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| GAMBAR oleh firma lelongan Sotheby di New York menunjukkan lukisan abstrak 1949-A-No. 1. |
Lukisan yang berjudul 1949-A-No. 1, menampilkan gabungan corak abstrak berwarna putih, hitam dan merah pada kanvas. Harga anggaran lukisan tersebut ialah antara AS$25 juta (RM78.8 juta) hingga AS$35 juta (RM110.37 juta).
Rekod termahal untuk lukisan Still sebelum ini ialah AS$21.3 juta (RM67.1 juta).
Still yang dianggap pakar dalam lukisan ekspresionisme, meninggal dunia pada tahun 1980. - AFP
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DIA bermula sebagai remaja perempuan serba sederhana, tidak pandai bergaya dan selesa mengenakan sneakers (kasut bertapak lembut) dan jean potongan baggy ketika mengadakan persembahan mahupun ketika membuat kemunculan di sebarang acara.
Nama Robyn Rihanna Fenty, 23, saat itu masih samar-samar dalam industri muzik antarabangsa, tiada jenama mewah mahu menaja pakaian penyanyi muda itu.
Selepas menandatangani kontrak rakaman bersama Def Jam Recordings milik Jay Z pada 2005, album pertama Rihanna, Music Of The Sun memberi ’amaran’ awal kepada industri muzik bahawa Rihanna yang berusia 17 tahun ketika itu perlu dipandang serius.
Anak kelahiran Barbados itu mula dikenali ramai menerusi lagu-lagu hitnya seperti Pon De Replay, S.O.S, Break It Off dan Unfaithful sekali gus memberi ruang kepadanya untuk bereksperimen dengan imej.
Tahun 2007 dilabelkan ramai orang sebagai kemuncak ‘jenama’ Rihanna. Hanya dengan satu lagu berjudul Umbrella, namanya melonjak ke serata dunia dan akhirnya dia berjaya membentuk identiti dan mengumpulkan kelompok peminat tersendiri.
Selari dengan perkembangan muziknya, begitu jugalah kebijaksanaan Rihanna dalam hal berfesyen. Dia kelihatan semakin bijak dalam berpakaian, tiada lagi jean baggy ataupun sneakers, malah sepatu tumit tinggi, dres jenama terkenal serta aksesori jutaan ringgit mula menjadi teman akrab Rihanna.
Gelaran Bintang Paling Bergaya 2007 oleh majalah Seventeen buat Rihanna memang tepat kerana dengan kelasnya tersendiri, bintang itu mampu menjadikan gaun putih rekaan George Chakra tampak elegan dalam sebuah majlis biarpun disaingi banyak rekaan sofistikated yang dipakai ramai selebriti wanita lain.
Ikon fesyen
Pengaruh Rihanna tidak hanya tertumpu dalam bidang muzik malah dia turut disebut-sebut sebagai ikon fesyen dekad ini.
“Pada permulaan karier, segalanya begitu terkawal hinggakan saya tidak boleh menggunakan gincu berwarna merah ataupun merah jambu.
“Sekatan itu amat sukar memandangkan saya mempunyai ramai peminat dalam kalangan remaja, tetapi saya hanya mahu menjadi diri sendiri dan saya selesa dengan apa saya tonjolkan hari ini,” luah Rihanna jujur kepada majalah Glamour September lalu.
Kaca mata hitam Marc Jacobs atau Louis Vuitton, but Christian Louboutin atau kasut tumit tinggi Stella McCartney, tali pinggang Gucci, cekak rambut bertatahkan kristal Swarovski dan jumpsuit Dolce & Gabbana semuanya pernah menyaluti tubuh genit Rihanna.
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| TAHUN 2007 merupakan puncak kepada jenama Rihanna. |
Belum pernah mengecewakan peminatnya yang sering tertanya-tanya akan cita rasa fesyennya yang berubah-ubah, Rihanna sekali lagi mengejutkan dunia apabila dia menumpaskan Beyonce, Mila Kunis dan Emma Stone bagi merangkul gelaran Wanita Terseksi Dunia untuk majalah Esquire.
Pernah mendapat jolokan Wanita Kaki Tercantik, gelaran seksi yang diterimanya itu langsung tidak membuatkan pelantun lagu We Found Love tersebut berbangga ataupun berasa hebat.
“Setiap kali tamat membuat persembahan, saya tidak pernah fikirkan adakah saya kelihatan seksi ketika berada di atas pentas tadi.
“Perkara tentang seksi ini tidak pernah terlintas di fikiran saya dan apa yang saya pakai dan lakukan di atas pentas adalah apa yang bersesuaian dengan konsep persembahan,” jelas Rihanna kepada majalah itu.
