The Strange, Cutthroat World of Paparazzi-Nomics
You can learn a lot about economic risk by camping out with shutterbugs
On Wall Street, people obsess about risk, using high-speed computers and advanced math to identify different kinds of it and how to profit off it. But just a few miles away, I found an equally rich investigation of risk in action somewhere unlikely: in the work of a New York-based paparazzo.
In one of New York’s trendiest neighborhoods in June 2017, Gigi Hadid is holed up in her apartment with her boyfriend. On the street below a handful of middle-aged men gather, each holding a large camera. We discuss the supermodel’s latest movements. “Yesterday she had dinner with her mother and sister; then Kendall Jenner came over,” one of them says. “Now she’s up there with Zayn.”
It seems weird that I am discussing a 22-year-old’s mundane schedule with grown men. But knowing Gigi’s schedule means money for these paparazzi. A simple photo of Gigi leaving her apartment will bring in a relatively small amount of money, maybe $10. But because the people in her life are also famous, getting a picture of them together can be worth hundreds of dollars. And if they do something unusual, it can mean a small fortune. “If someone grabs her, like what happened in Paris, we’re talking maybe $100,000,” another of…
