Although the world was struck by the Covid-19 Pandemic, other issues were also brought to the forefront in 2020. Here are the hashtags from Africa that caught the globe’s attention this year.



#ENDSars: Just as the country celebrated its diamond jubilee, police brutality protests started on October 7 in Nigeria calling for the disbanding of the infamous police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which had long been accused of extortion, torture, and extra-judicial killings.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49261" width="432" height="288" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Maciek Musialek/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#CongoIsBleeding: Exploitation in the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received attention in October to highlight child slavery, deadly conflicts, and corruption spawned by the quest to feed mega-companies with minerals.



#ShutItAllDown: This was a wave of ongoing gender-based violence protests across Namibia aimed at stopping the spread of rape and the killing of women. According to CNN, the protests were in response to news of another attack, in turn, those protestors threatened to leave everything at a standstill for four days earlier in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49263" width="388" height="259" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" /><figcaption> (Photo by HILDEGARD TITUS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#ZimbabweanLivesMatter: A predominantly online demonstration to address the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe in August. According to The Guardian, the hashtag was ‘fashioned’ after the Black Lives Matter global protests staged since the killing of George Floyd by a US police officer in May. Furthermore, the incarceration of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and the Booker Prize long-listed author Tsitsi Dangarembga has angered more people across Africa.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49265" width="433" height="289" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /><figcaption>Julie Barnes holds a placard during an anti-corruption protest march along Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. (Photo by ZINYANGE AUNTONY/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#RapeNationalEmergancy: On September 11, Liberian President George Weah declared rape a national emergency in the country. According to Al Jazeera, Weah introduced measures in place to address the increase in violence against women. Measures include a special prosecutor for rape in the country, as well as the set-up of a national sex offender registry and the establishment of a “national security task force” on sexual and gender-based violence.



#ChildTrafficking: This has been highlighted as a severe problem on cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast. According to a US study, the prevalence of children doing hazardous work, including using sharp tools, has also gone up in the world’s top two cocoa producers, reported Al Jazeera in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49266" width="444" height="294" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-2048x1356.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-600x397.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#Guinea: Guinea’s president, Alpha Condé, has won a “controversial third term” with 59.49% of the vote, the National Independent Electoral Commission declared on October 24. According to the Guardian, his victory came at the same time as widespread protests “violently suppressed by security forces”.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49262" width="395" height="263" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px" /><figcaption> Alpha Conde addresses his supporters at a campaign rally in Conakry on October 16, 2020. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#AnglophoneCrisis: Since October 2016, Cameroon’s Anglophone minority have been protesting due to sectoral grievances that morphed into political demands. On October 24 this year, the United Nations reported that eight children were killed and dozens wounded by a group of armed men at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba in the southwest region of Cameroon. Although the southwest region is one of two Anglophone regions, it was not clear if the attack was linked to a continuing struggle between government forces and armed groups in the English-speaking west seeking to form a breakaway state.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49268" width="418" height="278" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" /><figcaption> Anglophone village women pray in a church located in a hill village on May 12, 2019 a few miles outside Buea in SW Cameroon. (Photo by Giles Clarke/UNOCHA via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#PrayForEthiopia: CNN reported on November 7 that a military conflict, which has raised fears of civil war, broke out due to Tigray&#8217;s Peoples Liberation Front’s (TPLF) unilateral decision to elect a regional administration against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s wishes. “Our operation aims to end the impunity that has prevailed for far too long and hold accountable individuals and groups under the laws of the land,” Abiy said on Twitter. According to the Herald Malaysia, this resulted in heavy casualties and thousands of civilians fleeing the region.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49259" width="431" height="287" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px" /><figcaption>TOPSHOT &#8211; An Ethiopian refugee who fled the Tigray conflict prays during Sunday Mass at an Ethiopian Orthodox church building built by former Ethiopian refugees, at the village next to Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, on December 6, 2020. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#StopGBV: During the lockdown, gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa has become a second pandemic for the country. According to the Commission of Gender Equality, South Africa is ranked amongst the highest in Africa for domestic violence. At the end of July, Police Minister Bheki Cele released crime stats showing that sexual crimes in the country increased by 1.7%, with 53,293 cases reported. This is 873 cases more than in 2019.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49267" width="389" height="270" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1536x1065.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-2048x1421.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-600x416.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" /><figcaption>Students protest against gender based violence (GBV) at parliament on June 24, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>

Untitled-1

What Was Trending In Africa In 2020?

Navigating the murky waters of financial planning in your 20s is no easy task. With the economy perennially in a state of flux and debt on the rise, maintaining a healthy financial life has proven to be even more challenging. We spoke to some finance gurus and experts to glean from them the following that could throw ideas and provide some relief:



<ol type="1"><li>Save. This money is not for immediate use, it isn’t even for foreseeable use. This money is for the long-term, and can be diversified through a number of different investments and unit trusts. These banking faculties ensure that the money you’re putting away is reaching its maximum potential and will serve you well, when the need for it arises. The amount being saved will depend on monthly income and expenses. Increasing this as you progress to each stage of life is recommended and will serve you well when the time comes to reap these rewards.</li><li>Budget. Keep track of your monthly expenses and reduce frivolous spending. A detailed review of your expenses in a month can help determine the money you need to cover it. After all essential expenses such as rent or loan repayments, the cost for essential items such as food and toiletries should be calculated next. The last to follow is optional expenses such as eating out or luxury spend. In doing this, it ensures all the important factors are covered while leaving room for the occasional splurge.</li><li>Emergency funds. Life can be unpredictable. With this come unforeseen costs. To prepare for this, experts recommend creating an emergency fund. This fund is an accumulation of money that is put away to access should the need arise. It can be used on an unexpected medical emergency or sudden job loss. The creation of this ensures that debt is not incurred and long-term savings are spared. It should be placed in a bank account that is quick and easy to access so the funds are available immediately should you need it.</li><li>Assets. Acquiring assets such as vehicles or property is an important investment into the future. Using the finance options available also has its benefits. Creating a positive credit score is important for anyone especially later on in life when business loans may be needed or when opening accounts. While vehicles depreciate quicker, these are assets that can be kept for years at a time and can be used as collateral for a better model when the opportunity arises. Property is also an investment and does not depreciate.</li><li>Retirement funds. Time waits for no man and age catches up with us all. This is why saving for retirement is something that should be started as early as possible. Everyone wants to age comfortably. To do this, it means taking the initiative while you’re young. Over and above the pension or preservation fund being accumulated through your job, setting up a retirement annuity is also highly recommended. This ensures that either a lump sum or monthly stipend is received ensuring that you age in style.</li></ol>



Being in your 20s can be exhilarating and terrifying all at once. The events of your 20s are a significant factor in how you approach the rest of your life. The one thing you want to make sure is that your finances are in order. Debt globally is the highest that it has ever been, and the economy is in recession. Preparing now makes sure that you weather the storm. With calmer seas, you’ll reap the rewards instead of being stranded with no lifeline. Let your finances be one of the things you do well in your 20s.

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A controversial movie release and weaker-than-anticipated growth projections for the third quarter have barely stunted Netflix&#8217;s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/netflix" target="_blank">NFLX</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/netflix">0.0%</a> surge this year. Though they took a small hit amid the broader market&#8217;s September correction–after an all-time Netflix high in late August–shares of the Los Gatos, California-based firm are once again nearing peak levels. With the firm set to report earnings Tuesday after the market close, here are five numbers that show just how much the firm has dominated entertainment in the pandemic age.



