Nigella Lawson - a British celebrity chef, for those of you who aren’t following the cooking-show-as-entertainment trend - has an estimated fortune of £110 million, from her television show and cook books, as well as from her marriage to marketing guru Charles Saatchi. But she doesn’t plan on her children claiming the spoils of her hard work upon her death.

She has decided that she won’t allow her children to inherit a large quantity of wealth, as it spoils them for life, but her husband disagrees.

Mr Saatchi has one daughter, 12-year-old Phoebe from his first marriage.

Miss Lawson, 48, has two children, 13-year-old daughter Cosima and son Bruno, 11, from her marriage to the late journalist John Diamond.

Asked what she hoped the children would learn from her, Miss Lawson told the magazine My Weekly: “To know that I am working and that you have to work in order to earn money.

“I am determined that my children should have no financial security. It ruins people not having to earn money.

“I argue with my husband Charles, because he believes that you should be able to leave money to your children.

“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

Miss Lawson has not said what she would rather do with the couple’s fortune, although she has worked closely with cancer charities after her mother, sister and first husband died of the disease.

Daily Mail

While I think it is nice that Nigella might donate money to cancer causes, who almost certainly would do good work with the fortune, has she considered the fact that by the time she dies her children will probably be in their 30s and 40s? If they haven’t learned fiscal responsibility by that point they probably never will.

They also have not exactly been sheltered from the privileges of wealth - Nigella indulges in designer labels and celebrity beauty therapy, as well as employing someone to do her shopping. The family live in a £7 million London pad. All of which sounds pretty good - maybe Nigella and husband Charles could adopt me?

I think this is actually a ploy on Nigella’s part to scare the children into aiming high, and upon her death she will leave them money. While the Daily Mail suggests that Nigella plans on leaving her children with nothing, she actually doesn’t say this herself.

Last year Body Shop founder Anita Roddick died and left all of her fortune to charity, and her children seem to have accepted this decision. Perhaps it is a good idea - what do you think Paris Hilton would be like today if she had to work 9-5 like other people, instead of partying every night? She gets paid for partying though so that may defeat the purpose of cutting her off.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Nigella Lawson is shown at The Golden Age Of Couture VIP Gala on 9/17/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Lindsay Lohan and Courtenay Semel in December, 2007
Remember that chick Lohan was hanging out and living with for a couple of weeks, the rich daughter of the Yahoo! CEO? It predictably didn’t work out between the two of them, not that anyone noticed. Star Magazine reports that Courtenay Semel, who was seen out shopping and hanging around with Lohan late last year, packed up and moved out of the home they were sharing in Hollywood. She was said to be jealous of Lohan’s other female “friends.”

An insider close to Lindsay tells Star that hard-partying Courtenay, 28, whose dad is Yahoo! Chairman Terry Semel - moved out of the three-bedroom, two-bath Hollywood Hills home in a moment of anger.

“I think it was a jealousy issue,” says the insider.

“Every time Lindsay had a girlfirend around the house, Courtenay started acting all weird. She’d go up to her bedroom and start texting Lindsay - even though they were in the same house! It was like Courtenay wanted Lindsay all to herself.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, February 4, 2008]

Lindsay is now living at the Beverly Hills Hotel and she has a sober companion staying in the next room, claims Star. They also say she is about to move back to that home she was renting with Courtenay with a new rommate, a model named Alex who “has a boyfriend who really likes to drink.”

Lohan is also said to have given away her “coke purse,” which has bad memories for her of the time oh-so-long ago that she was hiding her drugs in it. The bag she so easily discarded is a Chanel purse worth $2,000.

It’s no wonder Lohan is rumored to be broke if she’s giving away designer purses. In order to hold on to her dwindling cash, she’s said to be on a $1,000 a day shopping budget. It’s unknown who put the 1k a day limit on Lindsay, which would be incredibly generous by most people’s standards and exceeds the average household income in America by over $300,0000.

In Touch reports that she’s been forced to put clothes aside because she reached her limit for the day:

Lindsay Lohan now has a $1,000-a-day shopping budget. “She shops so much, she would spend all her money,” says an insider. She was spotted putting items on hold at American Rag on January 13. “She picked out two dresses and said she would be back tomorrow,” an employee says. “It’s because the next day, her limit of $1,000″ is restored.”

