sales. He has also held leadership roles at GSK and Talecris Plasma Resources.

Tom Heightman

→ GSK partner Adrestia Therapeutics, a “synthetic viability” biotech under the direction of CEO Steve Jackson, has tapped Tom Heightman as chief R&D officer. Heightman, a GSK vet in his own right, just had a two-year run as VP, global head oncology chemistry at AstraZeneca before shifting gears at Adrestia, which raised a Series A in December 2020 co-led by GSK and Ahren Innovation Capital.

→ Is there a Galapagos purge in the works after the litany of fails and Onno van de Stolpe’s retirement? Milan-based autoimmune disease biotech Enthera Pharmaceuticals has put out the welcome mat for Antonio Speziale, who has been named CMO and was recently the translational medicine leader for Galapagos. Speziale wrapped up his six-year tenure at Novartis in 2019 as global program clinical head for autoimmunity and skeletal diseases.

Ahmed Mousa

→ Genentech respiratory partner Pieris Pharmaceuticals has promoted Thomas Bures to CFO and Ahmed Mousa to CBO. Bures completed a two-year run at Genocea as VP, corporate controller in 2017 to take the VP of finance post at Pieris. Mousa, who began his time at Pieris in 2016 as senior counsel, will remain general counsel in addition to his CBO duties. In August, Pieris elevated Shane Olwill to development officer and appointed Tim Demuth as its CMO.

Sam Backenroth

→ Sam Backenroth has taken over as CFO at Israeli-based VBL Therapeutics. Most recently, Backenroth held the same position at NeuBase Therapeutics and Ohr Pharmaceutical. Back in August, VBL announced that they were restarting their Phase III trial of VB-111, an anti-cancer gene therapy, after the study had been paused for FDA evaluation.

→ Daniel Clark has stepped in as interim CFO at Kiromic BioPharma. Clark replaces Tony Tontat, who held the position since October 2019 and resigned last month. Clark is no stranger to financial leadership at Kiromic — he has served as both VP of finance operations and corporate controller. Prior to joining Kiromic in February 2020, he worked at several firms, including The Siegfried Group and FTI Consulting.

→ Recently acquired by a group led by Goldman Sachs for $8.5 billion as a standout illustration of 2021’s CRO mania, Parexel has recruited Stephen Pyke as EVP, clinical data and digital services. Pyke held several roles at GSK, finishing up his 10-year run there as SVP & development head, digital data & analytics.

Nazareth Martinez Shedden

→ When we last saw Third Rock’s MOMA Therapeutics here, the molecular machine biotech had named Semi Trotto as chief people and experience officer. More execs follow this week with Hans Bitter and Nazareth Martinez Shedden getting the call at MOMA as SVP and head, data science and VP, strategic finance, respectively. Bitter, who’s recently been SVP of data sciences and chief data officer for oncology at bluebird bio, has also taken on leadership roles at the Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research (global head of oncology bioinformatics) and Roche (deputy global head of bioinformatics and statistics). Meanwhile, Shedden led finance in the neuroscience, gastrointestinal and oncology business units at Takeda, where she spent 15 years overall.

→ Gene therapy-focused Renovacor is picking up another exec with the appointment of Kumar Dhanasekharan as SVP of technical operations. Dhanasekharan joins the Philadelphia-based company from SwanBio Therapeutics, where he served as VP of technical operations. Prior to that role, Dhanasekharan was with Amicus Therapeutics, Cook Pharmica, Lonza and Sanofi Genzyme.

Julie Speed

→ She feels the need, the need for Speed: Israeli presbyopia biotech Orasis Pharmaceuticals, which reeled in a $30 million Series C round last September, has revved up the engine with Julie Speed as its head of strategy and marketing. A 15-year Alcon vet, Speed had held the chief commercial officer post at Eyevance Pharmaceuticals since February 2020 before motoring into Orasis. From 2018-20, she was senior director of marketing, Americas for J&J Vision Surgical.

Heather Savelle

→ TCR biotech TScan Therapeutics, the Harvard spinout which went public over the summer with a nine-figure IPO, has appointed Heather Savelle as VP, investor relations. Savelle departs from Argot Partners, where she served as managing director. Before joining Argot, she was SVP at MacDougall Biomedical Communications.