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">$235 Billion</h3>



That&#8217;s Netflix&#8217;s market capitalization the day before it&#8217;s set to release third-quarter earnings. It&#8217;s up nearly $100 billion in 2020 alone, making the 23-year-old streaming giant one of the 20 largest companies on the S&amp;P 500 by market cap–ahead of even media mainstays like Walt Disney <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney" target="_blank">DIS</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney">-2%</a>, Comcast <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/comcast" target="_blank">CMCSA</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/comcast">-2.7%</a> and AT&amp;T.



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">60%</h3>



Netflix shares have soared more than 60% since the beginning of the year. To compare, the S&amp;P 500 is up just 6.5% in 2020. The firm&#8217;s billionaire cofounder and CEO, Reed Hastings, has gotten nearly $2 billion during the pandemic. The 60-year-old, who launched Netflix as a DVD subscription service in 1997 and owns roughly 1% of its shares, is now worth about $5.4 billion.



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">195 Million</h3>



That&#8217;s the number of paid subscribers analysts expect Netflix will report on Tuesday, up 2.5 million quarter to quarter and in line with the firm&#8217;s latest guidance. Netflix said in July that it added 26 million subscribers during the first half of the year (10 million in the first quarter and nearly 16 million in the second) as homebound consumers facing government-mandated quarantine orders turned to the streaming giant–and away from movie theaters and live shows–for entertainment. That increase could even prove conservative, noted investment research firm CFRA on Monday, reiterating its buy rating on Netflix shares and adding that the firm could be bolstered by an increase in subscribers from international markets.



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">$6.4 Billion</h3>



Analysts are expecting Netflix will pull nearly $6.4 billion in third-quarter revenues, up more than 20% from the same period last year. The company&#8217;s also expected to report earnings of about $2.13 per share, down from $1.47 per share last year on heightened costs amid the pandemic.&nbsp;



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">$670</h3>



That&#8217;s the price target Bank of America <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/bank-of-america" target="_blank">BAC</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/bank-of-america">-2.1%</a> issued on Friday for Netflix, up nearly 17% from a prior target of $575 and representing the highest Netflix price target on Wall Street. Despite near-term uncertainties around second-half subscriber growth–and a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/10/12/netflixs-sarandos-defends-cuties-calling-the-controversial-film-misunderstood/">highly criticized</a> movie release, Bank of America said it continues to see the acceleration in Netflix subscriber growth during the first half of the year as a &#8220;permanent benefit.&#8221; Netflix&#8217;s average price target from 39 analysts covering its stock is about $527–within 1% of current prices.



-By Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes Staff

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The Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2020: They Are Barely Playing, But The Top 10 Pros Still Earned $340 Million

The 2019 season-capping victory for tennis star Ashleigh Barty was one she will not likely soon forget. Her triumph at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, in November gave her a fourth title for the year and paid her $4.4 million, a record for any men’s or women’s tennis event, which pushed her winnings for 2019 to $11.3 million.



The prize money lands the Australian ace at No. 3 on this year’s ranking of the highest-paid female athletes, with a total haul of $13.1 million. She ranks well below global icon Serena Williams, who landed at No. 2 with $36 million, $32 million of which was paid out from endorsement deals. Both were eclipsed by Naomi Osaka, who earned just $3.4 million in prize money but landed at No. 1 with $37.4 million thanks to her own massive sponsor roster.&nbsp;



For female athletes out to get rich from their dominance, tennis is the go-to sport. Nine of the world’s ten highest-paid female athletes make their living with a racket, with the only exception this year being Alex Morgan, co-captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, who lands at No. 10 with $4.6 million. The aces can thank Rosie Casals.



Casals, whose 112 doubles tournament titles are the second-highest total ever, was one of nine female tennis players, dubbed the Original 9, who broke ranks with the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association a half-century ago to protest the dollar difference between male and female prize money, which reached as high as 12-to-1 at events. The fight—which led to players including Casals and her longtime doubles partner Billie Jean King being banned from events sanctioned by the USLTA—gave birth to the Virginia Slims Tour, which later morphed into the WTA.&nbsp;



“We knew what we were doing was very important, but in some ways, we didn’t have anything to lose,” says Casals, who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the tour’s first event next month. “I’m proud to see where women’s tennis is 50 years later and to know that we were instrumental in the success of the game today.”



The U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to offer gender pay equality, in 1973, but it would be 28 years before another Slam followed suit: the Australian Open in 2001. The biggest tennis events now pay equal prize money to men and women; Wimbledon in 2007 was the last Grand Slam to update its payouts. But it was a long road for women’s tennis players, who faced the same fight for better pay that athletes in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2020/05/02/federal-judge-upends-us-womens-national-teams-fight-for-equal-pay/">soccer</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2020/01/14/wnba-players-union-reach-progressive-eight-year-collective-bargaining-agreement/">basketball</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolschram/2019/08/29/this-falls-dream-gap-tour-sees-top-womens-hockey-players-working-to-advance-their-game/">hockey</a>&nbsp;have tackled in recent years.



Outside of prize money, Osaka and Williams remain tennis’ only female superstars, with Osaka setting a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naomi-osaka-is-the-highest-paid-female-athlete-ever-topping-serena-williams/">record for female athletes</a>&nbsp;this year, beating the earnings record set by Maria Sharapova in 2015 when she earned&nbsp;$29.7 million and unseating Williams, who held the No. 1 position for the past four years.



Osaka scored a slew of new endorsement deals following her back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 Australian Open, including Nike&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NKE</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike">+1.2%</a>, which committed roughly $10 million annually to win her away from Adidas. Osaka now has 15 endorsement partners, including global brands like Nissan Motor, Shiseido and Yonex.



Morgan is the lone non-tennis player to crack the top ten, thanks to a massive endorsement portfolio worth ten times as much as her roughly $400,000 on-field salary and bonus last year. She has more than a dozen current sponsors, including Nike, Coca-Cola&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KO</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola">+0.4%</a>, Volkswagen and AT&amp;T. Her latest is an Alex Morgan Barbie Doll, as part of the brand’s Role Model Series.



Morgan’s fellow U.S. women’s national soccer team co-captain Megan Rapinoe just missed the top ten with an estimated $4.2 million. Her profile and earnings soared after she led the U.S. to the 2019 World Cup championship as the tournament’s Golden Boot&nbsp;winner and became a cultural icon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2019/07/22/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Rapinoe.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following attacks by President Donald Trump</a>. In addition to a lucrative book deal, she cashed in with a flurry of speaker engagements, with fees approaching six figures. Rapinoe also endorses Nike, Budweiser, BodyArmor, Visa and at least a half-dozen more brands.



“We can’t be complacent,” Casals says about the ongoing pay disparity between men and women. “We must continue to improve the exposure and profile of the women’s game so the value continues to rise. We were fortunate, but we need more women in places of power in business.”



Our earnings tally looks at prize money, salaries, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020. The time frame means the coronavirus had only a marginal impact as tennis players missed out on prize money from just two and a half months of missed events. But earnings will be down significantly in next year’s accounting. In addition to the cancellation of Wimbledon, the WTA canceled its seven events in China scheduled for October and November, including the lucrative WTA Finals. Prize money for the events in China would have totaled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/sports/tennis/wta-tour-china-tournaments-canceled.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roughly $30 million</a>. Almost all players will also have reductions in their apparel and racket contracts for not meeting minimum play requirements.