[From In Touch, print edition, February 4, 2008]

The fact that a girl who wears primarily leggings and t-shirts can manage to spend over $1,000 a day is incredible to me. It must be the purses and shoes, or maybe those tight things she wears are really expensive and she has like 100 of them.

Lohan is shown below shopping for shoes in mid December, thanks to WENN.

Though she might not know the first thing about money, economics, or even be able to do long division, Britney Spears is actually good for the economy. $120 million good. Who knew Britney was capable of contributing anything worthwhile to our lives? It turns out the “Britney Industrial Complex” benefits not just Brit and her record company, but magazines, blogs, clubs – even perfumes. If you can somehow align your product with Britney Spears, you can make up to 33 percent more than you would otherwise. Elizabeth Arden’s three Britney-endorsed perfumes have netted $100 million to date.

According to annual Yahoo! Search rankings, Britney has also topped the list for six of the past seven years. The star was at slot number 2 only in 2004, when Paris Hilton briefly took over.

In just 78 weeks, between January 2006 and July 2007, Britney was on the cover of People, Us Weekly, In Touch, Life & Style, OK!, or Star a whopping 175 times. The survey said that during that time, newsstand sales of issues with her on the cover totaled $360 million.

Overall, the singer [personally] is worth an estimated $125 million and still earns about $737,000 a month according to figures submitted as part of her court battle with her ex- Kevin Federline. Federline is also taking advantage of the Britney craze, commanding almost $30,000 for nightclub appearances. He also receives $35,000 a month from his Britney in spousal and child-support payments.

[From the International Business Times]

And to think I’d claimed Britney was nothing but a drain on the entire world. I guess if you want to attach a dollar sign to her, she’s worth more than I thought. I wonder if she’s worth more or less now that she’s batshit crazy. Does spending time in a locked mental ward increase or decrease your value? I would guess it would cause a short-term increase… but if you stay crazy long enough, people aren’t going to want to be associated with you, and endorsement deals will tend to fade away. Britney’s unwashed-turtle-tank smelling perfume will suddenly be endorsed by Lindsay Lohan instead. Which is probably more appropriate, as I imagine Lindsay smells more like turtles. Something about her face. Considering all the worry that we’re headed for a recession, I’d advise the rest of you to jump on Britney’s coattails. Fast.

Picture note by Jaybird: Britney Spears visits a house in Santa Monica
yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.

I love stories of humble, down-to-earth actors. The opposite of the MTV Cribs sort. Actor James McAvoy appears to be just this sort. The actor, who is currently starring with Keira Knightley in “Atonement” lives a life that isn’t just down to earth, it’s downright humble. According to the Daily Mail, McAvoy and his wife, actress Anne-Marie Duff, live in a small apartment Duff bought for £178,000 (about $346,000 USD) before they were married. It’s in the untrendy Stroud Green area of North London. They also drive a 10-year-old Nissan Micra that’s worth less than $2000. McAvoy could be the worst actor in the world and I swear I would love him just for his lifestyle.

James McAvoy doesn’t seem to even understand why anyone would bother following him or taking his picture. He told Newsweek about an incident where he and Duff were followed by a photographer, who eventually decided not to bother taking pictures of the couple, as they weren’t worth the $20 parking lot he’d have to park in.

I’ve only ever had anybody waiting outside my house once. We got in our car and we were followed, and it was very weird and disconcerting. We thought we would just go about our daily life and just ignore it, all that kind of thing. I think because we had once read that Clive Owen said just ignore it. Like, do whatever Clive Owen does—he’s a solid guy. We were going into town to buy something for the house, and we went into a parking lot that costs £10 an hour, and on seeing the price of the parking, the paparazzi went, “F— that.” They left us alone. So the lesson is, if you’re being chased by paparazzi, don’t drive fast. Just find a really expensive parking lot, and you will be fine.

