It's no secret that big celebrities make a lot of money. So much money, in fact, that sometimes turning down a few million dollars for work they don't want to do or isn't according to their principles isn't a big deal. Sometimes celebrities make mistakes and miss out on opportunities to earn even more and regret those decisions.
While we are filled with envy at the sight of celebrities living lives we can only dream of, we can also learn something here: making more and more money shouldn't be our only goal in life. Sometimes it's good to step back and focus on what you really want. Also, even the most successful people who make millions of dollars can make bad decisions and have to deal with them like we all do when we fail at something.
So here is a list of celebrities who had the opportunity to line their pockets with money, but for one reason or another, didn't.
Lady Gaga turned down $1 million to play at a GOP event
Lady Gaga is an American pop singer known for her ever-changing image and her musical versatility. She is one of the best-selling music artists in the world.
So it's not surprising that in 2012 she was invited to perform at the Republican Party Convention and offered a million dollars in exchange for her. As the singer is known to contribute heavily to charity, in addition to the million dollars, she promised herself that $150,000 would go to a domestic violence shelter if she performed. Lady Gaga goes public with her liberal views, so it's no wonder she didn't take the job.
The song "Somebody That I Used To Know" could have earned $1.6 million thanks to YouTube ads
The song "Somebody That I Used to Know" was released in 2011 and is the most successful piece ever written by creator Gotye, whose real name is Wally De Backer. It has topped international charts, and as of February 2021, the song's music video had been viewed more than 1.6 billion times.
You would think that a person with that many views on YouTube would have made enough money to last a lifetime from YouTube ads. Not the case with Gotye: he didn't actually monetize his most successful video of his or any other videos on his YouTube channel. One can only guess at how much money the music video would have generated, but by comparison, Korean artist Psy earned about $2 million from ad revenue alone when the "Gangnam Style" music video reached 2 billion views.
Gotye does not want his music to be associated with products in advertisements and is not interested in selling his music. That's the simple reason why Gotye didn't make potentially millions from YouTube ads.
Abba was offered $1 billion for a reunion tour, but was turned down
Swedish pop group ABBA formed in 1972 and ended their career in 1982. They became an international success after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with the song "Waterloo". It is estimated that they sold between 150 and 380 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling musicians of all time.
And although they are not actively acting, their popularity has not died out. Nearly 30 years after their breakup, in 2000, the group received a $1 billion offer for a reunion tour. Unfortunately for fans, the group members turned down the offer. ABBA believed that not reuniting helped them remain popular. Furthermore, they knew that touring would cause unwanted stress and be time consuming.
Jerry Seinfeld turned down $110 million and has no regrets
Jerry Seinfeld is best known for playing a character based on himself on the sitcom Seinfeld. The series aired from 1989 to 1998 and became very popular. It was so successful that NBC wanted to keep it because it was the biggest show on television.
They had to convince Seinfeld to do another season and they offered him a sum that no one could resist: $110 million for a 22-episode season. But Seinfeld thought he had given his all to this series and it was time to take care of himself, so he didn't agree to continue. When asked if he regretted his decision, he explained that it was the perfect time to end it all.
A million dollars was not enough for the members of ZZ Top to shave their beards for an advertisement
Two members of the group, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, decided to change their image in the 70's and started sporting very long beards and their beards became iconic. So much so that the Gillette razor company offered them a million dollars to shave it off in an advertisement. But the rockers couldn't even bring themselves to think of shaving their precious facial hair. Gibbons looking in the mirror clean-shaven compared himself to Vincent Price (this actor is more famous for acting in horror movies), so they turned down the offer. What do you think your decision?