→ San Diego-based aTyr Pharma has installed Robert Ashworth as VP of regulatory affairs. Ashworth, who owned the same title the last three years at OncoSec, has bounced around a bit as a regulatory exec since his six-year tenure at Forest Labs, serving as a VP at such companies as Otsuka, NPS Pharma and Advaxis.

Michael Humphries

→ Perceptive‘s LianBio filed for the standard $100 million IPO last week, and the US/China upstart has added Michael Humphries to the team this week as chief scientific advisor. Before joining LianBio, Humphries served as CMO and head of development strategy at Shanghai-based Cellular BioMedicine Group (CBMG). Prior to that, he was CSO at Novartis Development China.

→ Heat Biologics has welcomed aboard Paul Tebbey as SVP of product development and portfolio strategy. Tebbey comes with experience from his times at AbbVie, Baxter, Centocor/Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth/Pfizer.

→ Recro Pharma has tapped Tim Bourque as VP and head of operations for Recro San Diego. Bourque joins the PA-based company from Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services. Prior to that, Bourque had stints at Lonza, Althea, Shire Human Genetic Therapies and Ipsen.

→ Illumina Ventures-backed Rebus Biosystems has named Danilo Tait as VP commercial operations, EMEA. Tait formerly served as business development manager, NGS/genomics at PerkinElmer and has also held positions at Caliper Life Sciences, MGI and Advanced Analytical.

Jeff Jonas

→ Jeff Jonas has been named chairman of the board at Swiss based neuro startup Noema Pharma, which took psychiatry castoffs from Roche and collected $59 million in a Series A in December 2020. Jonas, who was CEO at Sage until Barry Greene took over, is now the biotech’s chief innovation officer.

Carole Faig

→ One of the biotechs honored in the 2021 edition of the Endpoints 11, Rick Modi’s folks at Affinia have a spot on the board of directors for Carole Faig. She recently retired from Ernst & Young’s healthcare business after 25 years with the company.

→ Kevin Fitzgerald has joined the board of directors at Ovid, reeling from a Phase III Angelman syndrome bust that prompted a leadership makeover in July. Fitzgerald currently serves as CSO and head of research at Alnylam, where he has been a key member of the drug development team since 2005.

Thomas Eldered

→ London-based microbial immunotherapy player Prokarium has made Thomas Eldered chairman of the board as his predecessor, Steve Chatfield, will continue as a board member. Donning an ever-present bow tie, Eldered co-founded and was the longtime CEO at Recipharm, a job that now belongs to ex-Lonza chief executive Marc Funk.

→ Gerd Zettlmeissl has a new gig as chairman of the board at MinervaX, a Danish biotech backed by Novo and Sanofi Ventures that’s working on a Group B streptococcus vaccine to compete with Pfizer. Zettlmeissl was CEO of Valneva (then known as Intercell) from 2001 until his resignation in 2011.

→ Raleigh, NC-based 9 Meters Biopharma has elected Samantha Ventimiglia to the board of directors. Ventimiglia, the SVP, US public affairs for Vertex, was a government affairs director at Astellas before her move to Vertex in 2010.

→ NextCure is adding some new faces to its board of directors with the appointments of Ellen Feigal and Anne Borgman. Feigal currently serves as partner and head of the biologics practice at NDA Partners and sits on the board of Xencor. Previously, Feigal was executive medical director at Amgen. Meanwhile, Borgman is the current VP and global therapeutic area lead, hematology-oncology at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Prior to those stints, Borgman was with Exelixis, Hana Biosciences (now Talon Therapeutics), KaloBios Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Pharmaceuticals.

Jill Howe

→ Adjuvant Capital-backed synbio player Codagenix out in Long Island has appointed Lori Rudolph-Owen and Jill Howe to the board of directors. Since 2018, Rudolph-Owen has been chief development officer at Goldfinch Bio, while Howe appeared in Peer Review a few months ago when she took the CFO job at DTx Pharma.

→ The aforementioned Adrian Senderowicz is stepping onto the board of directors at Step Pharma. Prior to his CMO role at Constellation, Senderowicz was CMO at Cerulean Pharma and had served at Sanofi Oncology, Tokai Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca.