Menurut Rihanna lagi, kejayaannya hari ini membuktikan bahawa seorang individu dari pulau kecil bernama Barbados mampu menjulang nama negara itu ke serata dunia dan dia bangga menjadi individu yang mengharumkan nama negaranya.
Evolusi rambut
Fenomena rambut Rihanna bermula pada 2007 ketika dia membuat potongan cekung menerusi teknik bob cut yang seterusnya menjadi ikutan ramai gadis-gadis yang mahu kelihatan anggun seperti penyanyi itu.
Daripada seorang gadis berambut panjang, Rihanna cukup terkenal sebagai selebriti yang sering kali menukar gaya rambutnya terutama sekali apabila melibatkan fesyen rambut pendek.
Tampil berani dengan pelbagai teknik potongan rambut pendek, Rihanna tidak gentar membenarkan pendandan rambut kegemarannya, Ursula Stephen mencipta apa jua gaya baharu asalkan ia kelihatan serasi dengan bentuk wajahnya.
Buktinya, Rihanna tampil dengan rambut panjang berwarna merah terang pada penghujung tahun lalu. Ia mungkin dianggap melampau bagi sesetengah orang namun harus diakui bahawa ia merupakan fesyen rambut yang mengagumkan.
“Keputusan menghasilkan rambut panjang berwarna merah terang itu adalah keputusan kami bersama dan saya menggunakan rambut manusia sebenar sebagai extension (penyambung) bagi menjadikan rambutnya panjang,” ujar Ursula ketika ditemu bual sebuah majalah tahun lalu.
Seakan-akan rindu dengan rambutnya yang pendek, Rihanna lantas meminta Ursula memotong rambut panjangnya itu bagi memudahkan gaya rambut lain dibentuk.
Dalam tempoh setahun dengan rambut merahnya itu, Rihanna telah 13 kali menukar gaya rambutnya dengan gaya kerinting bergulung-gulung, lurus dan lain-lain.
Intim dengan nama timangan Riri, bekas teman wanita Chris Brown itu dikatakan membelanjakan hampir AS$23,000 (RM71,600) seminggu bagi mendapatkan khidmat Ursula.
SEATTLE, Amerika Syarikat (AS) - Orang ramai tersenyum, ketawa malah ada yang merah padam melihat sejenis basikal baharu yang ditunggang oleh seorang lelaki di sini.
Kenderaan dua roda sepanjang hampir 3 meter itu menyerupai sperma gergasi dan direka khas bagi mengangkut sampel sperma.
"Ketika kali pertama melihatnya, saya tidak pasti kenderaan apakah ini. Sebaik sahaja menyedarinya, saya tergelak besar," kata seorang wanita, Kim Garvelle.
Basikal milik Bank Sperma Seattle itu memiliki rekaan unik bagi menggalakkan kaum lelaki supaya mendermakan sperma mereka.
Menurut seorang kakitangan bank berkenaan, Alan Dowden, misi basikal berkenaan adalah untuk mengangkut sampel dari Makmal Sperma Seattle ke pusat reproduktif dan klinik kesuburan di kawasan sekitarnya.
Kargo penting itu diangkut dan disimpan di dalam tangki berbentuk sperma yang berisi nitrogen cecair di hadapan basikal berkenaan.
Pihak Bank Sperma Seattle menyatakan ia membayar AS$60 (RM186.75) untuk setiap sampel sperma yang baik.
- Agensi
10. Wang Family
Country: Taiwan
Business: Formosa Plastics Group
Estimated net worth: $8.6 billion
The Wang family are founders of Formosa Plastics Group, one of the world's largest plastic manufacturers and Taiwan's biggest diversified company. The firm is also one of the major petrochemical producers in Asia and controls more than 100 companies including hospitals and schools.
Brothers Yung-ching (pictured) and Yung-tsai Wang founded the group in 1958. Rising from modest roots with Yung-ching only having an elementary school education, the brothers turned the company into one Asia's biggest industry groups, with four major publicly listed units — Formosa Petrochemical, Formosa Plastics, Nan Ya Plastics and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre. Both brothers retired from their official posts in 2006 and passed on the reins for the group to a committee, which includes Yung-ching's daughter Cher Wang and Yung-tsai's son Wen Yuang Wang. Founder Wang Yung-ching died in 2008 at the age of 91 with an estimated fortune of $5.5 billion, according to Forbes. The business tycoon is survived by his three wives and 10 children.
