George Michael was a global megastar who died on Christmas day 2016. He rose to fame in the 80s through the singing duo WHAM!. He sold over 100 million records during his lifetime. He came out as gay in the late 90s after an incident in Beverley Hills where he was arrested for a “lewd act” in 1998.
It has been confirmed that British singer George Michael has died at the age of 53. He was found dead in his Oxfordshire home in Goring. His manager, Michael Lippman, confirmed that the singer has passed away at 11 PM Christmas day, peacefully after suffering heart failure. Police are reporting that the death is unexplained but not suspicious.
Writing on Twitter and calling Michael by his family nickname of “Yog”, his former bandmate from Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley said, he was,
“heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend, Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved. A xx”
The singer’s family announced his death in a statement issued through the singer’s publicist.
“It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” it said.
“The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.”
George Michael was one of the most successful British solo artists with a career spanning several decades and selling over 100 million records. Some of his biggest solo hits included, Careless Whisper, Outside and Faith. He found fame in a band he started with Andrew Ridgeley called, Wham!, their hits included Last Christmas and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.
George Michael had a unique work ethic and was considered a great multi-tasker as an artist, who not only sung, but wrote and produced most of his hits.
George came out as gay during the late 90s after initially identifying himself to his band mate, Andrew, as bisexual.
Sam Smith has managed to earn enough from album royalties and performance fees to find himself on the Sunday Times’ Rich List.
CREDIT: kathclick / bigstock
The openly gay singer Sam Smith has managed to reach the top 10 in this the Sunday Times’ Rich List for the 10 richest musicians under 30. He joins Harry Styles who is at number 3 under Adele and Ed Sheeran.
According to the experts, Sam Smith’s personal wealth grew by £8million thanks to his songwriting royalties and album sales. The increase takes his net worth to £20 million. Harry Styles’ personal wealth also grew by £8 million, which takes his net worth to £33 million.
Meanwhile in the Sunday Times Rich ListSir Elton John is the only openly gay listee to make it into the top 10. He remains at number 4 on the list with a net worth of £280 million. George Michael drops one place from 21 to 22.
The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland – is published on Sunday, April 24. The 148-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine is the biggest issue of the Rich List ever published since it first appeared in 1989. It charts the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in the UK and the 250 richest in Ireland. The list is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts, to which the paper has no access.
The Sunday Times Rich List is compiled by Philip Beresford and Robert Watts, and edited by Ian Coxon. The complete list will be available to all the paper’s digital members and will be fully-searchable online at thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist
These are the gay icons and LGBT stars who have died in 2016.
Inclusion in this list is not indicative of a person’s sexuality, but a tribute to their work for the LGBT community in their lifetime which earned them the mantle of “gay icon” or LGBT ally.
David Bowie’s sexuality was well documented and discussed. He came out as gay in 1972, two years into his marriage with Angie Bowie during an interview with Melody Maker.
In 1976 he confirmed he was bisexual. Four years later in 1980 Angie Bowie and David divorced.
By 1983 he declared that calling himself bisexual was the “biggest mistake” he had ever made and once again made the statement that he was a “closet homosexual”.
He recently won a fresh legion of fans as the rather camp Professor Snape in the Harry Potterfranchise of films and as the equally camp Hans Gruber in Die Hard With A Vengeance in 1995.
Tony Warren
Coronation Street creator and writer, 2nd March 2016
Gaydio’s morning team Chris and Emma, paid tribute to Mr. Pope saying that he was an amazing man, who was always supportive of Gaydio, especially in its early days.
Long standing agony aunt for ITV’s This Morning. She joined the morning team at the very beginning and helped 1000s of people across the UK. She was particularly helpful to members of the LGBT community coming to terms with their sexuality and dealing with family fall out after coming out.
In 2013 we announced our first LGBT Rich list, the top 10 of the world’s richest gay men. This year for the first time we’ve included trans, bisexual and lesbians in the list.
THEGAYUK UK Rich List
Welcome to THEGAYUK LGBT Rich List 2015. For 2015 we’ve included people from the entire LGBT spectrum. People who made the list are from the fashion, entertainment and technology industries.
