Celebrity Economy

How Much for a Pound of Flesh? Celebrities Are Making Big Money Off Excess Weight

Get rich or die tryin'.
Get rich or die tryin’. Photo: Pacific Coast News

You don’t have to be thin to succeed in Hollywood anymore. Sometimes you’re better off getting a little bit fat. Why? Telling a weight-loss story in a magazine or on an entertainment-news show can be worth between $10,000 and $100,000. A celebrity diet book can command an advance of $250,000 to $500,000. And then there’s reality TV— even relative nobodies like Britney Spears’s ex-husband Kevin Federline reportedly got $100,000 to appear on Celebrity Fit Club in 2010. (He’s since gained back the weight and will be on the Australian reality weight-loss program Excess Baggage later this month.)

The biggest money comes from endorsements, though. On average, a celebrity like Charles ­Barkley or Mariah Carey who signs a deal with a major weight-loss company like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig can stand to profit at the rate of approximately $33,000 per pound.

Related: The Celebrity Economy

How Much for a Pound of Flesh? Celebrities Are Making Big Money Off Excess