→ Alan Ashworth has secured a seat on the board of directors at CytomX. Ashworth, the president of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco, has been with the school since 2015.

→ Roswell Biotechnologies has appointed Mike Aicher as chairman of its board. Aicher was president and founder of Alveo Technologies and was co-founder and CEO of the National Genetics Institute. Additionally, Aicher brings experience from his times at Genetic Signatures and CytoBay.

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Shakira’s net worth

After 12 albums, a tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth more than 4 decades into her care…

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March 14, 2024

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Shakira’s considerable net worth is no surprise, given her massive popularity in Latin America, the U.S., and elsewhere. 

In fact, the belly-dancing contralto queen is the second-wealthiest Latin-America-born pop singer of all time after Gloria Estefan. (Interestingly, Estefan actually helped a young Shakira translate her breakout album “Laundry Service” into English, hugely propelling her stateside success.)

Since releasing her first record at age 13, Shakira has spent decades recording albums in both Spanish and English and performing all over the world. Over the course of her 40+ year career, she helped thrust Latin pop music into the American mainstream, paving the way for the subsequent success of massively popular modern acts like Karol G and Bad Bunny.

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Shakira, the barefoot belly dancer of Barranquilla, was unveiled at the city's waterfront. The statue was commissioned by the city's former mayor and other leadership.

Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

In December 2023, a 21-foot-tall beachside bronze statue of the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer was unveiled in her Colombian hometown of Barranquilla, making her a permanent fixture in the city’s skyline and cementing her legacy as one of Latin America’s most influential entertainers.

After 12 albums, a plethora of film and television appearances, a highly publicized tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth? What does her income look like? And how does she spend her money?

Related: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's net worth: How the new TKO Board Member built his wealth from $7

How much is Shakira worth?

In late 2023, Spanish sports and lifestyle publication Marca reported Shakira’s net worth at $400 million, citing Forbes as the figure’s source (although Forbes’ profile page for Shakira does not list a net worth — and didn’t when that article was published).

Most other sources list the singer’s wealth at an estimated $300 million, and almost all of these point to Celebrity Net Worth — a popular but dubious celebrity wealth estimation site — as the source for the figure.

A $300 million net worth would make Shakira the third-richest Latina pop star after Gloria Estefan ($500 million) and Jennifer Lopez ($400 million), and the second-richest Latin-America-born pop singer after Estefan (JLo is Puerto Rican but was born in New York).

Shakira’s income: How much does she make annually?

Entertainers like Shakira don’t have predictable paychecks like ordinary salaried professionals. Instead, annual take-home earnings vary quite a bit depending on each year’s album sales, royalties, film and television appearances, streaming revenue, and other sources of income. As one might expect, Shakira’s earnings have fluctuated quite a bit over the years.

From June 2018 to June 2019, for instance, Shakira was the 10th highest-earning female musician, grossing $35 million, according to Forbes. This wasn’t her first time gracing the top 10, though — back in 2012, she also landed the #10 spot, bringing in $20 million, according to Billboard.

In 2023, Billboard listed Shakira as the 16th-highest-grossing Latin artist of all time.

Shakira performed alongside producer Bizarrap during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards Gala in Seville.

Photo By Maria Jose Lopez/Europa Press via Getty Images

How much does Shakira make from her concerts and tours?

A large part of Shakira’s wealth comes from her world tours, during which she sometimes sells out massive stadiums and arenas full of passionate fans eager to see her dance and sing live.

According to a 2020 report by Pollstar, she sold over 2.7 million tickets across 190 shows that grossed over $189 million between 2000 and 2020. This landed her the 19th spot on a list of female musicians ranked by touring revenue during that period. In 2023, Billboard reported a more modest touring revenue figure of $108.1 million across 120 shows.

In 2003, Shakira reportedly generated over $4 million from a single show on Valentine’s Day at Foro Sol in Mexico City. 15 years later, in 2018, Shakira grossed around $76.5 million from her El Dorado World Tour, according to Touring Data.

Related: RuPaul's net worth: Everything to know about the cultural icon and force behind 'Drag Race'

How much has Shakira made from her album sales?

According to a 2023 profile in Variety, Shakira has sold over 100 million records throughout her career. “Laundry Service,” the pop icon’s fifth studio album, was her most successful, selling over 13 million copies worldwide, according to TheRichest.

