Money

Jay Z ripped into everyone who's bashing his new business ... as only he can -- by uncorking a blistering freestyle in which he compared himself to the founders of Apple and Nike.

The lyrical attack came during Jay's 'B-Sides' concert last night, which aired on Tidal ... his music streaming service. Critics have accused the rap mogul of charging users more for Tidal -- compared to similar services -- simply because his name is attached to it.

Jay Z's point? Steve Jobs was rich, and everyone bought iPhones ... and "Phil Knight is worth trillions, you still bought them kicks."

Check it out ... he also accuses Google and YouTube of underpaying artists -- or as he put it, "You know n***as die for equal pay right? You know when I work I ain't your slave, right?"

Richie Sambora is striking back with a lawsuit against his ex Nikki Lund, who he alleges extorted him to the tune of more than $150k and then tried to frame him for allegedly making death threats.

Sambora says he’s been dishing out wads of cash – first $50k, then $45k, then $35k and finally $25k – to keep her and her publicist, Sean Borg, from going public with claims he threatened them. When Sambora cut them off in March, he says Lund unsuccessfully tried to get him prosecuted.

Sambora says Lund illegally and secretly recorded him and then heavily edited the tape to make it appear he was threatening to kill her.

Lund tried again a few days ago to get Sambora prosecuted but the D.A. wasn't having it and rejected the case.

According to the lawsuit, Sambora's relationship with Lund fell apart after he invested $4 million into their joint-fashion venture, Nikki Rich. He says she used the company as her personal piggy bank and ultimately drove it into the ground. Sambora stopped funding it in September of last year … and says that’s when Lund went postal.

Sambora's suing both Lund and Borg for extortion, defamation and illegally recording a phone call.

4:06PM PT: Lund's lawyer calls the allegations "unfounded," and says she'll file her own lawsuit soon.

One of Kim Richards' best friends just won her lawsuit over a ferocious pit bull attack from Kim's dog last year.

Kay Rozario filed suit, claiming Kim refused to pay her medical bills after Kingsley chomped on her hand in March 2014 ... and bit clear down to the bone.

On Thursday, a judge ruled in Rozario's favor ... but severely limited the amount of damages Kim will have to pay. Rozario was looking for more than a million dollars, but according to court docs ... she was only awarded $8,083.53.

The judge pointed out ... Rozario's medical bills were only $4,083.53, but said she deserved some more cash for emotional distress and trauma after the attack.

Of course, Kim's dog also attacked Kyle Richards' daughter Alexia in November of last year. The dog is currently at a private training facility.

Kim never responded to the lawsuit ... so the judge entered a default judgment.

Kate Gosselin has a very rich man firmly in her grip, and vice versa judging from the pics we just got.

Kate’s new sugar daddy, millionaire businessman Jeff Prescott, romanced Kate a few days ago at the uber-fancy Talula's Garden in Philly.

Prescott was doting over Kate during their meal, even walking her to the bathroom. And when dinner was over, they drove to Valley Forge Casino, where he flashed Benjamins left and right.

Jeff and Kate called it a night at 1:30 AM.

Maybe money really can buy happiness.

Tyga has neighbors in his fancy gated community pulling their hair out ... because they say he's repeatedly broken HOA rules, and racked up over $10k in unpaid fines for constantly throwing ragers.

Sources tell TMZ ... Tyga's been blowin' the roof off his Calabasas home in The Oaks development -- inviting too many guests to his parties, and letting them enter without proper security clearance. The homeowners' association has hit him with the fines, but it's having zero effect.

Since last August, Kylie Jenner's BF has paid a little here and there, but he's largely ignored the dozens of notices and warnings. We're told he was even banned from all common areas of The Oaks.

Here's the real kicker ... since Tyga rents, technically his landlord is on the hook -- but obviously, he's trying to get Tyga to cough up the dough.

Famous tightrope walker Nik Wallenda is in a messy and public feud with another member of his famous family, and it's all over the home Grandma Wallenda left behind when she died.

Jenny Wallenda -- matriarch of the "Flying Wallendas" -- passed away last month in Sarasota, FL, and left her house to Nik. Family sources tell us the place is pretty beat up, and Nik's been working on it for years.

Now Nik's squaring off with his Aunt Tammy ... who'd been living in the house while taking care of Grandma Wallenda.

Ten days after granny passed, Tammy says she got a letter from Nik's attorney informing her she had 30 days to vacate the premises. We're told Nik has sunk $100k into repairing the house, and plans to turn it into a rental property. Problem is ... Aunt Tammy won't budge.

We're told Nik isn't putting Tammy out on the street -- he's offered her $1,000 for moving expenses, and her first month's rent on a new place. Tammy's turned him down, and instead she's raising money to hire a lawyer and fight Nik in court.

Nik tells us he's upset Tammy is taking the family feud public, adding ... "I prefer to handle it through proper channels."

And he thought crossing the Grand Canyon was hard.

Romeo Miller can hit up Khloe Kardashian for a hedge trimmer or Tyga for a ladder ... because he just snagged an off-the-chain rental in their celeb-packed gated Calabasas community, The Oaks.

Miller recently got the keys to a palatial 8,991 sq ft home with 6 beds/8 baths in the same 'hood where Khloe & Kourtney Kardashian, Katie Holmes, Tyga and Kylie Jenner lay their heads each night.

Master P should be proud -- his son's crib sits on nearly one acre, and comes fully loaded with a rock pool spa, waterfalls, and a BBQ center ... all for $29,686 per month!

Most of all, Romeo's smokin' hot GF Toneata Morgan 's gotta love the place.

Important footnote: Kylie's head goes on her own pillow, NOT Tyga's ... at least for the next 3 months.

