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The Most Expensive Magazine Covers Ever Shot

Peopel Magazine

While many celebrities love being in the limelight, others find the media attention an invasion of their privacy. However, they also know that fans want to share the special moments in their lives through articles and images. Stories about and photographs of celebrities often make a magazine sell, and offering something different from competitor magazines will guarantee sales. For these reasons, some celebrities now offer exclusive deals to magazines. It allows the celebrities some control over what appears in print, gives the fans what they want, and is beneficial to magazines who need to keep up their sales figures. Celebrities are more or less able to dictate a price to magazines who want exclusive access to a celebrity’s photographs, and some celebrities and certain life events can fetch more money than others. It has led to it costing millions for some magazine covers. Here are the 10 most expensive magazine covers of all time.

10. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries Wedding: $2 Million, Hello!

Kim Kardashian has made an entire career from being in the limelight as much as possible, and her huge wealth is due to being photographed, appearing on television, and promoting products. When Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries in 2011, she sold the photographs to Hello! magazine for $2 million. Unfortunately, their marriage was short-lived. The former couple separated in 2012, and their divorce was finalized in 2013.

9. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s Wedding: $2 Million, OK!

Eva Longoria married her second husband, Tony Parker, in 2007. The wedding took place in Paris at the Chateau Vaux-le Vicomte. Photographs of the event were in high demand, and the highest bidder was OK! Magazine, paying $2 million for the privilege of using the exclusive photographs. Sadly, the marriage did not last, and they divorced in 2011. Longoria has since married Mexican businessman Jose Antonio ‘Pepe’ Bastion Patino, with whom she has one son, Santiago ‘Santi Enrique Bastion, born in 2018.

8. The Wedding of Mariah Carey to Nick Cannon: $2 Million, People

Singer Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon enjoyed a fairytale romance, and Cannon proposed with an emerald ring worth $2.5 million after only six months. They kept their wedding a secret, which only added to media interest in the event. A bidding war between People and OK! ensued, with People winning the rights to the photographs as they were willing to pay $2 million. The fee didn’t even cover the cost of the engagement ring.

7. The First Post-Adoption Photographs of Angelina Jolie’s Son Pax: $2 Million, People

Angelina Jolie had already adopted children and given birth to three biological children when she and her ex-husband, actor Brad Pitt, further extended their family. They adopted a three-year-old boy from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam called Pax Thien. His first name is Latin for peace, while his second name is Vietnamese for the sky. People magazine purchased the rights to the photographs of Jolie and her new son for $2 million, and they featured on the magazine’s cover in 2007.

6. Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ Five-Day Wedding: $2.5 Million, People

One of the most anticipated celebrity weddings of all time was the nuptials of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. The high-profile couple enjoyed a whirlwind romance before marrying in an elaborate five-day wedding. It combined both Hindu and Christian rituals to reflect the contrasting religious beliefs of the couple. Chopra wore a stunning Ralph Lauren wedding dress and a 75-foot-long veil. Photographs of the couple's 2018 wedding appeared on the cover of People, and it cost the magazine $2.5 million.

5. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s Wedding: $3 Million, OK!

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore began dating in 2003. In 2005, the former couple married in a Kabbalah ceremony that took place in their Beverley Hills estate. For $3 million, the ex-couple sold the rights to the first photographs of their wedding to OK! magazine and they also gave an exclusive interview about their life together and their future plans.

4. Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey’s First Child: $3 Million, OK!

Model Camila Alves and actor Matthew McConaughey began a relationship in 2006 after meeting in a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard. Their first child, a son called Levi Alves McConaughey, was born two years later. The couple sold the first pictures of their newborn son to OK! magazine for a reported $3 million. They have since had a daughter and a second son.

3. The First Photographs of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt: $4.1 Million, People

Although Angelina Jolie was already a mom through adoption, she attracted a huge amount of media attention when she gave birth to her first biological daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. The photographs appeared in People in June 2006, at the cost of $4.1 million to the magazine. Unlike many celebrities who sell their photographs for personal financial gain, Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt did not personally profit from the photographs. They donated all the money to charities for children in impoverished African regions.

2. Jennifer Lopez’s Twins: $6 Million, People

The birth of a celebrity’s baby always attracts media attention, but there is twice the attention when a celebrity has twins. Jennifer Lopez managed to keep her twin pregnancy under wraps for a while, but when she and her then-husband Marc Antony revealed the news, a bidding war began to get the first photographs of the family. Max and Emme were born in Long Island, New York, in 2008. Lopez and Antony received a check for $6 million from People to star on the cover of the magazine.

1. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Twins, $14 Million: People and Hello!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins attracted even more attention than the twins of Lopez and Antony. For the first pictures of Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, Hello! and People came together to pay $14 million to give fans a first glimpse of the babies. According to The Richest, they say that this was the most expensive magazine cover. Just like when they published photographs of their older daughter Shiloh, Jolie and Pitt donated the proceedings to philanthropic causes.

Dana Hanson

Written by Dana Hanson

Dana has extensive professional writing experience including technical and report writing, informational articles, persuasive articles, contrast and comparison, grant applications, and advertisement. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic (particularly business and lifestyle), because as a lifelong learner, she loves to do research and possess a high skill level in this area. Her academic degrees include AA social Sci/BA English/MEd Adult Ed & Community & Human Resource Development and ABD in PhD studies in Indust & Org Psychology.

Read more posts by Dana Hanson

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