Money

Kylie Jenner's balling like a billionaire down in the Bahamas ... her vacation villa is a little slice of paradise within paradise, and the pics are incredible!!!

Kylie's treating her smokin' hot friends to a lavish island getaway in the North Atlantic ocean ... in the luxurious Villa Rosalita nestled on the pink sand beaches of Harbour Island ... and the place is absolutely palatial.

The brand new, 6-bedroom estate comes fully staffed and it's decked out with a swimming pool, massive verandas offering stunning views of the Caribbean Sea and a lush tropical garden surrounding the property for total privacy.

The main house has twin staircases leading to the second-story veranda, which includes a cozy lounge and elegant open-air dining table. There's another lounge inside, and vaulted ceilings fringed by seashell molding, plus original artwork covering the walls and parquet floors.

The master and guesthouse suites come with private terraces and alfresco showers, and the other rooms have private entrances leading from the verandas and gardens. Oh, and there's a poolside grill and open-air dining area with a deluxe bar.

Megan Thee Stallion shoulda known what she was getting into when she signed her first contract with a record label, because she put pen to paper herself ... so says Yung Berg.

We got the "Sexy Can I" rapper at LAX Monday and asked about Meg's beef with her record label -- she claims 1501 won't allow her to drop any new tunes, because she wants to tweak her deal -- and Yung Berg says Meg shouldn't have signed the contract if she didn't like what was in it.

Yung Berg's seeing things from the other side now -- he's rebranded himself as a producer called Hitmaka and is the VP of A&R at Atlantic Records -- and explains why it's super important for young artists to pour over the paperwork before signing the dotted line.

As we reported ... MTS says she was about 20 years old when she signed a contract with 1501 and wasn't aware of a lot of clauses in it until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

Megan shouldn't be using youth as an excuse, Yung Berg says, because the music industry is big business, and there's no love lost for anyone.

Of course, Taylor Swift would likely argue differently ... you'll remember, she's in a nasty battle with Scooter Braun after he purchased the rights to her first 6 albums thanks to a deal she signed when she was young.

The good news for MTS and her fans ... YB tells us why she won't stay on ice forever.

Alex Trebek proves time and again he's selfless despite his own personal struggles ... this time, lending his hand to L.A.'s desperate homeless crisis.

The beloved game show host donated $100k to the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission ... a nonprofit focused on preventing, reducing and eliminating poverty, hunger and homelessness. It provides nearly 290k hot meals and 93k nights of safe shelter every year.

Ken Craft, founder and CEO of the org, tells TMZ ... Alex, a modest donor to the org over the years, recently called requesting a tour of a new shelter being built in North Hollywood ... which will house nearly 85 beds, bathrooms, laundry room and a commissary.

Not long after the visit, Alex -- in the midst of battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer -- invited Ken over to his house to talk about the shelter's financial plans. Ken says it was in that meeting when Alex slipped an envelope and said, "I hope this helps a little bit." It was a check for $100k. Naturally, Ken teared up.

Ken says Alex invited him and his wife to a "Jeopardy!" taping ... and during a commercial break, Alex brought them on stage. Ken says Alex told the audience, "I don't normally do this, but I wanted to bring these two people on stage because they are making a difference in L.A."

Alex's contribution will go a long way to footing the bill for hot meals, transportation, on-site medical service. We're told Alex didn't earmark the donation for anything specific ... he just wanted to help fight the homeless battle. Easy to see why Ken says the org will name part of its new shelter after Alex and his wife, Jean.

Alex is one of the most charitable people in Hollywood.  He's not interested in private jets, fabulous vacation houses, etc.  He wants to do good with his money, and donate to a variety of worthy causes.

Megan Thee Stallion says certain execs at her record label have a rep for "bullying and strong-armed tactics," but she's taking a stand by taking them to court ... and she's already won a major battle.

Meg went on the offensive by filing suit Monday against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its honcho, Carl Crawford. As you know, she's pissed about the contract she signed with the label back when she was 20, and claims it's now blocking her from releasing new music because she wants to renegotiate.

A district judge in Harris County Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order which prevents her label from blocking the music she plans to drop on Friday.

In the suit, Megan lays out the most outrageous terms of her contract, at least in her eyes. For instance, she claims the deal calls for 1501 Certified to get 60% of her recording income. The remaining 40% goes to her, but she has to use that to pay engineers, mixers and featured artists who work on the songs.

