March/April 2010 Issue

Dr. Clooney, I Presume?

An interactive map of the celebrity recolonization of Africa.

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OVERSIZED SHADES have replaced pith helmets, but the new scramble for Africa has its share of adventurers, would-be saviors, and even turf battles. As Madonna’s publicist explains, “She’s focusing on Malawi. South Africa is Oprah’s territory.”

The map below takes a lighter look at the sometimes serious, sometimes silly business of celebrity altruism. For more on how Africa became the hottest continent for A-list do-gooders like Bono and Brangelina, see here. And if you’re looking for a more sober approach, check out our recent package on human rights.

Click on a country to learn which celebrity has claimed it, and how.

 

—Photos: Affleck, Aiken, Akon: Reuters; Bono: Rémy Steinegger/WEF/swiss-image.ch; Brangelina: Reuters; Branson: Kim Shiflett/NASA; Bruni-Sarkozy: Rémi Jouan; Campbell: Jesse Gross; Cheadle: Reuters; Clinton: Monika Flueckiger/WEF/swiss-image.ch; Clooney: Nicolas Genin; Damon: Miguel Ángel Azúa García; DiCaprio: Colin Chau; Eggers: David Shankbone; Farrow: Pierre Holtz; Gates: Sebastian Derungs/WEF/swiss-image.ch; Geldof: Stephen Jaffe/IMF; Glover: Matt Stoller; Hayek: Reuters; Hayes: Starstock/Photoshot/Newscom; Hilton: Glenn Francis/PacificProDigital.com; Hilton (w/child): Kim Ludbrook/epa/Corbis; Jackson (w/children): Peter Morey/WENN; Jackson, Jay-Z: Reuters; Johansson: Sgt. Bryson K. Jones/US Marine corps; John: Richard Mushet; Jolie: Rémy Steinegger/WEF/swiss-image.ch; Kardashian: Glenn Francis/PacificProDigital.com; Keys: José Goulão; Lange, Legend, Liu, Lohan: Reuters; Macpherson: Manfred Werner; Madden: Reuters; Madonna: David Shankbone; Martin: Reuters; M.I.A.: Juan Soliz/PacificCoastNews.com/Newscom; Milano: Jennifer H (flickr); Oprah: Alan Light; Parker: Reuters; Portman: Makoto2007 (flickr); Princess Diana, Prince Harry: Reuters; Raekwon: Patrick Staubesand/Action Press/ZUMA Press; Simpson: Reuters; Smith: Paul K. Stanley; Turlington: Luke Ford; West: David Shankbone; Whitaker: Pierre Omidyar; Williams: Reuters

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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