Exactly how much money Shakira has taken home from her album sales is unclear, but in 2008, it was widely reported that she signed a 10-year contract with LiveNation to the tune of between $70 and $100 million to release her subsequent albums and manage her tours.

Shakira and JLo co-headlined the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Florida.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

How much did Shakira make from her Super Bowl and World Cup performances?

Shakira co-wrote one of her biggest hits, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” after FIFA selected her to create the official anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. She performed the song, along with several of her existing fan-favorite tracks, during the event’s opening ceremonies. TheThings reported in 2023 that the song generated $1.4 million in revenue, citing Popnable for the figure.

A decade later, 2020’s Superbowl halftime show featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez as co-headliners with guest performances by Bad Bunny and J Balvin. The 14-minute performance was widely praised as a high-energy celebration of Latin music and dance, but as is typical for Super Bowl shows, neither Shakira nor JLo was compensated beyond expenses and production costs.

The exposure value that comes with performing in the Super Bowl Halftime Show, though, is significant. It is typically the most-watched television event in the U.S. each year, and in 2020, a 30-second Super Bowl ad spot cost between $5 and $6 million.

How much did Shakira make as a coach on “The Voice?”

Shakira served as a team coach on the popular singing competition program “The Voice” during the show’s fourth and sixth seasons. On the show, celebrity musicians coach up-and-coming amateurs in a team-based competition that eventually results in a single winner. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Shakira’s salary as a coach on “The Voice” was $12 million.

Related: John Cena's net worth: The wrestler-turned-actor's investments, businesses, and more

How does Shakira spend her money?

Shakira doesn’t just make a lot of money — she spends it, too. Like many wealthy entertainers, she’s purchased her share of luxuries, but Barranquilla’s barefoot belly dancer is also a prolific philanthropist, having donated tens of millions to charitable causes throughout her career.

Private island

Back in 2006, she teamed up with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame and Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz to purchase Bonds Cay, a 550-acre island in the Bahamas, which was listed for $16 million at the time.

Along with her two partners in the purchase, Shakira planned to develop the island to feature housing, hotels, and an artists’ retreat designed to host a revolving cast of artists-in-residence. This plan didn’t come to fruition, though, and as of this article’s last update, the island was once again for sale on Vladi Private Islands.

Real estate and vehicles

Like most wealthy celebs, Shakira’s portfolio of high-end playthings also features an array of luxury properties and vehicles, including a home in Barcelona, a villa in Cyprus, a Miami mansion, and a rotating cast of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Philanthropy and charity

Shakira doesn’t just spend her massive wealth on herself; the “Queen of Latin Music” is also a dedicated philanthropist and regularly donates portions of her earnings to the Fundación Pies Descalzos, or “Barefoot Foundation,” a charity she founded in 1997 to “improve the education and social development of children in Colombia, which has suffered decades of conflict.” The foundation focuses on providing meals for children and building and improving educational infrastructure in Shakira’s hometown of Barranquilla as well as four other Colombian communities.

In addition to her efforts with the Fundación Pies Descalzos, Shakira has made a number of other notable donations over the years. In 2007, she diverted a whopping $40 million of her wealth to help rebuild community infrastructure in Peru and Nicaragua in the wake of a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Shakira donated a large supply of N95 masks for healthcare workers and ventilators for hospital patients to her hometown of Barranquilla.

Back in 2010, the UN honored Shakira with a medal to recognize her dedication to social justice, at which time the Director General of the International Labour Organization described her as a “true ambassador for children and young people.”

On November 20, 2023 (which was supposed to be her first day of trial), Shakira reached a deal with the prosecution that resulted in a three-year suspended sentence and around $8 million in fines.

Photo by Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images

Shakira’s tax fraud scandal: How much did she pay?

In 2018, prosecutors in Spain initiated a tax evasion case against Shakira, alleging she lived primarily in Spain from 2012 to 2014 and therefore failed to pay around $14.4 million in taxes to the Spanish government. Spanish law requires anyone who is “domiciled” (i.e., living primarily) in Spain for more than half of the year to pay income taxes.

