HIGHEST-PAID CELEBRITY COUPLE BY FORBES

Rapper-entrepreneur Jay Z and pop singer Beyoncé have been announced as the 2012 highest-paid celebrity couple, according to Forbes.

The star couple who welcomed their first child Blue Ivy Carter in January 2012 moved up the list from second place – earning a combined total of $78m between May 1, 2011 and May 1, 2012.

The couple assumed the ‘throne’ knocking off last year’s top couple Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady. A big part of that success is attributed to platinum albums from Bey (‘4’) and Jay Z’s collaboration with Kanye West (‘Watch the Throne’).

Supermodel Gisele and her American footballer husband Tom Brady now come in second with $72m, British footballer David Beckham and wife Victoria with $54m in third, Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with $45 million in fourth and in fifth position - Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith with Combined earnings of $40m

JAY Z SUED OVER BESTSELLER ‘DECODED’

Rapper Jay Z is being sued sued over his 2010 best-seller ‘Decoded’ by a writer who claims his work was illegally used in the book.

According to the lawsuit, filed on June 13, Patrick White claims that portions of Jay Z’s book were taken from his laptop, which was stolen in 2009.

‘In 2009, my personal computer was compromised, resulting in my personal work to be used in Jay-Z’s book Decoded which was released in 2010’ White claims.

White is suing for copyright infringement and invasion of property.

‘The book contains various expressions/colours/phrases, which correlates to my work. After contacting or attempting to contact the co-author, I got no reply’, he added.

Authors Dream Hampton and Random House who are co-authors of the book are also named in the hand-written lawsuit.

Neither Jay Z nor his management have made a statement concerning the lawsuit.