[From Newsweek]

Sounds like good advice. Next time the press is following me and I just can’t shake them, I’ll swerve into the most expensive lot I can find. McAvoy is getting rave reviews for his performance in “Atonement,” and will next be starring with Angelina Jolie in “Wanted.” Though he’s certainly making some decent money, his neighbors say you’d never know it. Commenting on his lack-of-flash lifestyle, McAvoy told the Daily Mail “I’d rather be who I am and do what I do without seeking any attention.” Something tells me he’ll end up getting more attention for his regular Joe attitude than if he blended in with all the other celebs.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s James at the Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Annual Breakthrough of the Year Awards on December 9th. Header of James and Keira Knightley at the “Atonement” Screening Hosted by The Cinema Society on December 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Brandon Davis, one of the two men who re-defined douchiness (I’ll let you figure out who the other is) was detained at the Sydney airport on Saturday morning. His crime? No, he wasn’t held for being a grade-A jerk or being super fug (turns out those are disgusting, but not actually crimes). The heirhead brought more than $10,000 in cash into the country and failed to put it down on his customs form. One can’t help but wonder exactly how this was discovered. From the things I’ve heard about Brandon Davis, I’m going to guess he probably told everyone within hearing distance just how much money he had on him. It’s also pretty surprising that he had more than $42 in his wallet, consider he was supposedly cut off by his family. Guess he either made amends, or his rich friends are helping him out.

Davis was questioned by authorities for over two hours. His Australian model girlfriend got bored and eventually left him at the airport. Sounds like love.

Jetting into Sydney early on Saturday, the grandson of American oil magnate Marvin Davis and former conquest of Paris Hilton is understood to have been unceremoniously detained by Customs officials for having too much money on him.

Loaded with US dollars, the 28-year-old was delayed for more than two hours, while his pin-up girlfriend became increasingly agitated while waiting in the arrivals area. “She was pacing around the whole time, with her mobile phone at her ear, trying to look anonymous,” a witness told The Daily Telegraph. “With her sunglasses on inside, everyone was looking at her.”

A Customs spokesman declined to comment on individual passenger details for privacy reasons yesterday, but said travelers were required to declare if they were carrying more than $10,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency.

Davis… was finally allowed through to meet a waiting car and driver about 10.30am, after arriving on an 8am flight from the US. By that time, [girlfriend Cheyenne] Tozzi had been collected by friends in another vehicle, leaving her wealthy beau behind.

[From News.com.au]

After customs let Davis go, he reportedly went to several currency exchange bureaus, cleaning each one out of cash before going on to the next. I’m not sure how much money they tend to carry, but if he had to go to several exchange bureaus, one would think he really was carrying a ton of money. Not only am I super surprised that Brandon Davis has a ton of money to carry, but I’m surprised that even he is dumb enough to carry over $10,000 in cash. The other day I walked home from the grocery store carrying all of $250 in cash for five blocks and I was nervous. If I had over $10,000 in cash laying around, I’m pretty sure I’d bury it in the backyard. Mostly so Brandon Davis couldn’t find it. Which is how I’m guessing he got his hands on whatever money he has.

Picture note by Jaybird: Brandon Davis and an unidentified female (it could be girlfriend Cheyenn Tozzi, it’s too hard to tell) on the beach in Maui on New Year’s Eve day.. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

It’s been a little while since we’ve slammed on Heather Mills. And it’s really not fair to let Britney hog all the crazy, much as she might like to. Heather Mills is one of those crazies that you can’t help but root against, and feel a little bit of smug satisfaction when nothing goes her way. And given the way the crazy, sanctimonious, delusional Brit behaves, I’m often left feeling pretty satisfied. Though she’s turned down multiple large settlement offers from estranged, soon-to-be ex-husband Paul McCartney, Mills may soon find herself in the poorhouse. She “mutually” parted ways with her legal team last month, after she went on a round of television shows bashing McCartney and saying she wanted to kill herself due to the way everyone treats her. She’d racked up a $4 million legal bill with her former divorce lawyers Mishcon de Reya. Heather had agreed to pay $200,000 a month towards the bill once she got her settlement, but now the legal team is in the process of writing a writ to make her pay up immediately. They’re afraid that her outlandish spending and stubborn/delusional personality will leave her with little or no settlement from Sir Paul, and that she may burn through whatever she does get on designer clothes and security guards.