Point is ... MTS claims there's a very small slice of pie left for her when it's all said and done. She also says her live gigs currently benefit the label more than her.

According to the suit, the contract calls for all money from Megan's touring and live performances to be paid directly to 1501 Certified. She says the label is supposed to give her a proper accounting of what she's owed -- but claims what they've provided is incomplete, and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

Megan also claims Crawford has been using his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder J. Prince to intimidate people in the industry. In the suit, she claims Crawford pressured a producer to hand over beats by saying Prince would be pissed. Megan claims, "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm."

Megan thinks Prince has had a hand in an online smear campaign against her ... including the recent story about her getting arrested 5 years ago.

All of these headaches simply aren't worth it to Megan, who says in exchange for signing the contract she got a measly $10,000 advance. Hence, her desire to renegotiate.

She's suing Carl and 1501 Certified Entertainment for at least $1 million in damages. Megan is not suing J. Prince.

BTW, the temporary restraining order she got also prevents the label from attacking or abusing her on social media. Megan's attorney, Richard Busch, tells TMZ, "We are very happy the Court granted our TRO and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6. We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul and Juicy J have been staying fly -- musically speaking -- on the backs of other people's work ... so claim a group of artists now suing the MCs.

A bunch of Memphis-based artists are going after the legendary hip-hop group, alleging they committed "over 150 independent acts of copyright infringement from more than 100 individual sound recordings."

One of the many offending tracks listed is "MEMPHIS." The plaintiffs claim Three 6 Mafia didn't give them credit for some of the lyrics. Ditto for "Tear Da Club Up."

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the group of artists say they came up in the Memphis music scene in the 90s when Three 6 Mafia was also trying to make a name for itself. The group claims shortly after they all met they started collaborating -- producing, recording, writing lyrics for Three 6 Mafia -- but never got a penny for their work.

The artists claim Three 6 Mafia was just one of several musical groups DJ Paul and Juicy J created to profit off the group's work. The artists claim this led to DJ Paul and Juicy J making millions from their work.

Judge Judy is stepping away from her longtime television show and calling it quits with CBS -- and TMZ has learned a big reason has to do with a war with the network.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... Judy and CBS have been feuding for quite some time, and it largely has to do with the former head honcho of the network, Les Moonves, no longer working there. A new regime has taken over ... and we're told they and Judy just haven't been seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things she and Les were square on.

Specifically, we're told Judy was being shut down left and right on possible new shows she developed ... something we're told was she'd be able to do under her latest contract with them, but hasn't been realized after Moonves was ousted in 2018.

Remember, Judy had just struck a monumental deal with them the previous year -- selling her "Judge Judy" library for a reported $95 million, with an end date of 2020-2021. She was already producing the show "Hot Bench," and was said to be developing other projects as well under CBS, like the court drama "Her Honor" which woulda been based on her life.

It's unclear if that show ever took off -- there've been no new developments on it since 2016 when it was reported to be in the works. Probably just one example of why we're hearing Judy was fed up with CBS and the relationship just fell apart.

As such, she's hanging it up and CBS and will ride out this last season, which marks 25 years on the air. She's already working on another show, "Judy Justice," which will NOT air on CBS.

While Judy's been gracious in public about the split -- including a pleasant appearance on 'Ellen' -- we're told there's no love lost between her and the network. You could probably tell us as much with the statement she issued upon the news breaking.

Judy said, "I am looking forward to a banner 25th anniversary season. CBS has been a fine partner for 20 plus years. They have decided to monetize their 'Judge Judy' library of reruns." Then came the parting shot ... "I wish them good luck with their experiment."

Pharrell Williams is unloading his breathtaking mansion in Beverly Hills, and the happy place comes with a massive price tag... that looks like it's worth every penny!!!

TMZ has learned the "Happy" singer just listed his Bev Hills estate for a cool $16,950,000 ... and it's 4 acres of pure luxury.

The mansion is amazing ... 17,000-square-feet decked out with indoor and outdoor koi ponds and waterfalls, plus a 200-foot long private driveway leading up a motor court capable of housing over 30 cars!!!

Pharrell's sprawling compound also has a tennis court and a grotto -- think the Playboy Mansion with a modern feel -- and there's a whopping 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

Ya gotta check out the gallery ... Pharrell's place is fit for a king ... no wonder he's so damn happy!!!

BTW ... Pharrell bought it from Tyler Perry in 2018 for $15.6 million.