Cher Wang, 53, the daughter of Yung-ching, has come closest out of all siblings in matching her father's success. Her smartphone company HTC had revenues of $9.8 billion in 2010. Cher and her husband Wen Chi Chen are ranked the richest people in Taiwan by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $8.8 billion this year.
9. Ng Family
Country: Singapore
Business: Far East Organization, Sino Group
Estimated net worth: $8.9 billion
The Ng family owns Singapore's largest private property development firm Far East Organization and Hong Kong-based sister company Sino Group. Together, the firms are one of Asia's largest real estate groups with annual revenue of $4.3 billion.
The companies were founded by Ng Teng Fong, who died from a brain hemorrhage in 2010 at the age of 82. Ng was well known for his frugal lifestyle, living in the same home for 30 years even as his wealth grew. After his death, Ng's older son Robert (pictured), 59, took over the reins at Sino Group, while younger son Philip heads the Far East Organization. The firm's presence in Singapore is renowned, with ownership of historical landmarks like the Fullerton Hotel along with 700 other properties. A big chunk of the family's fortune also comes from its five publicly-listed subsidiaries.
In July, reports surfaced that the Far East Organization planned to raise at least $410 million by listing some of its hotel and serviced residence assets in a real estate investment trust (REIT) next year. Singapore's REIT market is the third-largest in the world after Japan and Australia.
8. Hartono Family
Country: Indonesia
Business: Djarum Group
Estimated net worth: $11 billion
The Hartono family is the richest family in Indonesia and owners of one of the world's biggest clove-flavored cigarette makers — Djarum Group. The group also has a majority stake in one of the country's biggest banks — Bank Central Asia, from which the family gets the bulk of their fortune.
Brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono inherited their wealth from their Chinese father Oei Wie Gwan, who founded Djarum in 1951. After his death in 1963, the brothers took over the business, invested in research and development, and began exporting cigarettes almost 10 years later. The company's tobacco products accounted for 97 percent of the U.S. clove cigarette market in 2009, before the Obama administration banned the sale of flavored cigarettes other than menthol, because critics claimed they appealed to teenagers.
Robert Budi Hartono's son Armand Wahyudi (pictured) is also involved in the family business and has been the director of Bank Central Asia since 2009. With the recent market volatility, the Hartono family's wealth has also shrunk. In the two weeks to Oct. 5, Robert Budi saw his wealth drop by 8 percent to $10.5 billion, according to newspaper reports in Indonesia.
7. Lee Kun Hee & family
Country: South Korea
Business: Samsung Group
Estimated net worth: $11.6 billion
Lee Kun Hee (pictured) is the chairman of Samsung Electronics, the flagship company of the Samsung Group, South Korea's biggest business conglomerate with nearly 70 affiliates. The group accounts for about one fifth of the country's GDP.
The Samsung Group was founded by Lee Kun Hee's father Lee Byung Chull in 1938. Kun Hee, the third son, became chairman of the firm after his father's death in 1987. He's been credited with turning the company into a major global player in the technology industry. Samsung Electronics is now the world's biggest chipmaker, the second biggest smartphone maker after Apple, and competes with Hewlett Packard for the title of the world's largest technology firm by revenue. Other family members in the business include Kun Hee's only son and heir apparent, Jay Y. Lee, who is president of Samsung Electronics, and daughter Lee Boo Jin, who is the senior vice president of the group's luxury hotel chain — Shilla Hotels and Resorts.
But as head of the group, Lee Kun Hee has also faced a string of controversies in recent years. The 69-year-old was convicted of tax evasion and breach of trust in 2008 and given a three-year prison sentence, but was later pardoned by the country's President in 2009. During that period he stepped away from the company for two years and returned in 2010.
6. Kuok Family
Country: Malaysia, Singapore
Business: Kuok Group
Estimated net worth: $16.1 billion
The Kuok family is the richest family in Southeast Asia, and owners of the Kuok Group — one of Asia's most diversified firms with interests in agriculture, real estate, and financial services, to name a few.
The Malaysian group was founded in 1949 by the three Kuok brothers, the youngest of whom is Robert Kuok (pictured), now 88. Starting out in agricultural trading, the group expanded to Singapore in 1952, and then went on to open operations in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China. Robert's son Khoon Chen, 57, is the executive director of Kuok Group and its subsidiary Kerry Properties, Hong Kong's largest property development firm. His younger son Khoon Ean, 56, is the chairman of hotel chain Shangri-La Asia. However, the family's biggest source of wealth comes from its majority stake in Wilmar International, the world's largest publicly-listed palm oil company. Robert's 61-year-old nephew Khoon Hong is the chairman of Wilmar International.
