She's just been named one-half of the richest couple in showbiz... and perhaps here's why.Beyoncé appears unable to say no to any gig - even when the host is the leering son of a Middle-Eastern despot - if a reputed $2m is on the table.
And so the stunning chart-topper found herself performing hits in a leotard on a tiny stage in tacky surroundings on New Year's Eve in the Caribbean island of St Barts.
In pictures which emerged on the day she and super-producer husband Jay-Z were named the highest-earning entertainers in the world by Forbes magazine, she can be seen strutting and kneeling before Muatsim Gaddafi.
The sparkly leotard slashed to reveal sections of her tummy and cleavage is so very Beyoncé, but it's hard to envisage Hollywood's highest-earner plying her trade in a tawdry setting resembling a cheap lapdancing club.Certainly Muatsim Gaddafi, the third son of the Libyan leader Muammar-al Gaddafi, couldn't take his eyes off the Crazy In Love star as she gyrated and sang in front of him, his friends and other partygoers, including her businessman rapper husband Jay-Z.
Gaddafi smokes cigarettes, knocks back drinks and laughs with guests including Jon Bon Jovi, Usher and pretty, young female guests.
Beyoncé, 28, is believed to have been paid $2m fee for her performance at his private party at Nikki Beach on the Caribbean island - although that amount was not even required to help them top the Forbes magazine list.
Jay-Z, 40, and Beyoncé picked up an astonishing $110m (£68m) between June 2008 and June 2009.
Beyoncé's huge earnings stem from her I Am...Sasha Fierce world tour from March to June 2009 which raked in $14m, an extra $4m in sponsorship and $21million from album sales alone.
Jay-Z, dubbed the King of Rap, contributed his millions to the partnership through his record label, clothing line and movie production company as well as his music - he headlined Glastonbury - and also signed a $150million ten-year, three-album deal with live events company Live Nation.
A-listers Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were way back in second spot with £42m and Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie only third with £33m. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith were fourth with £29m and David and Victoria Beckham fifth with £28.2m.Victoria and David Beckham also made the top five having earned $46 million between June 2008 and June 2009. The vast majority of that comes from David Beckham, who plays for the Major Soccer League's Los Angeles Galaxy.
While many fans will find the sight of the star performing at such a sleazy gig offensive, they will be doubly so for relatives of Lockerbie bomb victims.
In 2003, Colonel Gaddafi finally admitted Libya was responsible for bringing down the Pan Am Flight 103 en route to New York in 1988, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members plus 11 people on the ground.
Gaddafi gave a hero's welcome to the only man convicted in connection with the incident, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, when he was released from a Scottish jail last August on compassionate grounds when a Libyan doctor provided evidence that he was dying.Gaddafi has ruled Libya since 1969 when, as a 27-year-old military officer, he staged a bloodless coup d'etat against King Idris I.
Muatsim is seen as a possible successor to his father as Libya's next leader.
He was once a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan Army but fled to Egypt after allegedly masterminding an Egyptian backed coup attempt against his father.
Gaddafi forgave him and he returned to Libya where he now holds the post of national security adviser and heads his own unit within the army.
Another of his sons, nicknamed Hannibal, was involved in an incident at Claridge's Hotel in London on Christmas Day when police were called to his £4,000-a-night suite.
Three of security guards were arrested and his wife, Aline Skaf, was taken to hospital with a broken nose. She later claimed that her injuries were the result of an accidental fall.
However, Hannibal has previous for violence against women. In 2005, he was arrested in a Paris hotel for punching a woman and was given a four-month suspended sentence and a £350 fine for assault and in 2008, he was held in police custody in Switzerland for two days for allegedly beating up his servants.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z have also been among U.S. President Barack Obama's biggest celebrity supporters and their willingness to be linked to the Gaddafi clan after the Libyan leaders long hostility to the U.S. will come as a surprise in America.
A spokesman for Beyoncé has so far refused to comment on either the New Year's Eve bash or the couple's relationship with Mr Gaddafi.
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