If you're in the market for a Jimmy Garoppolo card, you shoulda bought it last week -- 'cause the Tom Brady backup's trading card is SKYROCKETING!

Ever since Brady was suspended ... Garoppolo's been a hot commodity, and not just for Bill Belichick. TMZ Sports found out his signed rookie card is worth more than 100 times what it was before Tom got nailed.

A rep for COMC -- a top online auction site -- tells us ... "His card was originally selling for $2.25, but as soon as Tom Brady's suspension was announced, Garoppolo's card skyrocketed to $278."

Put down your smartphone ... we already did the math, and that's a 12,256% increase. By comparison, the rep says a signed Brady card will set you back about $290.

Trading cards are nice and all, but Tom still has the 4 Super Bowl rings ... and Gisele.

Good news for the concession stand employees at Camden Yards ... the Baltimore Orioles are PAYING EVERYONE for the games that were canceled due to the Baltimore riots.

As we previously reported ... SIX GAMES were either rescheduled or moved do the civil unrest surrounding the stadium in the wake of the death of Freddy Grey, who fell into a coma while in police custody and later died.

It was a big deal for concession stand employees -- many of whom were counting on the paychecks.

Now, the Orioles have posted signs around the stadium saying, "Due to the extraordinary circumstances that led to several cancelled or reschedule games, the Orioles organization will compensate all hourly employees for hours that would have been ordinarily worked the week of April 27."

Solid move.

The company behind the Ironman wasn't just running triathlons ... they were also running a giant scam that screwed athletes out of millions of dollars ... so says the U.S. Government.

Here's the deal ... officials say the World Triathlon Corporation was breaking the law when it charged wannabe triathletes a $50 fee for an entry into a lottery to be selected to participate in an Ironman World Championship race.

Between 2013 and 2015, THOUSANDS of people paid the fee ... in hopes of landing one of the 100 open spots. BTW, if you were selected, you still had to pay an additional $850 entry fee!!

Well, the Department of Justice in Florida believed the scheme violated the state's anti-lottery laws -- which forbids companies from profiting off "illegal gambling businesses."

Now, the government says it has ordered WTC to forfeit all of the proceeds it has earned from the scheme since 2012 to the U.S. government ... totaling $2,761,910.

Getting coffee and picking up laundry are things a personal assistant should do ... talking about sex and commenting on his boss' body are not ... but that's exactly what Robbie Williams' former assistant claims was on his punch list.

Gilles De Bonfilhs has sued Williams and his wife, Ayda Field, alleging he was sexually harassed during his short tenure as the couple's assistant.

In his lawsuit, Bonfilhs says he was fired in January, but not before he was subjected to a barrage of sexual misdeeds from Field. Specifically, Bonfilhs claims she:

-- Walked around in various stages of undress
-- Shared details about her sex life
-- Questioned him about his sex life
-- Asked him to answer questions and comment on her body

Williams is named a defendant, but Bonfilhs makes no sexual harassment allegations against him.

There's already a "Shark" in the NBA ... but now, Kevin O'Leary tells TMZ Sports he has HIS sights set on the NFL -- there's just one problem ... the price.

Mr. Wonderful was out in NYC yesterday when he told us it's REALLY hard to buy into the NFL (just ask Donald Trump) ... but says, "To me, that's what I'd love to own."

Don't worry, Kev has a smart business plan (of course) to get into the owner's box without having to cover the ENTIRE cost of a pro squad.

There's more ... Kev also explains why the hottest city in North America in need of a pro sports team is NOT Los Angeles ... it's not even in the United States.

Tyson Beckford has a tip for all the ladies coming to his Chippendales shows in Vegas -- don't do what Mariah Carey did when she came face-to-face with his dong.

Tyson told our photog at LAX that even though Mimi slipped him $300 for a BIG peek at his goods last week ... that was more of an old friends with benefits situation.

The mother of a 7-year-old boy managed to score the kid a sick birthday gift ... courtesy of The Game.

Darkima Johnson tells TMZ she was with her son Jaden last Thursday to celebrate his 7th birthday at the Lenox Mall in Atlanta. Darkima says she spotted Game out front and asked for a photo ... and explained it was her son's b-day.

That's when Game decided to count out seven $100 bills and hand them over to Jaden ... despite the fact Jaden had no clue who Game was.

Jaden's mom tells TMZ she's planning on getting him a four-wheeler with the money.

Hate it or love it ... that's a dope gift.

Bruce Jenner was clearly only partially successful in changing hearts and minds during his Diane Sawyer interview, because some clown is mocking Jenner to make a quick buck.

Phillip Maltin hatched the idea to create a novelty line of clothing called TransJenner. His line will include men's and women's athletic gear, socks, headbands, jerseys, ties, dresses, blouses and more.

Maltin swears to us his intention is not to be salacious, but instead says the brand name is playful -- and he's not one of the "haters."

Maltin, who filed an application to trademark "TransJenner," says he'd be open to partnering with Bruce.

Don't hold your breath.

Death, taxes, O.J. did it ... and Courtney Stodden agreeing to release her sex tape -- all stone cold locks.

Yes, in the least shocking news since the sun coming up ... Stodden is accepting Vivid Entertainment's offer to distribute her solo sex tape, but says she's only doing it because she got screwed -- and not on camera.

Stodden tells TMZ one of her best friends stole the tape and made several copies, and ... "made it clear that he will stop at nothing to double-cross me." Stodden says she's releasing the video because, "I've been painted into a corner."

Of course, it couldn't legally be released without her signature, but maybe she was worried about Internet leaks?

Now the twist ... Courtney claims she doesn't want a dime of the $1 million -- so she's donating 100% of her fee to charities. She hasn't decided which ones yet, but says she's leaning toward animal rights groups and "children with cancer."

Heart o' gold.