Celebrity realtors Kurt Rappaport and Drew Meyers have the listing.

Marilyn Monroe's time behind-the-scenes of the 1953 film, "Niagara," was captured by a photographer, and his huge set of photographic negatives is up for grabs ... but it won't come cheap.

The pics -- 227 total, 198 of which depict Marilyn -- were snapped by Canadian journalist and photog Jock Carroll in 1952, while she was preparing for her first top billing as Rose Loomis in the noir thriller.

The set of photos is mostly comprised of black-and-white negatives but includes some color positive transparencies. And, along with shots of Monroe, there are several of the sets, scenery and of course ... Niagara Falls.

The negatives could become much more than just a collector's item too ... because they include the copyright to the images. Carroll signed the rights over to his son before he died, and the son will grant them to the buyer.

This means the highest bidder at the auction will have the right to print and even sell copies from the negatives, which could lead to big bucks. Commercial use requires permission from Monroe's estate, however.

Megan Thee Stallion says a simple request to renegotiate her contract turned into a stalemate that's keeping a lid on any new tunes.

The rapper took to IG Live Sunday to call her out her record label, 1501, claiming they're not allowing to drop any new music for the time being -- all because, as she claims, MTS asked them to tweak some fine print in the deal she's signed with them at a young age.

Megan says she signed with 1501 when she was about 20 years old, and there were a lot things in her contract with them she simply wasn't aware of -- that is, until she started getting managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation, which pointed a lot of stuff out to her.

Long story short, Meg says everything was all good and dandy until one day she approached the label and asked to renegotiate ... at which point, she says things went "left."

Megan claims as a result of her asking ... the label has put her and any new tunes on ice. She likens the move to nothing more than greed in its purest form -- and it's clear, there's beef.

Interestingly enough, we actually spoke to the co-founder of Meg's label, ex-MLB player Carl Crawford, and he told us he basically discovered Meg and helped put her on. Didn't sound like there was much friction between her and them at the time -- seems things have changed.

The bad news is for fans, of course -- 'cause if what she's saying is true, it can mean a whole year without some 'Hot Girl' seasons to bless us. Shame ...

Listen up, super-rich athletes!! NBA star-turned-financial adviser Greg Oden is here to give you some solid pointers on how to keep from turning into a super-broke athlete!!

(We're looking at you Boris Becker!)

Of course, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft has taken his talents to the finance world ... and he's working to help his fellow pro athletes GROW their money instead of blowing it (like Boris Becker!).

We spoke with G.O. at the Kenny Smith All-Star event in Chicago about his new career ... and he says he LOVES his job.

"It's amazing," Oden tells us. "I'm an athlete adviser for a financial education company ... the company is called Edyoucore, it's based out in Baltimore and I enjoy it."

There are countless stories of players going from making millions to bankruptcy ... and Oden -- who made $24 million in his career -- is hoping to put an end to the problem.

We put Oden on the spot and asked for a quick tip for any athletes watching ... and he gave us a nugget!!

"Be engaged. Pay attention where all your money is going."

And if you're wondering why we keep referencing Boris Becker -- the former tennis star is LEGENDARY for blowing his fortune.

In fact, during his 2017 bankruptcy case in England, a court official said the former tennis star had racked up a "historic debt."

At the time, Becker's rep John Briggs begged for mercy ... saying, "He is not a sophisticated individual when it comes to finances."

Joe Coulombe, the guy who founded Trader Joe’s, one of the most enduring grocery chains in the country, has died after a long illness.

Joe died at his home in Pasadena, Ca.

Joe was born in 1930, smack in the middle of the depression, and raised on an avocado ranch near San Diego, CA. He served in the Air Force and got a B.A. in economics and an MBA from Stanford. No slouch.

So here's the path to Trader Joe's. He worked at Rexall Drugs in 1958 and his job was to create a group of convenience stores ... similar to 7-Eleven. The first thing he did -- he worked in a grocery store for free ... just to get the hang of it. The chain was called Pronto Markets. Thing is ... Rexall really wasn't into it, so Coulombe bought the stores and ran them himself.

Joe jumped into the market biz at the same time 7-Eleven was exploding, and he decided to take a different approach. That's when he came up with the idea for Trader Joe's.

He opened his first store in Pasadena, and decorated it with a nautical decor after reading a book called "White Shadows in the South Seas." He was also inspired by the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. Employees at the store wore Hawaiian shirts. They were called captain and first mates.