The fashion industry holds 5 of the highest paid gay or bisexual men in the world, with one topping the list as the richest in the world.
The entertainments also home to a number of people, and includes one billionaire.
The average age of our rich list is 57.7 years old and most likely to be male with 15 of the 20 male.
It is worth noting that someone’s placement on the list doesn’t mean that they have liquid assets amounting to their reported worth. It may include the reported worth of royalities, stocks or other investments.
#20 (joint) Rosie O’Donnell
Industry: Entertainment
Made her money in: Entertainment
Relationship: Single
Age: 53
Nationality: US
Reported worth: $100,000,000
According to Celebrity Net Worth Rosie enjoys a $5 million annual salary, which she earns because of her TV appearances and co-hosting The View.
#20 Megan Ellison
Industry: Entertainment
Made her money from:Film producing
Relationship:Co Habiting with partner
Age: 29
Reportedly worth: $100,000,000
Film producer Megan is the daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison and youngest millionaire on our list. She has gone on to produce critically acclaimed films such as American Hustle, and Zero Dark Thirty
#20 Anderson Cooper
Industry: Entertainment/News
Made his money: Entertainment, inheritance
Relationship:Co-habiting
Age: 48
Nationality: US
Reported Worth: $100,000,000
With an estimated yearly salary of $11m the newly self-outed Cooper is also the son heiress of Gloria Vanderbilt. He has been dating his partner since 2009. He currently hosts Anderson Live. He is joint 18-20th with Rosie O’Donell and Megan Ellison.
#17 George Michael
Industry:Entertainment
Made his music from:Songwriter, singer
Relationship status: Single
Age: 52
Nationality: UK
Reported worth:$175,000,000
According to celebritynetworth.com Mr Michaels, former Wham Man turned super solo star of the 80s and 90s is reportedly worth $175m. He’s sold 100 million records since Wham’s debut single Young Guns (Go For It!)which went to number 3.
George had been in a long term relationship with Kenny Goss, but the couple announced their split in 2011.
The singer and songwriter is reportedly worth $230 from her music royalties and touring. She claimed to be bisexual in an interview with Barbara Walters in 2009. She is in a relationship with Taylor Kinney.
#15 Ellen DeGeneres
Industry: Entertainment
Made her money through: Rights ownership, Television,
Relationship status: Married
Age: 57
Nationality: US
Reported wealth: $330,000,000
The comedian stars in her very own popular chat show and owns her very own version of YouTube, called Ellen Tube. She married Arrested Development‘s Portia De Rossi in 2008.
#14 Elton John
Industry: Entertainment
Made his money from: Songwriter, singer
Relationship status: Married
Age: 68
Nationality: UK
Reported wealth: $370,000,000
The Tiara and Tantrums legendary Rock Star Sir Elton John is pretty much the godfather of the gay world. Is well known for his charity work and for his Elton John Aids Foundation.
#13 Tim Gill
Industry: Technology
Made his money through: Quark
Relationship status: Married
Age: 61
Nationality: US
Reported wealth: $400,000,000
Tim was the founder of Quark, which he started with a $2000 loan from his parents. In 2009 He married his banker partner Scott Miller in Massachusetts. They now live in Denver.
#12 Jann Wenner
Industry: Publishing
Made his money from:Magazine Publisher
Relationship status:Co Habiting with partner
Age: 69
Nationality:US
Reported worth: $700,000,000
In 1967 Wenner started Rolling Stone magazine, today Wenner Media titles include Men’s Journal and US Weekly. He now lives with his model / designer partner Matt Nye raising son Noah and twins Jude and India Rose.
#11 Calvin Klein
CREDIT: bigstock-miromiro
Industry:Fashion
Made is money from:Designer
Relationship status:Single
Age:72
Nationality: US
Reported wealth:$700,000,000
The New York native is famous for his underwear and jeans.
