Vanity Fair UK - 11.2019

THE

ARENA

Musicians, athletes, and executives remaking the

entertainment industry in the mobile-rst era

1

BEYONCÉ & JAYZ

AGES: 38, 49 COMBINED NET

WORTH: $1.4 billion

Undisputed American royalty,

they’ve made great art

and more money out of their

marriage troubles. As Jay-Z

put it: “I’m not a ‘Business-Man’!

I’m a Business...man!”

2

ARIANA GRANDE

Pop’s current crown princess,

Nickelodeon alum,

Pete Davidson ex, social media

savant AGE: 26

“I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.”

3

LEBRON JAMES

Arguable hoop GOAT AGE: 34

In the world as on the court,

James can play multiple positions:

surprisingly talented actor;

empire-building businessman;

athlete-activist role

model, Taco Tuesday enthusiast.

4

MEGAN RAPINOE

President Rapinoe, World Cup

all-star, celesbian icon AGE: 34

Rapinoe plans to leverage her

transcendent World Cup triumph

to make political change. “I just

think she’s the perfect person at

the perfect time,” says pro-

choice activist Cecile Richards.

5

DRAKE

Pop behemoth;

unlikely fashion icon AGE: 32

Somewhere between blowing

past The Beatles’ chart records

Epochal superpower, feminist role

model. Still working to surpass

Margaret Court’s all-time record

of 24 Grand Slam singles titles,

all while redeŽning motherhood

and unveiling a new fashion

collection. “I’m not necessarily

chasing a record,” she says. “I just

got to keep Žghting through it.”

8

RICH PAUL

NBA power broker AGE: 37

More than just the super agent

representing James, Anthony

Davis, and Ben Simmons. In

August, the NCAA instituted the

so-called “Rich Paul rule,” a

requirement that NBA agents hold

bachelor’s degrees. (Paul didn’t

graduate from college.) Hours

after Paul pushed back in an op-ed,

it was hastily repealed.

9

BILLIE EILISH

Teen queen, Instagram

pied piper, emo icon AGE: 17

“I’m not going to say I’m cool,

because I don’t really feel that.

I just don’t care at all, and I guess

that’s what people think is cool.”

10

SCOOTER BRAUN

Star manager to the stars, Justin

Bieber discoverer. Regular on

David Geffen’s yacht AGE: 38

Top-tier pop feuds aren’t supposed

to involve managers. But when

Braun acquired record label Big

Machine—and with it, to

Swift’s consternation, the rights

to her back catalog—there he

was sharing the headlines with her.

’

Billie

Eilish

”

Rich

Paul

and getting a tattoo about it,

Drake transcended the

music industry. Now there’s the

Drake industry: hit TV show

Euphoria; an e-sports team; OVO

Fest; his partnership with

Scooter Braun; and a star turn

on the NBA sidelines.

6

TAYLOR SWIFT

Comeback kid, angst

weaponizer AGE: 29

When the internet turned against

her, Swift went underground—

and came back stronger. “I think

a lot of people...would have

perceived that I had torn down the

house,” she explained. “Actually,

I just built a bunker around it.”

7

SERENA WILLIAMS

Tennis GOAT AGE: 38

Kardashian Clan Power Ranking

1. 
   

   Kris Jenner

   
   


2. 
   

   Kylie Jenner

   
   


3. 
   

   Kim Kardashian West

   
   


4. 
   

   Kendall Jenner

   
   


5. 
   

   Khloé Kardashian

   
   


6. 
   

   Caitlyn Jenner

   
   


7. 
   

   Kanye West

   
   


8. 
   

   Kourtney Kardashian

   
   


9. 
   

   Rob Kardashian

   
   

Ê

Top Streaming

Artists of 2019

Total streams (in billions)

DRAKE

BILLIE EILISH

ARIANA GRANDE

POST MALONE

NBA YOUNGBOY

JUICE WRLD

5.53

5

4.82

4.06

3.49

3.38

Courtesy of Nielsen Music

Highest-Paid

Athletes

(in millions, 2019) Lionel Messi

$127

Neymar

$105

Canelo Álvarez

$94

Roger Federer

$93.4

Russell Wilson

$89.5

Aaron Rodgers

$109 $89.3

Cristiano Ronaldo

NBA

Power Couples

In the era of free agency, players

are signing shorter contracts

and orchestrating trades to team up

with their friends. Below, the four

biggest power couples of the summer

Le

BronJames

An

thonyDavis

Ka

whiLeonard PaulGeorge

Kev

inDurant KyrieIrving

Jam

esHarden

Ru

sse

llWestbro

ok

L.A. LAKERS

L.A. CLIPPERS

BROOKLYN NETS

HOUSTON ROCKETS

ž

Jay-Z and

Beyoncé

88 VANITY FAIR

PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP, BY IAN WEST/PA IMAGES; CENTER, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, BY KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, BRIAN ROTHMULLER/ICON SPORTSWIRE, SCOTT VARLEY/MEDIANEWS GROUP/DAILY BREEZE, MADDIE MEYER, LACHLAN CUNNINGHAM, WESLEY HITT, VAUGHN RIDLEY, SCOTT VARLEY/MEDIANEWS GROUP/DAILY BREEZE; BOTTOM LEFT, BY NOAM GALAI; BOTTOM RIGHT, BY ALLEN BEREZOVSKY; ALL FROM GETTY IMAGES