Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

BEST - Michael Jackson: The Highest Paid Dead Celebrity of 2010

It seems like the King of Pop just left the earth, but his estate has been a powerhouse of earnings almost since the moment of his unfortunate death. Showing the power of his talent even beyond the grave, Jackson's estate earned $275 million last year, "more than the other dozen dead stars on the list combined -- and more than the combined earnings of the biggest living acts, U2 and AC/DC"(Forbes).

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

BEST - Jay-Z makes the cover of Forbes, Buys a Percentage of Nets

Even though we at BV on Money made fun of the Jigga Man for these accomplishments at the time, we admit that we were playing hating just a little. It is very rare that a black man makes the cover of Forbes, let alone a rapper. And the fact that he has expanded his empire to include sports team ownership is an inspirational cause for kudos.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

BEST - Oprah Winfrey and Ursula Burns Top List of Rags-to-Riches CEOs
This was a stellar year for the recognition of black female executive talent. Two black women out of ten total notables earned spots on Forbes' Top Ten List of Rags-to-Riches CEOs. Oprah we all know, while Ursula Burns is the recently minted CEO of Xerox. Quite a feat ladies!

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

BEST - Mayor Corey Booker Receives $100 million Donation to Newark Public Schools From Facebook CEO
The outrageous nature of this gift in size and generosity, which was made on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.' stunned America for a few days. It of course was a great gift to the kids of Newarkand helped soften famous Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's image at the time of the release of 'The Social Network.' Whatever works to help our kids.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

BEST - Desirée Rogers Has Career Rebound as Ebony/Jet CEO
After a public fall from grace as First Lady Michelle Obama's social secretary, Desirée Rogers was practically drummed out of Washington on a march of shame. It was amazing to see her reinvent herself as the CEO of Ebony/Jet, one of the most esteemed black companies in America. Take that, DC insiders.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

WORST - Tiger Woods Allegedly Pays Ex-Wife $100 Million
While the facts surrounding Tiger's payment to his ex-wife Elin was never made public, most reputable news sources put the sum of her settlement at $100 million. As this is one-sixth of Woods' estimated cash on hand, that is quite a painful financial blow. Even though he sort of deserves it for cheating on his wife with over a dozen women, it's hard to not pity him.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

WORST - Wesley Snipes Going to Gail for Taxes
As the end of a long and dramatic saga, the IRS has finally nabbed Snipes and thrown him in the slammer. This despite the fact that many other tax evaders in the recent past merely had to pay fines, penalties and back taxes as the punishment for much larger crimes. We think Wesley is being made an unfair example by the government, and think his being imprisoned is a travesty of justice.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

WORST - Naomi Campbell Called to Testify at War Crimes Trial Over Blood Diamond
Usually a diamond is a girl's best friend, but in this case it turned out to be a nightmare. Naomi Campbell might be used to being spoiled by rich men who give her jewels, but this time her greediness brought her international ire and infamy. I guess it does pay to be independent, just like Destiny's Child sang. If the supermodel wants her own rocks, she should just buy some!

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

WORST - Rapper Nas & NFL Baller Albert Haynesworth Call Themselves Slave Over Business Deals
Publicly making themselves look foolish, while downplaying the real suffering of our ancestors, these two men both referred to themselves as slaves within a few days of each other this year, and for the same reason: They both made bad business deals. No one forced either man to sign the contracts they decried so bitterly. But they seem to think that slaves had the right to record deals and $100 million contracts. I am ashamed of just thinking about these financial drama queens. Let's hope they grow some money courage in 2011, and get better financial advisors before hurling the "s" word again.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010

WORST - Souljah Boy Pens a Business Book
It's unclear what would possess a teenager who "invests" in giant diamond necklaces to try to sell his business wisdom in a book geared towards teens, but that is what Souljah Boy announced in 2010. First he rots young minds with his repetitive songs, and now he wants to destroy his fans earnings potential with what can't be even decent financial wisdom. While he is turning his swag on, let's hope that his fans turn a deaf ear to Souljah Boy's finance advice.

Best & Worst Celeb Money Moments of 2010