1. Naomi Osaka



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="401" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45396" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1-300x203.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $37.4 million



Prize Money: $3.4 million



Endorsements: $34 million



Osaka held dual citizenship growing up but made the wise choice to represent Japan ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, now scheduled for 2021. The decision made her an even hotter commodity for Olympic sponsors, like Procter &amp; Gamble&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/procter-gamble" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PG</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/procter-gamble">+0.7%</a>, All Nippon Airways and Nissin, which signed endorsement deals with Osaka to use her around marketing for the Games. Among all tennis players, only Roger Federer made more than Osaka from endorsements.



2. Serena Williams



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="698" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1024x698.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47139" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-scaled-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-scaled-600x409.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1536x1047.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-2048x1397.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> (Photo by REUTERS/Carl Recine) </figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $36 million



Prize Money: $4 million



Endorsements: $32 million



Endorsement partners like Nike, Gatorade, Procter &amp; Gamble and Beats get a boost from Serena’s massive social media following of nearly 40 million fans across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2020/07/21/serena-williams-natalie-portman-and-uswnt-legends-part-of-female-ownership-group-bringing-womens-professional-soccer-to-los-angeles/">part of an investment group</a>&nbsp;that was awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League expansion team in Los Angeles this summer. Their daughter, Olympia, is also part of the group and at 2 years old became the youngest known professional sports team owner.



3. Ashleigh Barty



Total Earnings: $13.1 million



Prize Money: $10.1 million



Endorsements: $3 million



Barty won her first career Slam at the 2019 French Open, triggering lucrative bonuses from sponsors Fila and Head. She also endorses Rado, Jaguar, Vegemite, Banana Boat, and Esmi. In June 2019, she became the first Australian woman ranked No. 1 since 1976.



4. Simona Halep



Total Earnings: $10.9 million



Prize Money: $6.9 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Halep added her second career Slam title at Wimbledon last year, and her $36.5 million in career prize money ranks fourth all-time. (Williams is first at $93 million.) Halep’s sponsors include global brands Nike, Wilson, Hublot and Avon, as well as several more in her native Romania.



5. Bianca Andreescu



Total Earnings: $8.9 million



Prize Money: $4.9 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Andreescu made history as the first Canadian, male or female, to win a Grand Slam event when she captured the 2019 U.S. Open. The title and her No. 5 year-end world ranking triggered lucrative bonuses from sponsor Nike, which renegotiated her contract earlier in the year. Since the Open title, she’s added deals with Rolex, Gatorade, Canadian paper company Royale, and Sleep Country mattresses.



6. Garbiñe Muguruza



Total Earnings: $6.6 million



Prize Money: $2.1 million



Endorsements: $4.5 million



The Spanish-Venezuelan tennis star’s runner-up finish at this year’s Australian Open was only her second time advancing past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since her 2017 Wimbledon title. But she maintains a strong endorsement portfolio with Adidas, Beats, Rolex, Cesar insurance, Babolat and Maui Jim sunglasses. Her Adidas deal is one of the bigger apparel deals in the sport.



7. Elina Svitolina



Total Earnings: $6.4 million



Prize Money: $5.4 million



Endorsements: $1 million



The Ukrainian reached the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019, and she matched her career-high No. 3 world ranking. Svitolina counts Nike, Wilson, Hublot, Damilano Barolo wines, and EAFit nutrition products as sponsors.



8. Sofia Kenin



Total Earnings: $5.8 million



Prize Money: $4.8 million



Endorsements: $1 million



Kenin won the Australian Open in January, building on her WTA Most Improved Player Award in 2019. At 21, she was the youngest American to win a Slam since Serena Williams in 2002. Her main sponsors are Fila and Babolat.



9. Angelique Kerber



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47144" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $5.3 million



Prize Money: $1.3 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Kerber’s three Grand Slam wins since the start of 2016 are the most in women’s tennis. Her most lucrative sponsorship deal is with Adidas, which has partnered with the German tennis star since 2013. Other endorsements include Yonex, Generali, Porsche and Lavazza.



10. Alex Morgan



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="647" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1024x647.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47143" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1024x647.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-scaled-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-scaled-600x379.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-768x485.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1536x971.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-2048x1295.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $4.6 million



Salary/bonus: $400,000



Endorsements: $4.2 million



Morgan extended her deal with Nike after the 2019 World Cup with a clause that guaranteed pay for 18 months even if she was not playing. Nike had previously been criticized for a lack of maternity protection in its contracts with female athletes. Morgan gave birth to her first child in May. She is launching her own media company, with more details expected by the end of the year.



-Kurt Badenhausen,Forbes Staff

Rogers Cup Toronto – Day 7

Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2020: 50 Years After Creation Of Women’s Tour, Tennis Dominates Earnings List

As Covid-19 continues to spread ruthlessly across the globe, governments have enforced lockdowns in countries to slow the infection rate. And this has meant restricted movements of people and work from home. As the globe’s population practises self-isolation and social-distancing, the lack of the familiar can lead to further stress and mental health issues. Establishing coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety and depression during these times is crucial. Healthcare practitioner and counselling psychologist, Nkateko Ndala-Magoro, through the South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s Facebook platform, lets us in on five self-help strategies to deal with depression.



Get active: “It is hard I know to stay active while you are confined. The benefits of staying active is the release of feel good hormones that are in contrast with the hormones that exacerbate depression. Being active also helps regulate your heart beat; for people suffering from anxiety, the regulation of breathing might help with the severity of the anxiety/panic attack.”



Take time to sleep: “I know people are already feeling like they do not have any more positions of sleep because of sleeping too much during lockdown. I encourage that people get as much quality sleep as possible in this time. Sleeping has benefits on our health and wellbeing in general, let alone on our mental health on many levels.”



Read: “Keep yourself busy by reading. There is a wealth of information in books. There are many online platforms including Amazon, which have made available e-books for free. Read self-help books and fiction to escape the reality; and any other books that interest you.”



Learn a new skill: “This will also keep you interested as mastering something new takes a lot in terms of focus and energy.”



Connect with loved ones: “Connect with your loved ones via video chats. Journal and work on things you have been meaning to work on to give you a sense of accomplishment.”

Man self isolating at home

5 Ways To Cope With The Self During Isolation

Some of these fads were slowly building in the previous decade, others are still nascent, but need your full attention to prepare your business for the times ahead.



1. AI and machine learning



Key takeaway: Automate repetitive tasks, but be wary of automating inefficiencies and biases.



You’re surrounded by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning: from the recommendations Netflix makes based on your viewing history to those pesky adverts that track you around the internet. As Bronwyn Williams, a trend analyst at Flux Trends in South Africa, explains, “Most of what you think is AI is actually machine learning.” Williams emphasizes that fears about AI “stealing jobs” are overrated, and most businesses will see the arduous, repetitive tasks given to machines, freeing up humans for analysis and critical thinking. She warns businesses to remember it’s the human interaction that differentiates one offering from another. “Don&#8217;t automate away your value. Look under the hood and make sure you understand why you are automating something – and be careful not to automate inefficiencies.” Looking at automated HR processes, companies have discovered that even unconscious human biases are learned by machines (for example, CVs belonging to certain genders and races are discredited. Machines are not born neutral – especially if they’re learning from humans.) Embrace machine learning, but do so with a pinch of salt.



2. Driverless cars and the supply chain



Key takeaway: Autonomous cars are still about 15 years away, but it’s best to prepare your fleet and supply chain choice now.