#10 Tim Cook
Industry:Technology
Made his money from:Apple
Relationship status:Single
Age: 54
Nationality:US
Reported wealth:$785,000,000
After becoming the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook’s personal wealth skyrocketed. He came out officially in 2014.
#9 Chris Hughes
Industry:Technology
How he made his money: Facebook
Relationship status:Married
Age:31
Reported wealth: $850,000,000 (2013)
Nationality:US
All the way back in 2003 Chris teamed up with fellow Harvard undergraduate Mark Zuckerberg and the rest as they say is history. He lives with his husband Sean Eldridge. TheRichList.org reports that Chris is worth $850m. However he is reported to have 22 million shares in Facebook, which today are worth $87.95 per share putting his worth at: $1.9 billion
#8 Michael Kors
Industry:Fashion
What made him is money: Designer, Retail
Relationship Status:Married
Age:55
Nationality: US
Reported worth:$1 billion
The fashion king started his career when he was just 19, three years later he launched a womenswear line at Bloomingdales, Saks and Neiman Collins just to name a few.
#7 Domenico Dolce
CREDIT: maxoidos/Bigstock
Industry: Fashion
How he made his money:Designer
Relationship Status:Single
Age: 56
Nationality: Italian
Reported wealth: $1,550,000,000
Forbes puts Domenico Dolce’s worth at $1.55 billion along with his business partner Stefano Gabanna. The pair come joint fifth on THEGAYUK Rich List 2015. The pair have caused some controversy over the years with their out spoken comments on gay parenting.
# 7 Stefano Gabbana
CREDIT: maxoidos / BigStock
Industry:Fashion
How he made his money:Designer
Relationship status:Single
Age:52
Nationality:Italian
Reported worth:$1.55 Billion
Forbes puts Stefano Gabbana’s worth at $1.5 billion along with his business partner Domenico Dolce. The self made billionaire made headlines earlier this year when they upset Elton John (also on this list) and thousands of same-sex couples and couples who have children through IVF when he said, “the only family is the traditional one” and that children born through in vitro fertilization were “synthetic”. “The family is not a fad,” Gabbana explained ,”No chemical off springs and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.
#5 Jennifer Pritzker
Industry:Hospitality
How she made her money:Investments
Relationship Status:Single
Age:63
Nationality:US
Reported worth: $1,78 Billion
The world’s only transgender billionaire. In August2013 she announced to the world that she was a woman. She is one of 11 billionaires in the Pritzker Family.
#4 Jon Stryker
Industry: Medicak
What made him his money:Family business
Relationship Status:unknown
Age:
Nationality:US
Reported worth: $1.8
#3 Peter Thiel
Industry: Technology
What made him his money:Paypal, Facebook, Investing
German born Peter Thiel made the bulk of his huge wealth through two well-chosen angel investments namely PayPal of which he was a co-founder and Facebook. He is also a key investor in AIRBNB and online payment company Stripe.
#2 Peter Geffen
Industry:Entertainment
Made his money from:Music and Film producttion
Relationship Status: Single
Age:72
Nationality:US
Reported worth: $6.9Bn
David created Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980 and DGC Records in 1990. He is also one of the three founders of DreamWorks SKG. Out Magazine ranked Geffen in its list of “Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America.” Forbes puts Geffen’s worth at $6.9 Billion, putting him in second place on TheGayUK’s Rich List 2015.
#1 Giorgio Arman
Industry:Fashion
How He Made His Money:Designer / Armani Brand
Relationship Status:Single
Age:80
Nationality: Italian
Reported worth:$780,000,000,000 ($7.8bn)
At a reported worth of $7.8 billion, Mr Armani is one of the richest men in the world. His wealth has come from building his Armani brand, one of the world’s most recognisable luxury fashion brands. He is one of three Italian nationals on this year’s GAYUK Rich List.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2004, Giorgio Armani talked about his love for men and women. Forbes puts his worth at $7.8billion
BBC Radio 2 is to broadcast two-part documentary of George Michael.