During the period in question, Shakira listed the Bahamas as her primary residence but did spend some time in Spain, as she was dating Gerard Piqué, a professional footballer and Spanish citizen. The couple’s first son, Milan, was also born in Barcelona during this period. 

Shakira maintained that she spent far fewer than 183 days per year in Spain during each of the years in question. In an interview with Elle Magazine, the pop star opined that “Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It's clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what."

Prosecutors in the case sought a fine of almost $26 million and a possible eight-year prison stint, but in November of 2023, Shakira took a deal to close the case, accepting a fine of around $8 million and a three-year suspended sentence to avoid going to trial. In reference to her decision to take the deal, Shakira stated, "While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favour [had the trial proceeded], I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight."

How much did the Shakira statue in Barranquilla cost?

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze likeness of Shakira was unveiled on a waterfront promenade in Barranquilla. The city’s then-mayor, Jaime Pumarejo, commissioned Colombian sculptor Yino Márquez to create the statue of the city’s treasured pop icon, along with a sculpture of the city’s coat of arms.

According to the New York Times, the two sculptures cost the city the equivalent of around $180,000. A plaque at the statue’s base reads, “A heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, an unmatched talent, a voice that moves the masses and bare feet that march for the good of children and humanity.” 

Related: Taylor Swift net worth: The most successful entertainer joins the billionaire's club

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Delta Air Lines adds a new route travelers have been asking for

The new Delta seasonal flight to the popular destination will run daily on a Boeing 767-300.

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March 14, 2024

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Those who have tried to book a flight from North America to Europe in the summer of 2023 know just how high travel demand to the continent has spiked.

At 2.93 billion, visitors to the countries making up the European Union had finally reached pre-pandemic levels last year while North Americans in particular were booking trips to both large metropolises such as Paris and Milan as well as smaller cities growing increasingly popular among tourists.

Related: A popular European city is introducing the highest 'tourist tax' yet

As a result, U.S.-based airlines have been re-evaluating their networks to add more direct routes to smaller European destinations that most travelers would have previously needed to reach by train or transfer flight with a local airline.

The new flight will take place on a Boeing 767-300.

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Delta Air Lines: ‘Glad to offer customers increased choice…’

By the end of March, Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  will be restarting its route between New York’s JFK and Marco Polo International Airport in Venice as well as launching two new flights to Venice from Atlanta. One will start running this month while the other will be added during peak demand in the summer.

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“As one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Venice is hugely popular with U.S. travelers, and our flights bring valuable tourism and trade opportunities to the city and the region as well as unrivalled opportunities for Venetians looking to explore destinations across the Americas,” Delta’s SVP for Europe Matteo Curcio said in a statement. “We’re glad to offer customers increased choice this summer with flights from New York and additional service from Atlanta.”

The JFK-Venice flight will run on a Boeing 767-300  (BA)  and have 216 seats including higher classes such as Delta One, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort Plus.

Delta offers these features on the new flight

Both the New York and Atlanta flights are seasonal routes that will be pulled out of service in October. Both will run daily while the first route will depart New York at 8:55 p.m. and arrive in Venice at 10:15 a.m. local time on the way there, while leaving Venice at 12:15 p.m. to arrive at JFK at 5:05 p.m. on the way back.

According to Delta, this will bring its service to 17 flights from different U.S. cities to Venice during the peak summer period. As with most Delta flights at this point, passengers in all fare classes will have access to free Wi-Fi during the flight.

Those flying in Delta’s highest class or with access through airline status or a credit card will also be able to use the new Delta lounge that is part of the airline’s $12 billion terminal renovation and is slated to open to travelers in the coming months. The space will take up more than 40,000 square feet and have an outdoor terrace.

“Delta One customers can stretch out in a lie-flat seat and enjoy premium amenities like plush bedding made from recycled plastic bottles, more beverage options, and a seasonal chef-curated four-course meal,” Delta said of the new route. “[…] All customers can enjoy a wide selection of in-flight entertainment options and stay connected with Wi-Fi and enjoy free mobile messaging.”

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Stock Market Today: Stocks turn lower as factory inflation spikes, retail sales miss target

Stocks will navigate the last major data releases prior to next week’s Fed rate meeting in Washington.

