24 June 1916: Mary Pickford becomes Hollywood’s first million-dollar actress

On this day in 1916, Mary Pickford – ‘America’s Sweetheart’ – signed a contract that for the first time guaranteed a Hollywood actress a million-dollar paypacket.

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Pickford founded United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and DW Griffith

Mary Pickford was one of the biggest stars of Hollywood's silent era, and rose to become one of the most powerful women in America's film industry.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.