The automotive industry is going through some major changes: electric cars, the growth of services like Uber and Lift, and lastly, the development of autonomous vehicles. Though the first two will impact everyday consumer experiences, it’s self-driving cars that will massively alter businesses and their supply chains across Africa in the next decade. “As convenience and efficiency are the cornerstones of the fleet industry, there is no doubt self-driving vehicles will start making a play for their share of the fleet industry sooner rather than later,” explains Sudesh Pillay on fleet management company EQSTRA’s online platform. The supply chain will no longer be affected by driver fatigue and human error. Driverless cars will also dramatically impact accident rates (lowering them by 90%, according to some estimates) and supply chain efficiency. As Innovation Group’s Future Now report indicates, autonomous cars face some serious challenges across Africa before they can become a practical alternative to human drivers. “There is a vision, in the not-too-distant future, in which self-driving cars hold a lot of promise…. Others are more skeptical about the practical feasibility, especially in Africa where the infrastructural limitations (roads, electricity etc.) hold back the vision, at least in the foreseeable future. Our research indicates that self-driving cars may only become a reality in South Africa in [15] or more years and that this may spur innovative advances in infrastructure, energy services and ultimately the look and feel of roads and cities.”



3. Climate crises and



natural disasters



Key takeaway: Hire a Chief Sustainability Officer to



start building climate resilience into your business.



“Now is the time to start thinking seriously about resilience,” says Hugh Tyrrell, Director at Green Edge, a corporate mentoring initiative in Cape Town that helps businesses develop sustainably. “The big brands have Chief Sustainability Officers (CSO). This role is in the C-suite and is forward-thinking,” Tyrell explains. CSOs look at how businesses can start developing their own power, lower their eco-footprint and manage their resources better. Looking to the big corporate trendsetters, there are some major shifts in corporate strategy focusing on a sustainable business model instead of growth at all costs. Unilever, for example, is holding their suppliers to the same eco-friendly standards that they themselves are working at, says Tyrrell. Natural disasters associated with the climate crisis are already affecting African businesses too. Explains Tyrrell, “In agriculture, which is a big sector in Africa, we are seeing the effect of droughts or floods. Others have to work more closely with their suppliers to ensure supplies come in good condition and on time.” Mining is another industry heavily impacted by the climate crisis – and the push by consumers for more environmental-friendly solutions.&nbsp;



4. The age of cyberattacks and data breaches



Key takeaway: Make sure your IT department includes



skilled data protection specialists.



As businesses innovate and rely less on physical hardware like servers, and start instead relying on the cloud, they can expect to see a massive uptick in cyberattacks and subsequent data breaches. This trend increased exponentially in 2019 (even the City of Johannesburg in South Africa was held by ransomware) and is set to explode in the coming decade. Added to this, businesses are collecting more data than ever before, particularly for marketing purposes and to tailor their product offerings. Because of this, businesses should prepare themselves for the onslaught by firstly, taking their online security very seriously, secondly, training their staff (employees are the weakest link in any security chain) and thirdly, putting more budget behind appropriate security measures. “The demand for narrow cybersecurity expertise is driven by a constantly changing threat landscape, as well as evolving technologies, such as cloud or IoT. As a result, we see the bigger demand in, for example, threat intelligence analysts and dedicated threat intelligence services, and experts for cloud platform protection. The call for data protection specialists is seen in both technical and regulatory and compliance aspects,” says Alexander Moiseev, Chief Business Officer at online security software Kaspersky.



5. The remote workforce



Key takeaway: Flexi-hours and working remotely are practical ways to combat challenges like loadshedding and traffic.



With intermittent power supply (particularly in South Africa), increasing traffic and less reliance on physical IT infrastructure like servers, the remote and flexible workforce is becoming a norm. Says Moiseev, “The working model is already being changed, with 40% of small and medium companies regularly allowing their employees to work at locations outside the office — from home or while traveling.” In addition, health scares like the coronavirus are amplifying these trends. “Apps that enable remote working are having a moment,” explains Williams. “You now get filters to add makeup to video conferences so you don’t have to dress up when you’re working from home.” Many employees expect the flexibility of remote working when job hunting, and businesses reap the benefits of agility.  



-Samantha Steele

Computing and malware concept

The Five Trends To Future-Proof Your Business

A pick of some of the weirdest, coolest tech that could come hurtling our way this year. 



<ol><li>A bot that delivers
toilet paper</li></ol>



Forgot to instal toilet paper in the loo? The Charmin RollBot is designed to carry a roll of toilet paper on two wheels. With the press of a button on your phone, the RollBot will help with your sanitary requirement.



Using Bluetooth, the bot will commence its mission; an infra-red sensor able to navigate its way to you. According to Business Insider, there&#8217;s no price or release date for RollBot, nor is it clear if it will ever be released as a consumer product. Charmin calls RollBot a &#8220;conceptual prototype”. The brand unveiled the bot last month at the CES 2020 expo in Las Vegas.



2. The Cyrcle phone



If for any reason you got bored of your rectangular handset, the circular phone is always an alternative offering a different view and take. According to the makers, the phone was designed with the Generation Z, female audience in mind. It’s round and features two headphone jacks. The device was designed by a US-based startup delivering a shape that it says is more “sensual”. The company reckons it will be ready to launch in a year’s time.



3. A smart bed



There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep. But it’s not always possible to have the best sleep every day. Or is it? There is a bed that’s guaranteed to give you your beauty sleep the way you want it.



Sleep Number Climate 360 has a mattress with features that warm your feet to help you sleep faster. It will also help you stay asleep by cooling your body, and balance your temperature with your natural wake and sleep cycles.



But what’s most intriguing is the fact that the bed also gives you a Sleep IQ score for personalized sleep insights. It measures your heart rate, breathing and movement, tracks your circadian rhythms and can show how your heart rate varies. The smart bed received the CES 2020 Best of Innovation award and is only expected to be available in 2021.



4. Self-changing trash can



For those who dread taking out the trash, this device is possible a no-brainer. Apart from its motion sensors to detect when you need to throw trash, when it’s full, it will automatically seal the trash bag and line the bin with a new one, all with a press of a button.



Even if the bin is overflowing, the top compartment will lift up so it can still seal the bag shut without any mess. The bin, called the Townew bin, was designed by a Canadian company, Knectek Labs.



5. Vertical TV



Just when we were getting used to wider TVs, it seems taller screens may soon be coming to your living room. Samsung’s Sero TV vertical-oriented will soon be hitting markets.



The TV can not only work in the traditional horizontal format, but is also able to turn on its side for playing vertical videos in portrait style.This might come in handy when watching videos from social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram that deal primarily with vertical videos.



It sits on a stand that prevents it hitting the floor when turning, and can be paired with a phone so that it automatically orientates it correctly based on what’s beamed from the handset. According to TechRadar.com the pricing and availability are yet to be revealed, but the Sero will be leaving Korea and is headed to the US and “several global markets” later this year.

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The Top 5 Emerging Crazy Tech

NBA salaries have skyrocketed in recent years, but the biggest stars have earned more off the court than on it to this point in their careers. LeBron James, who tops the ranking for the 2019-2020 season, has made more than twice as much from endorsements than his $270 million in playing salary over his first 16 years. Kevin Durant’s on-court earnings of $187 million in 12 seasons is dwarfed by his current ten-year, $275 million Nike deal.



At $92 million, including salary and endorsements, James is the NBA’s highest-paid player for the sixth straight year. It is a record haul for an active basketball player. Nike is his biggest backer, and the company is naming a new research lab at its Beaverton, Oregon, corporate campus after James. Last month, the 17th iteration of his Nike signature shoe, the LeBron XVII, hit stores.