BBC Radio 2 to broadcast two-part documentary ‘Up Close With George Michael’
*George Michael ‘Symphonica’ concert highlights to be broadcast on BBC One
BBC Radio 2 and BBC One will broadcast world-exclusive programming featuring George Michael, one of the UK’s best-loved musicians, giving the behind-the-scenes story of his critically acclaimed orchestral tour, ‘Symphonica’, as well as the highlights of a special charity performance he gave during the tour.
The documentary will also broadcast a rare interview with the Outside singer, which will air on Tuesday 18th March and the 25th March.
The documentary was recorded in October 2011, shortly before George contracted pneumonia, which forced a delay to the tour.
George Michael says: “I’m delighted the BBC is broadcasting the Symphonica concert, which was recorded at the Opera Garnier in Paris, a stunning setting in which to perform a gig dedicated to a charity that’s so close to my heart. It was a magical night, so I’m thrilled that fans will get the chance to experience it, as well as hearing the behind-the-scenes story on Radio 2.”
George Michael’s concert will be broadcast on BBC1 – date to be confirmed.
In a show to end all shows the London 2012 Olympics came to a triumphant conclusion yesterday at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London.
The televised event was seen by an estimated 1 billion people across the globe and a crowd of over 80,000 in the stadium.
In an extraordinary show of British talent the Closing Ceremony hosted some of the finest talents of the UK music and fashion scenes both past and present as the cast of thousands was joined by George Michael, The Spice Girls, Annie Lennox, Jessie J, Pet Shop Boys, and controversially Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, causing an immediate Twitter backlash.
The Daily Mail reported that Piers Morgan wrote on twitter: ‘I suspect Kate Moss might fail her drugs test later’, in reference to her alleged drug abuse and Jojo Mayes wrote: ‘Naomi Campbell: gold medal in phone throwing’, while Charles Arthur wrote: ‘Kate Moss! Who represents the Olympic ideals of not doing drugs, or smoking, and achieving lots. Work with me here.’
Campbell and Moss weren’t the only stars to feel the wrath of the Twitter audience as thousands of users used the service to Tweet their frustrations of Emeli Sandé’s double appearance in the show.
The show had moments of sheer joy, eccentricity and contemplativeness, in what turned out to be a show to rival that of the Opening Ceremony in July at the beginning of the Olympic games.
George Michael wowed the audience with a two song set of arguably one of his greatest hits ‘Freedom’, and his forthcoming single ‘White Light.‘ He looked trim and healthy wearing an all black ensemble complete with trademark sunglasses and leather jacket.
Annie Lennox a long time campaigner for LGBT rights sang in great voice for her moment in the spotlight. The singer sang her hit ‘Little Bird’ whilst surrounded by pirates and was brought on to the stage in a giant skeletal ship.
However it was the reformation of The Spice Girls that really lifted proceedings, producing an incredible buzz on social networks across the globe. As five brightly lit London taxis parked centre stage, the crowd roared almost uncontrollably as Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Baby and Posh alighted to sing two of their biggest hits: ‘Wannabe’ and ‘Spice Up Your Life’. Their appearance at the show set a new record of 116,000 Tweets per minute on Twitter. Even London Mayor Boris Johnston couldn’t resist a boogie to the sounds of 90’s ‘Girl Power’.
Jessie J was featured heavily in the proceedings having sung her own hit ‘Price Tag’ and then joining Brian May on the main-stage to sing the iconic ‘We Will Rock You’. A poignant moment in the show however was when the 80,000 strong crowd echoed Freddie Mercury in a video installment in the middle of the stage.
The Pet Shop Boys also enjoyed their moment in the spotlight, appearing in orange chariots, singing ‘West End Girls’.
The closing ceremonies brought an end to a record breaking games for Team GB having secured 29 Gold medals, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze to make a total of 65. Team GB came 3rd in the Olympic leader-board, with China in second place and the USA in poll position.
George Michael’s brand new and much anticpated single ‘White Light’ was previewed on UK radio network Heart this week.
The track, called White Light, is a soul-searching affair, which talks about his health scare last year, but unfortunately, fails to hit the spot as musically it’s not his strongest offering to date.
The single is available for pre order via iTunes and other digital retailers.