The palm oil giant has recently recovered after two quarters of poor results in the second half of last year, during which it posted pre-tax losses of more than $200 million from its oil seeds and grains business. The company reported a 56 percent increase in revenue in the three months ending June to $10.6 billion, compared to a year ago.
5. Sunil Mittal & Family
Country: India
Business: Bharti Group
Estimated net worth: $16.5 billion
Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder of the Bharti Group, and chairman of flagship firm Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile phone provider. It's also the world's fifth-largest telecom with over 200 million customers.
Mittal (pictured) founded the group in 1976, at the age of 18, as a bicycle parts manufacturer with less than $500 from his father. The 54-year-old tycoon went on to establish Bharti Telecom, the first company in India to introduce push-button telephones in the 1980s and fax machines and cordless phones a decade later. The group now has interests in retail, financial services and manufacturing, with operations in 19 countries. Brothers Rakesh and Rajan Mittal (pictured) are also involved in the family business as heads of the retail and agriculture operations.
Sunil Mittal's twin sons Kavin and Shravin, 25, have also recently made news by joining the family business. Kavin will head a joint venture with Japanese telecom giant Softbank to develop social media, gaming, and e-commerce businesses in an effort accelerate the spread of mobile internet in India. The country is home to the world's second-biggest mobile phone market with nearly 866 million subscribers.
4. Kwok Family
Country: Hong Kong
Business: Sun Hung Kai Properties
Estimated net worth: $22 billion
The Kwok family are the founders of Sun Hung Kai (SHK) Properties — Asia's largest property developer by market value.
The company was founded in 1963 by mainland Chinese businessman Tak Seng Kwok, and partners Fung King Hey and Lee Shau Kee. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972 and soon became one of the top firms on the benchmark by market cap. The firm's market cap now stands at $34.25 billion. Tak Seng died in 1990, leaving the reins of the family business to his wife, Kwong Siu-hing, and their three sons, Raymond (pictured left), Thomas (pictured), and Walter Kwok. The company has continued to do well because of Hong Kong's and China's red-hot property markets. Last month, the group posted a 55 percent rise in underlying profit to $2.75 billion for the year ended June. The group completed construction of Hong Kong's tallest building in 2010 — the International Commerce Center — marking another milestone for the company.
The family has also made headlines with a bitter feud and court battle, which led the eldest son Walter, 66, to step down as chairman of the firm he worked at for 33 years in 2008. His mother Kwong Siu Hing, who is the controlling shareholder of the group, took over the leading role, with younger brothers Thomas and Raymond managing operations.
3. Lakshmi Narayan Mittal & Family
Country: Non-resident Indian
Business: ArcelorMittal
Estimated net worth: $28 billion
Lakshmi Narayan Mittal is the founder of ArcelorMittal — the world's biggest steel-producing company. Mittal is also considered the sixth-richest man in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
The steel tycoon, 61, founded the company in 1989 as Mittal Steel, parting ways from his India-based family business to venture out on his own. The firm went on to merge with Arcelor in 2006 to form its current conglomerate, based in Luxembourg. Mittal (pictured - left) is the chairman and CEO of the group and owns 40 percent of its shares. Other family members involved in the business include his son and heir apparent Aditya, who is the CFO, while daughter Vanisha (pictured - right) is one of 11 board members.
Vanisha's 2004 wedding to Amit Bhatia (pictured - right) made headlines for its extravagance and is considered the third most expensive wedding in modern times, costing a whopping $60 million. The wedding took place at France's Versailles Palace and the senior Mittal reportedly paid for 1,000 guests to stay one week at five-star hotels in Paris.
The family is continuing to expand globally. ArcelorMittal recently joined forces with U.S. coal giant Peabody to buy a nearly 60 percent stake in the world's biggest coking coal producer Macarthur Coal for $5 billion.
2. Li Ka-shing & Family
Country: Hong Kong
Businesses: Cheung Kong, PCCW, Hutchison Whampoa
Estimated net worth: $32 billion
Li Ka-shing is considered one of the most powerful business figures in Asia, and his companies have a total market cap of $92 billion (HKD 710 billion) on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Starting from humble beginnings, the Chinese business magnate quit school at age 12 and fled from mainland China to Hong Kong with his family in 1928. After working at a plastics company, Ka-shing (pictured - right) started his own plastic manufacturing business at age 22, which is now Cheung Kong Industries — one of Hong Kong's leading real estate investment firms. The business was publicly listed in 1972 and continued to expand, acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hong Kong Electric, to name a few. Ka-shing's business is now so diversified that it includes everything from shipping and telecommunications to biotechnology, and operates companies in China, the U.K., and Australia. His two sons, Victor Tzar Kuoi (pictured), 47, and Richard Tzar Kai Li, 44, are leading businessmen in their own right. Victor heads Cheung Kong, Hutichson Whampoa, and KC Life Sciences and is seen as the heir-apparent, while Richard is the chairman of telecommunications firm PCCW.