The four-time NBA MVP added a pair of endorsement deals in 2019 with Rimowa luggage and Walmart, which joined Coca-Cola, Beats By Dre, Blaze Pizza and NBA 2K in his sponsorship stable. 



He also has a budding digital media company, Uninterrupted, and a production firm, SpringHill Entertainment, which will release a sequel to the 1996 Michael Jordan vehicle&nbsp;Space Jam&nbsp;in conjunction with Warner Bros. in 2021. All of the off-court work is worth an estimated $55 million for James this season.



The Los Angeles Lakers star’s comments about the NBA’s geopolitical mess in China also reveal the precarious position everyone in the league is in as political unrest in Hong Kong shows no signs of abating. 



As the league’s 74th regular season tipped off Tuesday night, the NBA was still reeling from the crisis&nbsp;set off by a tweet&nbsp;from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters. 



Commissioner Adam Silver backed Morey’s right to free speech, but some players didn’t, including James, who&nbsp;called Morey&nbsp;“misinformed or not really educated” on the situation. “We love China,”&nbsp;said Rockets point guard James Harden.



It was a rare misstep for two of the league’s more media-savvy stars, both of whom have close ties to China. Adidas, which has Harden as the face of its basketball business, generated more revenue in China last year than in North America, and the Rockets are China’s most popular team after drafting native son Yao Ming in 2002. 



Nike’s China revenue topped $6 billion during the last fiscal year, and the country is a growth leader for the brand. James has represented Nike on 15 off-season trips to China. The sports giant pays James more than $30 million annually to pitch its products around the globe.



And the threat of losing its growth trajectory in China could have&nbsp;far-reaching consequences for team valuations.



But back at home, the financials of NBA franchises remain solid, which is good for player salaries. The league’s salary cap is soaring, fueled largely by the nine-year, $24 billion TV deal with ESPN and TNT signed in 2014. 



NBA players are entitled to 51% of the league’s “basketball-related income” as laid out in the collective bargaining agreement. The rich TV deal and budding international business means 46 players will earn a playing salary of at least $25 million this season,&nbsp;according to Spotrac. The $25 million club had zero members five years ago. And unlike in the NFL, every dollar is guaranteed upon signing.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae26dba210800006f01924/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="The NBA's Highest-Paid Players"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae36f1c538200007811159/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="The Highest-Paid NBA Players - Dataviz"/></figure>



On-court salaries in the NBA are capped based on a player’s number of years in the league and accolades earned in cases in which an award like MVP entitles them to a bigger percentage of a team’s salary cap. 



So the pecking order for the elite stars is ultimately determined by their off-court income, with the shoe deal the biggest component of those earnings. There are ten active NBA players who will&nbsp;make at least $10 million&nbsp;from their shoe contracts this year, by&nbsp;Forbes’ count.



Stephen Curry comes in at No. 2 on the earnings list this year and is expected to generate $85 million this season, including $45 million off the court. Under Armour represents nearly half of his off-court income.



Curry’s $40.2 million salary from the Golden State Warriors is the highest in the history of the NBA; he’s in the third season of the five-year, $201 million contract he signed in 2017. Curry’s production company, Unanimous Media, has a development deal with Sony Pictures. 



Unanimous’ first movie,&nbsp;Breakthrough, was released in April, with Curry playing a role in marketing the Christian-oriented film, which grossed $50 million on a $14 million budget.



Durant has the NBA’s second-biggest annual shoe contract after James’ at an estimated $26 million this season. His total earnings from his playing salary and endorsements is $73 million. Nike sells more KD shoes in China than in North America, according to Durant’s business partner Rich Kleiman.



Like James and Curry, Durant has his own production company, which is co-producing a new basketball-themed drama,&nbsp;Swagger, that is inspired by Durant’s youth basketball experience and will air on the Apple TV+ streaming service.



The NBA’s ten highest-paid players are expected to earn a cumulative $600 million this year, including $250 million from endorsements, appearances, merchandise and media.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae275fc5382000078110fe/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="A Closer Look At The NBA's Highest-Paid Players"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf2c3ea210800006f02881/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#10: Damian Lillard"/></figure>



Lillard signed a four-year, $196 million supermax extension in July with the Portland Trail Blazers that kicks in for the 2021-2022 season. The final year is worth $54.25 million for the 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year and four-time All-Star. Lillard’s Adidas shoe deal is worth roughly $10 million annually.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae1aae616a450007043fb2/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#9: Giannis Antetokounmpo"/></figure>



The “Greek Freak” is eligible for a five-year, $248 million contract extension next summer with the Milwaukee Bucks. It would be the richest deal in the history of the sport. In June, Nike unveiled the first signature shoe, Zoom Freak 1, for the 2019 NBA MVP.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf2ca0b231a60006a598df/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#8: Chris Paul"/></figure>



Only Curry will earn more on the court this season than Paul, who was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in July. Paul was an early investor and&nbsp;ambassador for Beyond Meat, whose stock price has quadrupled since its initial public offering in May.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf2d63b231a60006a598fa/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#7: Klay Thompson"/></figure>



Thompson’s coach, Steve Kerr, says the sharpshooter is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27901817/warriors-steve-kerr-says-klay-thompson-likely-miss-season-recovering-torn-acl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">likely to miss the entire season</a>&nbsp;after tearing his ACL during the NBA Finals in June. But he’ll still collect his full $32.7 million salary—almost double last year’s—under the first season of the five-year, $190 million pact he signed in July. Thompson is the basketball face of Chinese shoe brand Anta.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf2db6a210800006f0288f/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#6: Kyrie Irving"/></figure>



Irving joins his third team in four years this season. His four-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets is worth $136 million and includes an additional $4.3 million in potential incentives. A viral Pepsi ad campaign featuring Irving as the elderly Uncle Drew eventually led to a 2018 feature film; Irving has partial ownership of the character. Irving is another Beyond Meat investor.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf2e23a210800006f0289a/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#5: James Harden"/></figure>



The 2018 NBA MVP purchased a minority stake in the Houston Dynamo of MLS this summer for $15 million. Harden also holds equity stakes in BodyArmor, Stance socks and Art of Sport. His salary with the Rockets jumps $8 million this season with the start of a contract extension he signed in 2017.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5daf3047616a450007044e8b/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#4: Russell Westbrook"/></figure>



Westbrook’s five-year, $207 million contract is the largest deal in the NBA right now. The eight-time All Star extended his deal with Nike&#8217;s Jordan brand in 2017 for another ten years and in 2018 received his first signature shoe, the Why Not Zer0. Westbrook has averaged a triple-double for three straight seasons.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5db0bd83a210800006f04987/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#3: Kevin Durant"/></figure>



Durant is likely to miss the entire season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in June during the NBA Finals. He’ll still pocket his full first-year salary from the Brooklyn Nets under the four-year, $164 million deal he signed in July. He’s invested in more than 30 startups, including Postmates and investing app Acorns.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae1d7a8591980006e63826/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#2: Stephen Curry"/></figure>



The two-time MVP used some of his hoops money in June to buy a $31 million home in Atherton, California, with his wife, Ayesha. He also made a seven-figure donation this summer to Howard University to help launch a golf program at the school and recently signed an endorsement partnership with Callaway Golf. Curry became the only player to win the NBA MVP unanimously when he won his second of back-to-back awards in 2016.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dae1dc0c538200007810fb8/1920x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="#1: LeBron James"/></figure>



James signed an endorsement in 2019 with Walmart that is rooted in community work. He worked with the retail giant on its&nbsp;Fight Hunger. Spark Change.&nbsp;initiative, as well as the company’s back-to-school campaign. James is part of an investment group that owns 19 Blaze Pizza franchises across Illinois and Florida.