But here, perhaps, is the nub of it all. For while Heather may have celebrated the festivities at her large £3.25 million country mansion, she is all too aware that the rug is coming close to being pulled from under her, while her soon-to-be ex-husband still has his £850 million fortune firmly in hand.

A writ from her former divorce lawyers Mishcon de Reya for an unpaid bill of £2 million is the tip of the iceberg. There is, say sources, an ever-growing overdraft of £1 million at the exclusive Coutts bank. She has weekly outgoings of more than £5,000, with next to no money coming in. Friends say the only way she can pay the legal bills is by selling the nine-bedroom house in East Sussex — paid for by her ex-husband so he could be close to their daughter.

What’s more, she is beginning to realize that instead of the £50 million figure it was first estimated she could get from Paul’s fortune, she will now be lucky to get £10 million. And at the rate she is spending, that will not last more than a couple of years.

[From the Daily Mail]

Apparently Heather thought that her appearance on “Dancing with the Stars” would make everyone fall in love with her, and she was counting on a financial windfall. I’m not sure how someone with such an extreme personality disorder has gotten as far in life as Heather Mills has. While she clearly has narcissistic personality disorder, I can’t help but wonder if she has her own special brand of delusional personality disorder. I know it’s not an official mental illness, but I’m pretty sure they should make it one.

Meanwhile, Heather’s plans for making money of her own have also backfired. Anticipating a rash of offers after her appearance on Dancing With The Stars, America’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, she set up five companies. But four of the businesses (I Do Care, You Care Worldwide, Raspberry Fields Productions and Beauty and the Baby) are dormant, and the fifth, Dissoi Logoi Productions, is about to be struck off the Companies House register.

“She thought she would get all these amazing deals after being on Dancing With The Stars,” said her friend. “She thought she would be invited onto Oprah and would be filling in for Larry King (the TV interviewer). She set up all these companies in the belief that she would be hugely popular. But it all came to nothing. While people might have admired her dancing, as a personality, she is not a ratings winner.”

[From the Daily Mail]

What will it take for Heather Mills to realize that she’s the psycho, not everyone else? Something tells me that losing her home will just further enhance her victimhood. Heather is now representing herself during her complex legal trial. If anything could assure her that she’d end up with a stack of old newspapers and some chicken eggs for a settlement, it’s Crazy representing herself. If things go as hoped, pretty soon we’ll see her auctioning that leg on eBay.

For several years people have been arguing over just how much Paris Hilton is actually worth. I would say not much, but that’s more from a moral perspective. There have been reports that the famous heiress would get anywhere from nothing to upwards of $100 million when Barron Hilton, her 80-year-old grandfather passes. There were also reports that Barron had cut Paris (and sometimes her parents and Nicky depending on the article) out of the family inheritance since they were so materialistic and embarrassing. But then another story would come along reassuring us all that the Hiltons are in fact legitimately, unfairly, wealthy. But now People is reporting that Barron Hilton has chosen to give the majority of his fortune to charity.

Paris Hilton’s future bank account has just taken an enormous hit – on account of her grandfather. Barron Hilton, the 80-year-old son of the founder of the worldwide hotel chain that carries the family name, has earmarked 97 percent of his vast fortune – nearly $2.3 billion – to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, to help the homeless with housing, find safe water in developing countries and assist other good causes around the world, it has been announced.

To Barron’s heirs – who include Paris – will go the remaining three percent: some $69 million, which is said to be taxable. According to calculations by New York’s Daily News, Paris, who once foresaw a $100 million inheritance, is now likely looking at $5 million.

In a statement, Barron Hilton said that his father, Conrad, had set the example and bequeathed 97 percent of his money to the charitable foundation, which the elder Hilton founded in 1944, “and I am proud to follow my father’s example.”

[From People]

Yay! There are good Hiltons after all! That’s amazing that Barron Hilton is following in his father’s footsteps and giving away so much of his money. Warren Buffet did the same thing a few years ago – giving away 85% of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation – angering some of his relatives quite a bit.

