Celeb babies cash in: Kim Kardashian-Kanye West wait in wings for better offer?

It may have come as a surprise to many when Kanye West and his baby mama, Kim Kardashian turned down a lucrative offer of $3 million for the first snapshots of their yet unborn baby, but critics aren’t surprised by this shrewd move.

While the celebrity duo were quoted as saying they wanted their baby’s birth a private affair, they did however also mention that a decision to go ahead with a photoshoot maybe taken at a later date.

If insiders are to be believed, the duo is possibly holding out for a much bigger payout that is worthy of a child of a Grammy winner and a Kardashian.

In the last few years, celebrity magazines have splashed out millions of dollars in first baby pictures, with the last five years seeing a business emerge with bundles of cash coming home with a little one of joy.

People and Hello! magazines drove the hardest bargain in 2008 when they splashed out a whopping $15m for the first look at the Jolie-Pitt twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

However, unlike most celebrities, proud parents Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie supposedly donated the cash to various charities, as they did earlier with the $4.1m they collected post the birth of daughter Shiloh and the $2m they received after Pax was adopted.

The other big payout was also by People to Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, who earned a cool $6m for the first pictures of their twins, Maximilian David and Emme Maribel Muñiz.

The same year also saw a host of other celebrity babies, with Mathew McConaughey earning $3m from OK! magazine for pictures of Levi Alves McConaughey.

The magazine also splashed out half of that for the first snapshots of Jessica Alba and Cash Warren’s baby, Honor Marie Warren that same year.

Industry insiders say that serving up pictures at their own schedule and comfort is a surefire way to ditch the paparazzi circus that comes with the celebrity status.

One only has to look the media frenzy that followed the birth and elusiveness of Aishwarya Rai’s and Abhishek Bachchan’s daughter, Aaradhya, which went on for almost a year until the baby was finally unveiled in all her glory at grandfather Amitabh Bachchan’s 70th birthday bash last year.

Incidentally, the Bachchans were offered an undisclosed amount for the first pictures of their daughter, now one year old, but they politely declined.

As many celebrities put it, no matter how many pictures you publish, the paparazzi frenzy does not lighten up.

Perfect example are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who sat for a Vanity Fair photoshoot a few years ago with Baby Suri right after her birth for no money.

Years later, Suri has emerged as being one of the most photographed celebrity baby, who has been short of being victimised by the paps since her famous parents divorced.

All shall be revealed in a few months if Kanye and Kim choose the high road or the one lined with big bucks. Till then, fans and magazines can wait.

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