-Forbes; Kurt Badenhausen

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The NBA’s Highest-Paid Players 2019-20: LeBron James Scores Record $92 Million

This has been a year of record-setting in billionaire philanthropy. In September, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of POM Wonderful and Fiji Water, pledged $750 million to the California Institute of Technology for environmental sustainability research. 



In June, Blackstone cofounder Stephen Schwarzman donated $189 million to the University of Oxford—the largest single gift to the school since the Renaissance—to fund its work on humanities. The same month, Broadcom billionaire Henry Samueli pledged $100 million to UCLA’s engineering school, the largest gift ever to the department. 



Forbes tracks gifts and pledges like these as part of our ongoing coverage of charitable giving by the country’s richest people.



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For the second year in a row, Forbes tracked the philanthropic giving of the richest 400 individuals in the U.S. and gave each member of The Forbes 400 list a philanthropy score. The score ranged from 1 to 5,  with 5 being the most philanthropic. List members for whom we could find no charitable giving information received an N.A. (not available).



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Though the number of the biggest givers—those who scored a 5—stayed flat in 2019, those who received scores of 4 and 3 increased compared with a year ago. 



The changes reflect two things: The country’s richest have gotten somewhat more generous, and Forbes had more information to work with this year. Some billionaires were willing to share information on charitable giving for the 2019 list who didn’t in 2018. As a result, four dozen people got higher scores this year than a year ago. 



This year, Warren Buffett led the list of top givers with $38.8 billion in lifetime giving, which is 32% of his net worth, and earned the top score of 5. 



He was followed by last year’s biggest giver, Bill Gates, who has donated $38.5 billion so far. Two people who scored a 5 last year—Paul Allen and David Koch—passed away. 



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Billionaires like DreamWorks Pictures founder David Geffen and WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton moved up to the top score after each scored a 4 last year. According to the latest tax filings, Geffen gave $38 million to his foundation in 2017, which brought his lifetime giving to about $1 billion. 



Acton and his wife Tegan, on the other hand, have been expanding their philanthropic network, Wildcard Giving, which they founded in 2014 after Acton sold WhatsApp to Facebook. The couple has given away more than $1 billion to charitable causes.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5da48621cd594c000620fe51/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="2019 Forbes 400 Giving"/><figcaption>FORBES</figcaption></figure>



Forty-one billionaires, including Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings and software billionaire Philip “Terry” Ragon, got higher scores this year than last year. Some, like Stephen Schwarzman, earned a higher score thanks to giving in the past year. 



Others scored higher because we were able to find more information about their lifetime giving, through new public documents or details provided to us by Forbes 400 members or their spokespeople. In September, a Los Angeles Times report revealed that B. 



Wayne Hughes, cofounder of self-storage behemoth Public Storage, had anonymously donated about $400 million to the University of Southern California in his lifetime. Hughes, who scored a 2 last year, jumped up to a 4.



Private equity tycoon Robert F. Smith’s pledge in May to wipe out the student debt of the entire 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College generated lots of headlines but did not end up changing his score because the gift wasn’t big enough to move him up a notch. In many cases, fortunes grew faster than lifetime philanthropic giving. 



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To come up with the information on which we based our score,&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;reporters looked at tax filings for charitable foundations, annual statements, SEC filings and news about new gifts.&nbsp;When possible, we interviewed Forbes 400 members and executives from their foundations. Some Forbes 400 members said they have chosen to donate anonymously, citing religious or privacy concerns.&nbsp;



Our score is based on total lifetime giving and what percent of their fortune members had given away. We weighted these two factors equally. Some individuals were then bumped up or down based on several other factors, including whether they had signed the Giving Pledge, whether they had pledged significant donations, how personally involved they were in their charitable giving, and how quickly and effectively their private foundations distributed dollars. We didn’t count pledges or announced gifts that have yet to be paid out, but we took commitment to philanthropy—or lack thereof—into account.



Forbes has been tracking the wealth of the richest Americans since 1982. “Some of [the members] told us to drop dead,” James Michaels, veteran editor of Forbes, told the New York Times in a 1982 story about the list’s debut. “They said they wanted no part of it, that they’d sue us. 



This happens in reporting.” At times, our reporting on philanthropic giving received a similar response. “The new philanthropy ranking is fundamentally flawed, in that it is biased in favor of those who make their gifts widely known, and against donors who choose to make their charitable contributions anonymously,” one current Forbes 400 member (who did not wish to be named) wrote to us last year.



-Deniz Çam; Forbes

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These Are The Biggest Givers On The Forbes 400

Roger Federer,&nbsp;Novak Djokovic&nbsp;and&nbsp;Rafael Nadal&nbsp;are kicking off play at the U.S. Open as the three favorites to win the title and take home a Grand Slam-record $3.85 million payday as the singles champion. The Big Three are a good bet, having captured 53 out of 63 Slams since the start of 2004, including the last 11.



The on-court dominance has produced a combined $373 million in career prize money for the trio, light years ahead of their peers. But the money off the court is even sweeter for Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, to the tune of a cumulative $1.2 billion during their careers from endorsement partners and appearance fees.



Federer is the highest-paid tennis player for the 14th straight year, with $93.4 million from prize money, endorsements and appearance fees in the 12 months ending June 1. It is a record tally by a tennis player.



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His sponsor portfolio is unmatched in sports, with a dozen partners together paying him more than $60 million a year, well ahead of other global sports icons like&nbsp;Tiger Woods,&nbsp;LeBron James&nbsp;and&nbsp;Cristiano Ronaldo. 



Credit Federer’s long run at the top—his Slam titles span 15 years—and the strong demographics of tennis fans, who spend heavily on equipment, apparel, cars, watches and financial services. The global nature of the sport also allows brands to use the players in marketing around the world.



Federer turned 38 this month, and Father Time will catch up at some point, but Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo is&nbsp;betting $300 million&nbsp;that Federer will continue to resonate with fans long after he hangs up his racket. 



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After two decades with Nike, Federer signed a ten-year deal with Uniqlo last year that is guaranteed whether he is playing or not. In the coming months, Federer will also likely take back control of his RF logo, which stayed with Nike after their split.



After a two-year Slam drought, Djokovic has roared back to capture four of the past five majors. The titles helped push his 12-month earnings to $50.6 million, including $30 million off the court from appearances and sponsors Lacoste, Head, Asics, Seiko, NetJets and Ultimate Software. He ranks as the second-highest-paid tennis player.



Rounding out the top five players are&nbsp;Kei Nishikori&nbsp;($37.3 million), Nadal ($35 million) and&nbsp;Serena Williams&nbsp;($29.2 million).



Tennis is the only major sport in which women and men are in the same zip code in terms of earnings. The U.S. Open was the first Slam to offer equal payouts for the men’s and women’s events, and now each of the four Slams has equal pay. While Williams was the only woman to crack&nbsp;Forbes&#8216; 100&nbsp;highest-paid athletes&nbsp;this year, the top ten earners in tennis are split evenly between men and women.