Published

5 hours ago

on

March 14, 2024

By

Check back for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. stocks edged lower Thursday following a trio of key economic releases that have added to the current inflation puzzle as investors shift focus to the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting next week in Washington.

Updated at 9:59 AM EDT

Red start

Stocks are now falling sharply following the PPI inflation data and retail sales miss, with the S&P 500 marked 18 points lower, or 0.36%, in the opening half hour of trading.

The Dow, meanwhile, was marked 92 points lower while the Nasdaq slipped 67 points.

Treasury yields are also on the move, with 2-year notes rising 5 basis points on the session to 4.679% and 10-year notes pegged 7 basis points higher at 4.271%.

Updated at 9:44 AM EDT

Under Water

Under Armour  (UAA)  shares slumped firmly lower in early trading following the sportswear group's decision to bring back founder Kevin Plank as CEO, replacing the outgoing Stephanie Linnartz.

Plank, who founded Under Armour in 1996, left the group in May of 2021 just weeks before the group revealed that it was co-operating with investigations from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice into the company's revenue recognition accounting.

Under Armour shares were marked 10.6% lower in early trading to change hands at $7.21 each.

Source: Under Armour Investor Relations

Updated at 9:22 AM EDT

Steely resolve

U.S. Steel  (X)  shares extended their two-day decline Thursday, falling 5.75% in pre-market trading following multiple reports that suggest President Joe Biden will push to prevent Japan's Nippon Steel from buying the Pittsburgh-based group.

Both Reuters and the Associated Press have said Biden will express his views to Prime Minister Kishida Yuko ahead of a planned State Visit next month at the White House. 

Related: US Steel soars on $15 billion Nippon Steel takeover; United Steelworkers slams deal

Updated at 8:52 AM EDT

Clear as mud

Retail sales rebounded last month, but the overall tally of $700.7 billion missed Street forecasts and suggests the recent uptick in inflation could be holding back discretionary spending.

A separate reading of factory inflation, meanwhile, showed prices spiking by 1.6%, on the year, and 0.6% on the month, amid a jump in goods prices.

U.S. stocks held earlier gains following the data release, with futures tied to the S&P 500 indicating an opening bell gain of 10 points, while the Dow was called 140 points higher. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is looking at a more modest 40 point gain.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields edged 3 basis points lower to 4.213% while two-year notes were little-changed at 4.626%.

Stock Market Today

Stocks finished lower last night, with the S&P 500 ending modestly in the red and the Nasdaq falling around 0.5%. The declines came amid an uptick in Treasury yields tied to concern that inflation pressures have failed to ease over the opening months of the year.

A better-than-expected auction of $22 billion in 30-year bonds, drawing the strongest overall demand since last June, steadied the overall market, but stocks still slipped into the close with an eye towards today's dataset.

The Commerce Department will publish its February reading of factory-gate inflation at 8:30 am Eastern Time. Analysts are expecting a slowdown in the key core reading, which feeds into the Fed's favored PCE price index.

Retail sales figures for the month are also set for an 8:30 am release as investors search for clues on consumer strength, tied to a resilient job market. Those factors could give the Fed more justification to wait until the summer months to begin the first of its three projected rate cuts.

"The case for a gradual but sustained slowdown in growth in consumers’ spending from 2023’s robust pace is persuasive," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics. 

"Most households have run down the excess savings accumulated during the pandemic, while the cost of credit has jumped and last year’s plunge in home sales has depressed demand housing-related retail items like furniture and appliances," he added.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields are holding steady at 4.196% heading into the start of the New York trading session, while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.628%.

With Fed officials in a quiet period, requiring no public comments ahead of next week's meeting in Washington, the U.S. dollar index is trading in a narrow range against its global peers and was last marked 0.06% higher at 102.852.

On Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500 are indicating an opening bell gain of around 19 points, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicating a 140-point advance.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, which is up 7.77% for the year, is priced for a gain of around 95 points, with Tesla  (TSLA)  once again sliding into the red after ending the Wednesday session at a 10-month low.

In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.35% higher in early Frankfurt trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.09% in London.

Overnight in Asia, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.29% as investors looked to a key series of wage negotiation figures from key unions that are likely to see the biggest year-on-year pay increases in three decades.

The broader MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, rose 0.18% into the close of trading. 

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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