March/April 2010 Issue

Dr. Clooney, I Presume?

An interactive map of the celebrity recolonization of Africa.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


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

WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate