Money

Drake's joined the All In party to raise money for COVID-19 relief ... and he's offering an awesome party package that starts with a flight on his $200 million private jet.

The rapper got called out by Tom Brady to get behind the All In Challenge -- the fundraiser started by 76ers partner Michael Rubin -- and what he's offering is going to be hard to top.

Drake says one lucky winner, and 7 others they want to bring along for the fun, will get to fly on Air Drake ... where they'll be greeted with an OVO package and a Nike care package.

The flight will take them to L.A. for the weekend, where they'll get the full VIP treatment and join Drake for a private party at his fave club, Delilah.

That's not all, though ... Drake says once he can get back to touring, he's going to hook up the winner with the best seats to his show back in their home city.

As we reported ... several other famous athletes and celebs -- including Kevin Hart, Meek Mill, Justin Bieber, Ryan Seacrest, Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson are either auctioning or raffling off incredible packages ... with all the money going to feed people in need due to the pandemic.

Brady's charity auction had a starting bid of $50k ... but it's already up to $140,000!

Pastor Tony Spell's got a plan for your stimulus check -- give it away to evangelists who can't pass the offering plate while the pandemic's closed their churches.

The controversial leader of the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana has whipped up another controversial idea he calls the #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge ... and it has 3 rules.

First rule is it starts this Sunday. Second rule is donate your stimulus money ... and third rule is give it to North American evangelists, missionaries or music ministers who haven't received any money from parishioners in the past month.

Interestingly, that would NOT include Spell ... who's kept his church doors open to his flock. He doesn't specify if his challenge requires folks to donate some or all of their stimulus cash, but says he's practicing what he preaches by donating all of his $1,200 ... and so is his wife.

His challenge also doesn't seem to consider many people are in desperate need of their stimulus money for food, rent or bills. Then again, this is the guy who packed his church on Easter with zero concern for public health or that of his congregation.

You'll recall Spell also told us his parishioners are true Christians who wouldn't mind dying from the virus because they'd be doing so in the name of God and freedom.

Michael Che is playing Superman for tenants in one of New York City's housing projects ... he's paying their rent for a month, and wondering why the government isn't doing more to help.

The "Saturday Night Live" star just announced he's gonna cover rent payments for all 160 apartments in the NYC public housing project where his late grandmother lived.

Michael says it's crazy to him that residents of NYC public housing are still expected to pay rent when so many have lost their incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic ... and says he's being generous in the spirit of his late grandma, who recently died due to complications from COVID-19.

The comedian says his contribution is only a drop in the bucket, and he's calling on the Big Apple to develop a better plan for debt forgiveness for anyone living in public housing. He says it's the least the city can do.

WWE just announced a massive cost-saving plan in hopes to keep the company afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic ... which includes slashing top executive salaries and furloughing part of its staff.

Vince McMahon's company spelled out the plan to its investors -- saying they've had to do tighten up the wallet since the pandemic has had a significant impact on their business operations.

"Due to COVID-19 and current government mandated impacts on WWE and the media business generally, the Company went through an extensive evaluation of its operations over the past several weeks," WWE said.

"This analysis resulted in the implementation of various short-term cost reductions and cash flow improvement actions including:

• Reducing executive and board member compensation;
• Decreasing operating expenses;
• Cutting talent expenses, third party staffing and consulting;
• Deferring spend on the build out of the Company’s new headquarters for at least six months.

WWE says they also made the decision to "furlough a portion of its workforce effective immediately."

"The decision to furlough versus permanently reduce headcount reflects the fact that the Company currently believes the furlough will be temporary in nature."

WWE says the moves will help save the company roughly $4 MILLION per month -- "along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the Company’s new headquarters."

WWE assures its stockholders it has enough resources to continue operating -- with approximately $500 million in cash and credit.

"Management continues to believe the fundamentals of the Company’s business remain strong and that WWE is well positioned to take full advantage of the changing media landscape and increasing value of live sports rights over the longer term."

No word on which WWE staffers be part of the furlough.

Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin has the likes of Kevin Hart, Meek Mill, Justin Bieber and Magic Johnson backing his amazing plan to raise money for COVID-19 relief.

Rubin launched the "All In Challenge" Tuesday -- it's a massive fundraiser to feed Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic ... and it's offering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences in hopes of raising tens of millions of dollars.

People who want to donate to a great cause can throw down as little as $10 to enter to win awesome prizes ... like a chance to be in Kevin's next movie or spend a day with Ryan Seacrest on ALL of his jobs!!!

Meanwhile, Meek is auctioning off his 2019 Rolls-Royce Phantom!!! Opening bid ... $200k. If ya wanna be a baller in the NBA -- it'll be back eventually -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is giving you a shot to suit up for a game. FOR REAL!!

And, for those big ballers, there's a bunch of auctions ... like a $50,000 opening bid to play H.O.R.S.E. with Magic and sit courtside at a Lakers game. NBD.

Scores of other actors, athletes, singers and celebs, in general, are getting involved -- it's a challenge, after all, so everyone's calling out their friends. Kevin's lookin' at you, Rock.

So, check out what Yo Gotti, Alex Rodriguez, Todd Gurley, Zach and Julie Ertz, Ben Simmons and many more are offering. It's all at allinchallenge.com.

Justin Bieber just joined too, and says he's gonna fly to the winner's home and sing, "One Less Lonely Girl."

Rubin says 100% of money raised will be donated to programs to feed the hungry, including ... Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen, America's Food Fund and Feeding America.

Good luck and be on the lookout for way more celebs to join the fundraiser. Whatchu got Dwyane Wade???

The company behind the EDM fest Lightning in a Bottle is breaking the law by refusing to issue refunds ... or so claims a would-be concertgoer, turned plaintiff.

Michael Geragos of the Geragos Law Group filed a class-action lawsuit against Do Lab, Inc. on behalf of an Illinois woman named Tessa Nesis who purchased a ticket to the festival. Do Lab is the company that puts on the central California festival.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Nesis claims the festival, scheduled for May, allegedly sold between 10,000 and 20,000 tickets, but it was obviously canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. She claims organizers refuse to offer any refunds.

The event released a statement last month saying, "Sadly, we cannot offer refunds for the canceled event. We are, however, working on a plan to make you whole over the next few LIB’s. This will include a system for crediting you for future years."

The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on the regularly thriving smartphone industry in China, but there's cause for hope ... it's starting to show signs of life again.

Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the sale of smartphones, which reportedly resulted in Apple having one of its worst months ever in China in February ... with only half a million iPhones sold to its 1.4 BILLION people.

That low amount's due to 3 factors -- reduced supply because of factory shutdowns, retail stores being closed, and of course ... loss of expendable income for Chinese citizens.

A survey of 1,300 smartphone owners found that 37 percent were holding off on purchasing a new one, and 32 percent were delaying an upgrade to 5G ... something that was widely anticipated in 2020.

Compare this to 40 percent responding that they've delayed buying cars, furniture and appliances, as well ... it's fair to say smartphones are lumped into the big-ticket item category that's low on people's purchase priority list.

On the plus side, sales bounced back slightly in March ... with total mobile phone shipments from all companies increasing by 3 times over February. Apple shipped nearly 5 times more units ... but smartphone sales overall were still down 20 percent in March compared to 2019.

Clearly could be worse, though, and with China being the first country to go on lockdown ... it's hopeful it can be the first to bounce back.

Barbara Corcoran's got a hot tip for those looking to take advantage of their upcoming stimulus check ... and it's a lot less sharky than you think.

The "Shark Tank" star tells TMZ ... if you're fortunate enough to not have to immediately use the government money to feed your family -- sadly, that's not a given for many Americans -- you should use the stimulus cash to improve your current financial situation.

Barbara says start by paying off your credit cards -- the higher interest ones first -- because those will kill you in the long run.

After that, she advises sitting down and focusing on some good old-fashioned budgeting. We'll let her tell you why it's a good idea ... and there's no better time than the present.

For those looking to use the dough on a stock market bargain ... this 'Shark' doesn't suggest swimming in those waters. Too risky right now.

Boxing superstar Tyson Fury wanted to help his favorite local pizza joint weather the COVID-19 storm ... so he ordered $700 worth of food -- and tacked on a $125 tip!

Fury and his family -- wife Paris and their 5 children -- are shacked up at their mansion in Lancashire, England ... but they wanted to help stimulate the local economy on Easter Sunday, so they hit up Manjaros Restaurant.

The order was massive ... lamb chops, shrimp, chicken, a bunch of pizzas, pasta ... and 25 cans of Diet Coke!

Total bill came out to £557.35 -- roughly $700 -- and Fury slipped the delivery people a £100 tip ($125). Not bad!

Despite all the food, Paris Fury insists there were no outside guests at the home -- a la Dak Prescott.

"The food order was just for us and the children," Fury explained to local media ... "We've got 5 children and the food arrived in a lot of boxes."

The delivery driver also told media, "Tyson is a regular customer to Manjaros in Preston, but the restaurant is currently closed and only offering deliveries."

The XFL -- Vince McMahon's pro football league -- has officially filed for bankruptcy ... just days after folding the league, TMZ Sports has learned.

A league spokesperson tells us, "The XFL quickly captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of people who love football."

"Unfortunately, as a new enterprise, we were not insulated from the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis."

"Accordingly, we have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code."

"This is a heartbreaking time for many, including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners, and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football."

Sources tell us ... the COVID-19 pandemic, which essentially shut down the league -- caused the XFL to lose "tens of millions in revenue" since it wiped out regular-season games and playoff games.

We're told ... despite the financial blow, employees were paid full wages up until April 12 as well as any accrued vacation days.

We're also told the XFL will refund ticket holders, and are currently in that process.

As for the filing, we're told the timing was to maximize the return investors.

Among the creditors ... XFL lists head coaches Bob Stoops ($1,083,333.33), Mark Trestman ($777,777.78), Jonathan Hayes ($633,333.33), Winston Moss ($583,333.33) and others.