Paris will certainly be set, either way. Not only is $5 million nothing to sniff at, but the actress is quite the savvy businesswoman herself. Much as we mock her, she’s constantly working, promoting various products and sticking her name on nearly every perfume and dog collar she possibly can. While it may not be upper crust classy in the traditional “old money” way, Paris has made a good deal of money on her own, and certainly doesn’t need to rely solely on her inheritance. No word yet on whether Barron Hilton donated his money because he was embarrassed by his family’s younger generation, as suggested by previous articles. We’re going to assume he’s just an awesome guy, who knows no one needs $100 million less than Paris Hilton.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header Paris and Nicky Hilton having lunch with the always attractive Brandon Davis at the Four Seasons yesterday in Maui. And here’s Brandon Davis chewing, just because I’m mean like that. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

Lindsay Lohan is once again partying all night and shopping every day, which seemed inevitable once she got out of rehab, and she’s using the same old tired methods to conceal and cope with her addictions. She’s been seen out more than once toting her own personal water bottle. And someone claims they saw as assistant fill her bottle with vodka, just like she used to do before she went to rehab three times:

Lindsay raised more than a few eyebrows when she arrived at new Hollywood club Goa carrying a suspicious water bottle on December 8. “Lindsay didn’t order anything to drink but kept sipping from her bottle,” an eyewitness at the club reveals…

Another eyewitness saw the star in November at Stereo in NYC, where an assistant filled a water bottle with Grey Goose vodka.

[From In Touch, print edition, December 24, 2007]

Last week there was a story that Lohan got wasted at a party near her hometown in Long Island with her then-boyfriend, Riley Giles. The guy was said to have cheated on her by screwing another party-goer that night out in the woods, but it sounds like she was drunk by then anyway. She refused multiple offers of rides and ended up having Riley, who was also in no state to drive, take her home.

And Star Magazine has a story this week that Lohan is looking for a wealthy guy to support her trashy couture lifestyle, which could explain her brief hookup with Stavros that was quickly thwarted by jealous Paris. We reported back in September that she was begging even casual acquaintances for $10,000, and now she hopes to get a more permanent source of cash since her failing career isn’t allowing her to buy the meaningless accoutrements of extreme wealth that she’s accustomed to:

“She’s dying for some rich guy to take care of her!” [a] friend reveals to Star.

She thought she’d found one in superwealthy shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, who wined and diner her all over LA in late November. But he shocked her earlier this month by jetting off to Miami and meeting up with old love Paris Hilton.

“Lindsay says Stav’s money makes him hot,” says the pal. “She loves to talk about how he’s ‘richer than God.’”

But Stavros, 22, isn’t the only guy Lindsay’s hitting up for money. She asked ex Calum Best, the 26-year-old British millionaire playboy, for money. And she even called rapper 50 Cent, who’s helping with her upcoming album, and requested $20,000 in early December.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, December 24, 2007]

Thankfully Star reports that 50 Cent refused to give Lindsay any cash. She’s said to be hard up for money since she only received a paltry $800,000 for the film Dare to Love Me. That sounds like a lot of money but it’s not enough to keep up with her lavish spending.

On Friday Lohan called into a Las Vegas radio station that was holding a contest for Hannah Montana tickets for anyone who could get a celebrity to phone in. She told the DJs that she’s “growing up” and that her “life is different now” and that she’s a “different person.” She supposedly wanted the Hannah Montana tickets for a friend’s nieces, but since she’s so hard up for cash I wouldn’t put it past her to scalp them. You could get an astronomically priced giant purse for that money that will be in style until at least the end of next season.

Lohan is shown out shopping on Saturday, thanks to WENN and Splash News. She is looking really beat lately.

Who knew Will Smith was so boring? Though he’s generally considered a pretty nice, entertaining guy to be around, apparently one Japanese reporter doesn’t agree. He nodded off during Will’s press conference. To be fair, I’m told those things can go on for hours. And let’s be honest, while I love Will Smith, once you’ve seen about three of his movies, you’ve essentially seen them all. But TMZ never loses a chance to make a celeb sound bad – even a nice one.