Eighty-three-year-old Ka-shing's reputation for savvy business deals has earned him the nickname "superman" by local media. In August, the tycoon made headlines by announcing the biggest takeover of a British listed company this year. He agreed to buy utility Northumbrian Water Group for $3.8 billion.
1. Ambani Family
Country: India
Business: Reliance Industries & Reliance Group
Estimated net worth: $37.6 billion
The Ambanis are the richest family in the Asia-Pacific region, and founders of Reliance Industries — India's largest publicly traded company by market cap, at $55.6 billion.
The company was founded by Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani in 1966 as a textile business and has since grown to have interests in petrochemicals, communications and power. Dhirubhai's tale of humble beginnings from a worker to a business tycoon lifted him to icon status in India. Reliance Industries went public in 1977, selling shares to the public. The company's annual meetings were held in stadiums to accommodate the masses. Following Dhirubhai's death in 2002, his sons Mukesh (pictured - right) and Anil Ambani (pictured) took over the family business, but a feud between the brothers led the group to be divided in 2006. Older brother Mukesh, 54, took over Reliance Industries, which accounts for the group's oil assets, while Anil, 52, is the chairman of Reliance Group, which has interests in telecom, power, and healthcare, to name a few sectors.
No stranger to controversy, the Ambani family made headlines over the past decade for official investigations into its business practices and allegations of corruption. Last month, reports surfaced that federal authorities were examining Anil Ambani's role in an alleged multi-billion-dollar telecom licensing scandal. Mukesh Ambani, meanwhile, has garnered global attention by building the most expensive home in the world, in Mumbai, at a cost of about $1 billion.
LAS VEGAS, Amerika Syarikat - Pemuda berusia 23 tahun dari Brazil, Silvano Alves memperoleh hadiah wang tunai AS$1 juta (RM3.06 juta) selepas menjadi juara menunggang lembu jantan dunia di Las Vegas kelmarin.
Dia merupakan peserta keempat dari Brazil memenangi gelaran dunia itu dalam tempoh enam tahun berdasarkan kutipan mata dan persembahan dalam musim penunggang lembu jantan profesional.
"Saya sebenarnya tak dapat berkata-kata. Saya amat gembira dengan keputusan. Ini adalah satu mimpi bagi setiap penunggang lembu jantan," katanya.
Alves memenangi gelaran dunia itu walaupun dia hanya menduduki tempat ketiga dalam siri terakhir pertandingan penunggang lembu jantan profesional yang diadakan di sini kelmarin.
Dalam pertandingan itu, Robson Palermo juga dari Brazil menduduki tempat pertama dan membolot hadiah wang tunai AS$250,000 (RM767,374). - Agensi
LOS ANGELES - Filem animasi, Puss in Boots mendahului tayangan filem seram, Paranormal Activity 3 untuk berada di tangga teratas buat pertama kali dalam senarai kutipan box-office di Amerika Utara pada hujung minggu lalu.
Filem yang menggunakan suara aktor Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, dan Billy Bob Thornton itu mendapat kutipan tiket AS$34 juta (RM104juta), lapor pemantau industri hiburan Exhibitor Relations.
Filem Paranormal Activity 3 pula berada di tangga kedua dengan mengutip sebanyak AS$18.53 juta (RM56.9 juta).
Ia dikuti filem sains fiksyen, In Time lakonan Justin Timberlake dan Amanda Seyfried dengan kutipan AS$12 juta (RM36.8juta).
Versi baharu filem tarian 80-an, Footloose jatuh ke kedudukan keempat dengan kutipan AS$5.4 juta (RM16.5 juta). - AFP
The world’s most expensive motorhome– the eleMMent palazzo – has gone up for sale for a whopping $2.6 million.
The 40ft long palace on wheels designed by Marchi Mobile features an ensuite master bedroom, pop-up roof terrace, underfloor heating and a bar.
The luxurious vehicle has also an en suite bathroom, rainfall shower, separate toilet, lounge and driver’s cab complete with bunk bed.
The EleMMent can be fitted with mobile internet, a working fireplace, streaming video surveillance and satellite TV.
But the most impressive touch is the machine’s ‘sky lounge’ which opens at the touch of a button and features underfloor heating and a bar.
The eleMMent palazzo boast an area which expands to 430 sq ft, making it twice as expensive per square foot as the most lavish properties in London.
