Adult Entertainment Expo 2014

How do porn stars prepare for retirement?

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Porn is an industry where retirement can come without warning.

Big-name performers sometimes choose to quit at the height of their fame, while others find the demand for their services has dwindled, as fickle fans move on to the next sensation. Many careers last less than three months, and those who stay in for more than five or six years are considered veterans.

The adult industry doesn't offer 401(k)s or pension plans. When their careers end, performers really aren't able to carry their most notable skill to another job. So it's up to them to prepare for the next phase of their life.

Some blow the money on expensive handbags and shoes. Some waste it on drugs. And some spend wildly beyond their means. Some, however, are a bit more prepared.

As they walked the Red Carpet at this year's AVN Awards (adult entertainment's equivalent of the Oscars), we asked some of the adult industry's biggest stars about their financial planning—and what they're doing (if anything) to get ready for life after porn.

—By Chris Morris, Special to CNBC.com.
Posted 22 Jan. 2014

Skin Diamond

Skin Diamond on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I just try to save 25 percent of everything that I make. That way there's a nice cushion of funds there. ... I've never really been great at the whole investing thing. I figure my website is an investment. Even after I quit porn, that can still make money."

Justine Joli

Justine Joli on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I make pot for a living outside of doing this. I'm an edible maker and I'm trying to change the way pot is viewed and also how it's eaten. ... I'm different than most edible makers as I am licensed by the state of California.

I make pot beef jerky. It's kind of a pain in the --- that every edible you encounter is sweet. You've got your cookies, your brownies,your cakes. ... Not a single bit of it is healthy, organic or—for someone like me who is modeling and always getting naked—how many brownies do I have to eat before my --- is six sizes too big?"

Prince Yahshua

Prince Yahshua on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I am investing. I also have my real estate license, so I have a few prospects in my home town of Chicago. So when I stop porn I will be going back there and be a real estate agent there. I'm hoping that who I am in porn will transfer over to the real estate game so it will make it much easier for me."

Asa Akira

Asa Akira on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I save over half of my money—and I've been doing so since I got into porn. I wrote a book, it comes out in May. ... I haven't been investing. I'm so scared. I don't know anything about it, so right now [that money] is sitting in my savings account."

Kelly Shibari

Kelly Shibari on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I've been working towards that for the past couple of years. I do PR and marketing for clients within the industry. ... I do have money in an IRA, so it's more consolidated. ... I see a lot of girls and guys get into this industry and they work for a company but they never think 'Oh,maybe one day I should make a product that I own.' I think the people who have the most longevity in the industry are the ones who actually own their brand and work towards creating products, whether it's DVD or toys or a company. The ones who last beyond the performance stuff are the ones who find ways of investing in themselves."

Jules Jordan

Jules Jordan on the red carpet that 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I prepared myself in the early to mid-2000s. That's when we were printing money. But I'm going to be running camera and shooting my movies until I physically can't do it anymore. I consider myself a bit of a workaholic. I collected a pretty good sum of money, dug a hole in my yard and stuck it in there. Not too many risks for me."

Nina Hartley

Nina Hartley at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"Sex is my thing and as I get older, my focus may change and my presentation may change and what I do may change, but the subject of my work is still going to be sexuality. Like most middle-aged [people] I'm a boomer; I'll be 55 in March, and like most boomers, I do not have enough saved for retirement. ... So what am I doing? I'm strengthening my career. I'm branching out into other modalities. I'm doing some stand-up, some coaching, some teaching, a little bit of everything. I've learned a lot in 30 years and I know I can make it work to feed me when I'm old, because it's not going to be my 401(k), baby."

Joanna Angel

Joanna Angel on the red carpet the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I own my own company. It's going (to) live on whether I'm performing or not. I own all the images, and I have still images of me in my prime years that I can sell forever and ever. ... Whatever I invest my money in, I want it to carry my brand. I have no interest in investing in property or the stock market.

I would like to open up a Burning Angel strip club or a Burning Angel retail store or Burning Angel clothing. That's Hustler and that's Playboy. They invest their money in their own company and make different divisions of that company. ... I'm not treating this like a stripper who saves up a lot of money and buys a big house with it. I want to build the brand as big as it can possibly be."

Riley Steele

Riley Steele on the red carpet at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I have my real estate license, so [I'm] selling properties and owning and also renting them out. That's something I've been working on. I've also been thinking of opening my own hair salon one day."

Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy at the 2014 AVN Awards in Las Vegas.
Chris Morris | CNBC

"I maybe one of the more prepared people in this room for life after porn. I've been endorsing products for many, many years. I've had rolling papers, skateboards, cigars, hot sauce (which was very successful) and I have a rum that's doing very, very well. ... So I'm financially set for all of my life."