Who needs bedtime stories when you have Will Smith?!

The Fresh Prince held a press conference in Japan today, where one sleep-deprived (or extremely bored) reporter was caught catching some zzzs while Smith rambled on about “I Am Legend.”

Surprisingly, the ever charming Will didn’t seem to mind. He must be used to it.

[From TMZ.com]

You can see the video here (you have to scroll down, TMZ doesn’t do permalinks). It is pretty funny– Will Smith really does seem like the nicest guy around. Somehow everyone’s attention is drawn to the sleeping reporter and he’s woken up. Will comments, “I appreciate that you fell asleep, and I want to have a picture with you.” And then the two pose, Smith slumping over on the reporter’s shoulder.

Will gave an interesting interview to “60 Minutes” on Sunday where he talked about growing up in Philadelphia and the early days of his success. He made a pretty good argument for why it’s good to work hard and have to wait and mature before you become financially successful – he blew six million dollars. Yeah turns out Will, who always seems to have it so together, wasn’t always good with finances.

Will Smith, one of Philadelphia’s most famous sons, talked about his sudden success while at Overbrook High on 60 Minutes last night. “You don’t want to have a hit record on the radio when you’re in high school,” he said.

It seemed so easy - until the IRS came knocking, asking for millions. “So, you went through five, six million dollars?” interviewer Steve Kroft asked.

“Probably, yeah,” said Smith.

[From Philly.com]

In a weird way, that actually makes me feel a bit better. Will Smith seems awesome, but way too perfect. I saw an interview with him about ten years ago on some local television station where the interviewer tried to find something about Smith that wasn’t perfect. He had Will go through a series of random tasks, like touching his toes, cooking a hotdog, and finally caught him being less-than-perfect when he asked Smith to brush his teeth. Turns out, Will doesn’t brush in a circular fashion like you’re supposed to. He just goes for the plain back and forth action. So really, when you combine the teeth with the blowing six million dollars and making a reporter fall asleep, I don’t feel all that intimidated anymore. So now I can totally have his babies. Oops.

One of my most and least favorite things to read about are actresses’ salaries. It’s fun to see who makes what, but it’s also a little depressing to realize you won’t make 1/10th of that in your lifetime. It’s equally fun to see how they blow all that money. Though I tend to think they should all blow a little more of it by sending it my way, but whatever.

Even though her latest film, “Rendition,” was a flop, Reese Witherspoon is a moneymaker. The 31-year-old Academy Award winner commands $15 million to $20 million a movie, placing her at the top of The Hollywood Reporter’s annual list of the highest-paid actresses. Angelina Jolie came in second with similar salary demands, though the animated “Beowulf” earned the 32-year-old actress far less - just $8 million.

Cameron Diaz was third, with a $15 million-per-movie price tag. Nicole Kidman dropped to fourth place, two spots lower than last year, with an asking price of $10 million to $15 million a film. Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock also get $10 to $15 million paychecks. So does Julia Roberts, who hasn’t appeared on the big screen since 2004. Her next film, “Charlie Wilson’s War,” is due in theaters in December. Rounding out the top 10 are Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster, who ask $10 million to $12 million per project, and Halle Berry, who gets $10 million a picture.

[From the Associated Press]

Some of those numbers seem kind of backwards to me. Well frankly they all seem backwards to me, just in terms of sheer amounts. But I can’t believe that Cameron Diaz is worth more than Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts. The most sophisticated movies she’s been in was “There’s Something About Mary.” I know I’ve read that Kidman, Roberts, and Jodie Foster have all done several lower budget films where they’ve taken a pay cut, so that probably lowers their average. In the last ten years Cameron Diaz has only done cheap commercial crap with a very occasional decent, big budget movie thrown in. But clearly she knows what she’s doing – she’s worth $15 million a film. I don’t know why, but she is.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Cameron Diaz on the set of “What Happens in Vegas” in NYC on October 17th. Images thanks to Splash Photos. Header of Reese Witherspoon at the Children’s Defense Fund ‘Beat the Odds’ awards on November 1st. Images thanks to WENN.