By Florence Anthony
Farewell to Chris Lighty. The hip-hop mogul died August 30 after apparently shooting himself in the head following an argument with his estranged wife Veronica. Lighty was found on the basement patio of his three-story brownstone in the posh Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City. A gun was next to him. While there are reports that claim Lighty owed the IRS $5 million dollars, the Associated Press reported that he had paid off most of what he owed by selling a Manhattan apartment for $5.6 million in October. Sources say he was worth an estimated $30 million, despite recently being sued by City National Bank for not paying them after he had overdrawn his account by $53,584. Through the years Lighty managed some of the greatest names in Hip Hop including Sean ‘Diddy” Combs, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey and 50 Cent, who he negotiated a multimillion dollar Vitamin Water deal for. Chris was currently managing new hip hop stand-out Diggy Simmons, the son of Run DMC’s Reverend Run and nephew of Hip-Hop impresario Russell Simmons. Chris was the father of several children. He and Veronica had two children, who were at a park nearby at the time of his alleged suicide. He also had two children with another woman, and twins with a woman who left Shaquille O’Neal for Chris after he bought her a Jaguar and many other luxury items. Unfortunately, sources say that once he found out she was pregnant, he never communicated with her or the children again. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and business partner Chris Lighty,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “Chris has been an important part of my business and personal growth for a decade. He was a good friend and adviser who helped me develop as an artist and businessman. My prayers are with his family. He will be greatly missed.” RIP.
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Word is Rihanna’s television career has gotten off to a rocky start after ratings for her much hyped new British fashion series fell to just 79,000 viewers. Thousands have turned off “Styled To Rock”- exclusively produced by the Barbadian beauty and featuring wannabe designers competing to create a festival outfit for her. The show started out with an overnight viewing figure of just 95,000, down from the channel’s usual audience of 153,000. It fell to 79,000 for the second episode before moving up a bit to 110,000 for the last installment on August 27.
Forbes named Oprah Winfrey the highest paid celebrity for the fourth year in a row, earning $165 million – $125 million less than last year. Forbes reports that much of Oprah’s wealth was amassed by her other business ventures including O:The Oprah Magazine, The Dr. Oz Show and her radio deal with Sirius. It was also noted that the billionaire does not earn a salary at OWN. Dr. Dre was also on the list, earning $100 million, and Tyler Perry landed at number six, earning $105 million.
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