The top ten collectively made $312 million,&nbsp;up 23% from last year, fueled by huge gains by Federer, Djokovic and&nbsp;Naomi Osaka. See the full top ten below.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">10. Sloane Stephens</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1142602393/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Mutua Madrid Open Masters v day 7"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $9.6 million



Prize money: $4.1 million



Endorsements: $5.5 million



The 2017 U.S. Open champion returns to Flushing Meadows this year&nbsp;wearing a tennis shoe&nbsp;based on the “Aqua” colorway of Nike’s retro Air Jordan VIII. Her Nike pact, which began last year, is one of the biggest in the sport. Stephens recently announced her engagement to soccer star Jozy Altidore.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">9. Simona Halep</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1163387350/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="The Championships - Wimbledon 2019"/><figcaption>CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $10.2 million



Prize money: $6.2 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Halep has won only one event in 2019, but it was a big one: Wimbledon, and its $3 million payday, her second career Grand Slam title. The Romanian pro counts Nike, Wilson, Mercedes-Benz and Hublot among her sponsors.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. Angelique Kerber</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1158622069/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Nature Valley International - Day Four"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $11.3 million



Prize money: $5.3 million



Endorsements: $6 million



Kerber triggered lucrative bonuses from sponsors, namely Adidas, with her 2018 Wimbledon title and year-end rank of second in the world. In addition to Adidas, the German pro has also renewed deals with SAP, Generali and NetJets since Wimbleon and recently inked a new pact with Procter &amp; Gamble’s Head &amp; Shoulders brand. Other endorsements include Yonex, Porsche, Rolex and Lavazza.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. Alexander Zverev</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1160486313/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Rogers Cup Montreal - Day 8"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $11.8 million



Prize money: $6.3 million



Endorsements: $5.5 million



The 22-year-old German is a rising star on the ATP Tour and has 11 career titles, including the 2018 year-end ATP Finals, which was worth $2.5 million in prize money. He has a large deal with Adidas, in addition to endorsements with Head, Peugeot, Richard Mille and Zegna.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. Naomi Osaka</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1168056730/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Western &amp; Southern Open - Day 5"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $24.3 million



Prize money: $8.3 million



Endorsements: $16 million



Osaka will see her endorsement number soar even higher, having signed a series of deals since her 2018 U.S. Open win. The biggest is with Nike, which was inked just ahead of our June 1 cutoff and is worth an estimated $10 million annually. She also recently added a series of endorsement partners—Hyperice, BodyArmor and Muzik—where&nbsp;she received equity stakes&nbsp;in the businesses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Serena Williams</h3>



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Total earnings: $29.2 million



Prize money: $4.2 million



Endorsements: $25 million



The world&#8217;s&nbsp;highest-paid female athlete&nbsp;four years running had a record year off the court after her return to tennis following the birth of daughter Olympia. She added deals with Pampers, Axa Financial and General Mills to her roster.&nbsp;Williams&#8217; next act is&nbsp;tackling venture investing, focused largely on companies led by women or people of color.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Rafael Nadal</h3>



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Total earnings: $35 million



Prize money: $9 million



Endorsements: $26 million



The Spaniard is one of the biggest draws in tennis and can command appearance fees of more than $1 million a pop. His primary sponsors include Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Telefónica, Richard Mille and Mapfre.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Kei Nishikori</h3>



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Total earnings: $37.3 million



Prize money: $4.3 million



Endorsements: $33 million



Nishikori and Zverev are the only non-Slam winners among the ten highest-paid tennis players. But Nishikori&#8217;s robust endorsement portfolio is fueled by his status as the most successful Japanese player ever. He is set to be one of the faces of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. His sponsors Asahi, NTT, Japan Airlines, Lixil, Procter &amp; Gamble and Nissin are all official Olympics partners.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Novak Djokovic</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1168302451/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Western &amp; Southern Open - Day 6"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $50.6 million



Prize money: $20.6 million



Endorsements: $30 million



There have been ten tennis seasons in which a player won more than $12 million in prize money. Djokovic owns seven of those years. His $135 million in career prize money has him $9 million ahead of Federer. Djokovic&#8217;s Lacoste endorsement is one of the richest deals in the sport.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Roger Federer</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1161645059/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Day Eleven: The Championships - Wimbledon 2019"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $93.4 million



Prize money: $7.4 million



Endorsements: $86 million



In addition to his blockbuster Uniqlo pact, Federer added a multimillion-dollar deal with Rimowa last year. The luggage brand joined Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Moet &amp; Chandon, Barilla and others in Fed&#8217;s endorsement stable.



-Kurt Badenhausen; Forbes

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The Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2019: Roger Federer Scores A Record $93 Million

A bankable leading man is still one of Hollywood’s surest bets, even if your name isn’t Leonardo DiCaprio. While the lucrative twenty-twenty deal ($20 million upfront and 20% of gross profit) doled out to the likes of Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise may be more or less gone, Hollywood still has its big-money brands, those actors who can promise an audience so big that they command not only an eight-figure salary to show up on set but also a decent chunk of a film’s nebulous “pool”—or the money left over after some but not all of the bills are paid. 



Dwayne Johnson, also known as the Rock, tops the Forbes list of the world’s ten highest-paid actors, collecting $89.4 million between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2019.



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“It has to be audience first. What does the audience want, and what is the best scenario that we can create that will send them home happy?” Johnson told Forbes in 2018.



It seems he makes the audience happy. Johnson has landed a pay formula as close to the famed twenty-twenty deal of yore as any star can get these days. He’ll collect an upfront salary of up to $23.5 million—his highest quote yet—for the forthcoming Jumanji: The Next Level. 



He also commands up to 15% of the pool from high-grossing franchise movies, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which had a worldwide box office of $962.1 million. And he is paid $700,000 per episode for HBO’s Ballers and seven figures in royalties for his line of clothing, shoes and headphones with Under Armour.



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While Johnson’s deal is the biggest in the business right now, he’s not the only one with a lucrative deal. Robert Downey Jr. gets $20 million upfront and nearly 8% of the pool for his role as Iron Man, and that amounted to about $55 million for his work in&nbsp;Avengers: Endgame, which grossed $2.796 billion at the box office.&nbsp;



That gross was so big that it secured spots on this year’s top-earner list for Chris Hemsworth, Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd, in addition to Downey; together, they earned $284 million, with most of that coming from the franchise.&nbsp;



“Celebrities such as Downey and (Scarlett) Johansson currently have extreme leverage to demand enormous compensation packages from studios investing hundreds of millions of dollars in making tent-pole films, such as The Avengers series,” entertainment lawyer David Chidekel of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer &amp; McRae told Forbes. 



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Cooper is the rare actor who can thank a bet on himself for his 2019 ranking. The actor earned only about 10% of his $57 million payday for voicing Rocket Raccoon in Avengers. 



Seventy percent came from A Star Is Born, the smaller musical drama that he directed, produced, cowrote and starred in with Lady Gaga. The movie was a passion project for Cooper, and he forfeited any upfront salary to go into the film and Gaga’s salary. It paid off—the movie, which had a production budget of only $36 million, grossed $435 million worldwide, leaving Cooper with an estimated $40 million. 