The concept of the store -- courting customers with sophisticated taste on a budget. The prices were reasonable and sometimes even low.

Joe sold the chain in 1979 to the German grocery retailer Aldi Nord and retired from the company 9 years later.

Joe met his wife, Alice Steere, in 1952 in college. They married in 1952 and were married for 67 years. They have 3 kids and 6 grandchildren.

Tony Romo's staying put at CBS ... and the network's rewarding him handsomely by making him the highest-paid NFL analyst in TV HISTORY!!!

The former Dallas Cowboys QB is reportedly set to earn a whopping $17 million per season. The two sides struck a deal Friday ... before ESPN got its chance to lure Romo, who is regarded as the NFL's best analyst, perhaps ever.

The New York Post was first to report the figure. The outlet's also reporting the deal's for "significantly more than five years," which could mean the entire deal may be worth more than $100 MILLION. The Sports Business Journal says CBS Sports confirmed locking Romo to a new deal but would not comment on terms.

Romo, who was in his final year of a 3-year deal, reportedly made $4 million last season. Over at FOX ... its lead NFL analyst, Troy Aikman, reportedly makes around $7.5 million per season. John Madden was previously the highest-paid analyst with a deal that paid him $8 million per year. And if you factor in an adjustment for inflation, that would still only put Madden's number at $14 million per year.

For a little more perspective ... Romo's highest single-season earnings in the NFL came in 2013 when he made $26.5 million, which included his signing bonus. He made over $127 million in 14 seasons with the Cowboys.

Lori Loughlin and her lawyers are continuing their attack on prosecutors by lambasting them and their star witness for blabbing to the media after the judge ordered them to put a cork in it.

Lori's lawyers filed new legal docs Friday, including a letter to the judge, which notes Hizzoner laid down the law Thursday during a court hearing, ordering all parties not to try the case in the media.

Lori's lawyers point to interviews the attorney for Rick Singer gave to the L.A. Times and the Wall Street Journal, in which the lawyer says the government "never pressured his client to say anything untruthful."

There are several problems with the interviews. First, the judge said not to do them. Second, the statement flies in the face of what Singer wrote in black and white ... at the time he said he was getting pressured by the government to lie in the case.

TMZ broke the story, Singer wrote, "Loud and abrasive calls with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there [sic] money was going -- to the program, not to the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment."

In other words, Singer wrote the FBI agents wanted him to lie and say the money the parents paid were bribes and not donations, and when he balked they screamed at him.

Now, Singer's lawyer is giving interviews saying the government never pressured Singer to lie. Thing is ... Singer wrote his notes on the heels of his conversations with the FBI -- and a year later he says something different.

Amanda Knox and her hubby are set to officially tie the knot this weekend in a celebration that's gonna be out-of-this-world ... yet fully in the Pacific Northwest.

Knox and Christopher Robinson -- who got legally married back in 2018 -- are having their wedding ceremony Saturday at an Elk's Lodge in Washington State. We're told the theme is space/Star Wars and guests are in for a galactic celebration.

We're imagining the original 'Star Wars' cantina scene, but maybe that's just us. Remember, these 2 space cadets got engaged with a bizarre "E.T." recreation in their backyard.

Knox and Robinson's registry is full of galaxy photos and in place of gifts, attendees were encouraged to donate to the final cost of the wedding. Guests who donated $500, $1000 and $2000 are promised special shout-outs during the ceremony.

Knox, who is now 32, was accused of brutally murdering her roommate in 2007 while she was an exchange student in the city of Perugia in Italy.

Take note, cyber crooks ... Barbara Corcoran is no easy win!!! Amazingly, The "Shark Tank" star has $388k back in her account, just 3 days after scammers managed to snatch it away.

Barbara tells TMZ the money was re-deposited into her NY bank account Friday, but she needed the help of a German bank to get it back. We broke the story, Barbara's bookkeeper had the wool pulled over her eyes by several hoax emails which instructed her to deposit $388,700.11 in an account in Berlin.

The scammers had used a German bank account because it was part of their cover story. You'll recall, their emails claimed the money was part of Barbara's investment into German apartments.

After we published our story, we're told the German bank got wind of the hoax, and froze the account before the money could be forwarded to Asia. Remember, Barbara's IT people traced the emails to a Chinese IP address.

Barbara tells us her NY bank was also involved in pressuring zee Germans, and she believes our story added to that pressure.

Bottom line is ... Barbara's bottom line is intact.