The full list is below. Earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders. All figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers (generally 10%, 15% and 5%, respectively) are not deducted.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The World’s Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019</h4>



10. Will Smith



Earnings: $35 million



9. Paul Rudd



Earnings: $41 million



8. Chris Evans



Earnings: $43.5 million



6. Adam Sandler (tie)



Earnings: $57 million



6. Bradley Cooper (tie)



Earnings: $57 million



5. Jackie Chan



Earnings: $58 million



4. Akshay Kumar



Earnings: $65 million



3. Robert Downey Jr.



Earnings: $66 million



2. Chris Hemsworth



Earnings: $76.4 million



1. Dwayne Johnson



-Madeline Berg; Forbes

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The Highest-Paid Actors 2019: Dwayne Johnson, Bradley Cooper And Chris Hemsworth

Gripping a lukewarm Heineken, Jim Gaffigan hunches his six-foot-one frame over a peeling table in the green room of the An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny, Ireland. Summer nights are never terribly hot in these parts, but this one is warm enough to need some air conditioning, which the theater almost never uses. It’s hardly a glamorous moment. But then again, glamour isn’t really his thing.



“There’s nothing sexy about Jim Gaffigan,” he says, sweat dotting his brow. “I’m not young. I don’t have a full head of hair. I’m out of shape. I don’t talk about having dinner with Kanye.”



Fortunately for him, he is funny. Just ask the more than 300,000 people in 15 countries who’ve paid an average of $56 to see his latest routine. For the 53-year-old father of five, it’s been a grueling schedule: more than 75 cities in the past year, including whistle-stops like Letterkenny, a northern community of 20,000 that was once lauded as the Republic’s “tidiest town.”



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They may not offer much sizzle, but places like this are the lifeblood of Gaffigan’s business. He has raked in $30 million this year, putting him at No. 3 on&nbsp;Forbes’ list of the highest-earning stand-up comedians. Half of that was earned by putting “butts in seats.” 



The rest comes from spreading his punch lines far and wide. And in this business, if those jokes are funny enough—and your reach wide enough—you can fill a lot of seats with a lot of butts. With the right distribution deal, those jokes can deliver exponential returns. But that’s where it gets a bit tricky.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“In the entertainment industry, every house is made of ice and it’s melting,” Gaffigan says. “So you’d better be building a new house.” &nbsp;</blockquote>



Gaffigan’s been building. In 2016, he agreed to partner with Netflix, the industry’s dominant force and home to original specials from all but one of the comedians on&nbsp;Forbes’ ranking. Last year he cut loose from the kingmaker and placed a bigger bet on himself, pairing up with Comedy Dynamics, an independent producer, to release his next special everywhere&nbsp;but&nbsp;Netflix.&nbsp;



Gaffigan will star in the first original stand-up special on Amazon, which is going after the streaming giant with a push into comedy.&nbsp;Quality Time&nbsp;goes live today, and it can be shopped on the open streaming market when its exclusive run with Amazon Prime Video is up in two years. And that market is only expanding.



Gaffigan has learned a bit about home building in the entertainment industry. He cut his teeth on the club circuit in the early 1990s, when HBO was the primary destination for stand-up specials and Comedy Central was a fledgling cable network. 



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In 2000, he landed what was then the holy grail of comedy success—a broadcast sitcom—which was the source of the fortunes the creators of&nbsp;Seinfeld&nbsp;and&nbsp;Roseanne&nbsp;minted once they had enough seasons on the air and could sell the series into syndication.



Gaffigan’s shot proved to be short-lived, but six years later he scored a second chance and headlined a Comedy Central special called&nbsp;Beyond the Pale. This time it paid dividends, landing him his first theater show a month later. The butts were now coming to the seats, and while his rise was live, in person, with microphone in hand, his breakout was digital.



At the time, YouTube was changing the rules of the game, providing comedians a global platform with unprecedented distribution. Then Twitter emerged, giving comedy bookers a real-time assessment of who was attracting audiences. 



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Then came the debut of streaming on Netflix, which latched onto comedy as a cheap and effective way to lure subscribers, while some, notably the now disgraced Louis C.K., used streaming to control their own distribution, making their shows available for fans to purchase directly.



“It was a technological wave that crashed over the stand-up world,” says Wayne Federman, a comedian and professor of the history of stand-up at the University of Southern California. “And we’re still all trying to figure out what’s going on.”



Gaffigan’s first original Netflix special aired in 2017, long after the company had reshaped the industry. It was a promising place to be: Aziz Ansari and Ali Wong were propelled into superstar status through their Netflix specials, while household names like&nbsp;Dave Chappelle&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jerry Seinfeld&nbsp;reportedly cashed in with $60 million (Chappelle) and $100 million (Seinfeld) paydays in exchange for long-term, multi-program deals. Gaffigan’s first special,&nbsp;Cinco, sold for a more modest seven-figure sum.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d56bc6f95808800097cfe79/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Jim Gaffigan stand up comedy specials for Netflix and Amazon Original"/><figcaption>COURTESY</figcaption></figure>



It was more than just a check; it was access to a potential audience of nearly 94 million. Although Netflix’s subscriber base has grown since then, so has its stand-up library. The platform now shops nearly four times the number of original stand-up specials than when&nbsp;Cinco&nbsp;debuted. 



That makes it harder to stand out in the scroll. Plus, the streamer often holds onto specials in perpetuity, including&nbsp;Cinco. The up-front money is nice, but there is no ability to earn on the back end.&nbsp;



Gaffigan used his next special, 2018’s&nbsp;Noble Ape, which was directed and cowritten by his wife, Jeannie Gaffigan, to test the waters. Comedy Dynamics bought the rights and made it available everywhere Netflix wasn’t. It had a theatrical release and could be purchased and rented on multiple services, including&nbsp; iTunes, YouTube and Walmart’s VUDU. 



Later, there were short streaming windows on Comedy Central and Amazon Prime. According to Comedy Dynamics CEO Brian Volk-Weiss, it was even syndicated to planes and cruise ships. The up-front payment to Gaffigan from Comedy Dynamics was lower than at Netflix, but the wide distribution allowed him to earn on the back end, bringing in a total of $10 million, according to&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates.



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And new services are on the way from Apple,&nbsp;WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal and&nbsp;Disney, any one of which could choose to pursue cheap-to-produce and popular stand-up specials.&nbsp;



Because of this widening field, stand-up specials may have more life (and revenue) in them, and that could be good for comedians looking to gamble on their success with deals that offer back-end participation. “We have titles in our library that are making more in year 12 than they made in year one,” says Volk-Weiss, whose company also owns specials by Bob Saget, Iliza Shlesinger and Janeane Garofalo.



Still, leaving Netflix means walking away from a partner that has now established itself as a formidable entertainment company. Netflix has some 180 original hour-long stand-up specials and is singularly focused on exploiting content around the world. Gaffigan, though, is content to keep the bet on himself.



“In the entertainment industry, every house is made of ice and it’s melting. So you’d better be building a new house.&#8221;



In the stuffy backstage room in Letterkenny, Gaffigan reviews some of the new material he tried out on stage. A joke about Ireland’s nonsensical roads killed it. He stumbled with a bit about the English. The classics played well—“My dad never went to a parent-teacher conference; my dad didn’t know I went to school.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



And he’s well aware that Amazon’s core mission is to sell stuff, even though it&nbsp;has won critical acclaim&nbsp;for shows like&nbsp;The&nbsp;Marvelous Mrs. Maisel&nbsp;and&nbsp;Transparent. With plans to deliver three more specials over the next five years, he’s got time to see just how good a partner the retailer might be. Along the way, he may decide it’s time to find a new neighborhood.



“The reason I went to Amazon is to expand my audience,” he says. “I don’t know what they’re gonna do and I don’t fully understand their marketing might. I might be pleasantly surprised. I mean, it’s a huge corporation. They could probably make more selling socks.”



-Ariel Shapiro; Forbes

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