Money

Here's what Montecito residents are finding out about their new neighbors, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ... wherever they go, tourists, helicopters and paparazzi follow.

The quiet little town outside Santa Barbara is still buzzing about its newest residents, who moved into a multi-million dollar mansion, but some locals are already getting fed up with the area's new normal.

Harry and Meghan haven't even been seen in public, and their mere presence is driving folks wild ... not because of them, but because of the influx of paparazzi on the hunt for the shot.

The scene on the ground is pretty hectic, especially for an affluent area that's supposed to be an enclave for celebs looking to escape the limelight ... choppers are zooming over Harry and Meghan's hood, sometimes 4 times a day, and paps are staking out their home and a nearby shopping center.

The wayward royals are also attracting tourists ... we're told more visitors are showing up in town and asking local shop owners if they've seen Harry and Meghan.

Montecito is famously known as a no-paparazzi zone -- Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah, Rob Lowe, Carol Burnett, Jane Lynch and the Kardashians have no problem dining out and shopping in on the low -- but everything's changed since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved in.

Most locals tell us they want the paps to give it a rest, because they feel things are getting to the point where everyone's privacy is being compromised, and they're super annoyed.

As we reported ... Harry and Meghan surfaced in Los Angeles last week, working with a charity to help children in need ... but they still haven't been seen in Montecito.

Locals are bracing for the worst ... they're expecting Harry and Meghan to finally venture out after the pandemic, which they fear will amp things up in a big way.

Word to the wise ... if you visit Montecito, don't regurgitate anything you read about Harry and Megan putting the town on the map. Locals say it's been a high-society town long before the royals came knocking.

Kanye West's looking to expand his empire in the Cowboy State ... so his family's horsies have more room to roam.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the rapper and presidential candidate has visited the Double Doc Ranch in Cody, Wyoming and expressed interest in buying the property.

The ranch -- which serves as a horse boarding, breeding, training, lessons and events facility -- is already home to 3 of the West fam's horses.

Back in June ... Kim Kardashian said they had 14 Friesian horses on their ranch while introducing her followers to North's new one. We're told the rest of their horses will be moving to Double Doc soon as well.

The 76-acre horse ranch was on the market up until a few months ago for $3.39 million, but it doesn't seem it's been sold yet. It's still listed under the longtime owners on the property records.

If Kanye does buy it, it will be his 3rd ranch purchase near Cody in the past year. As you'll recall ... he dropped $14 million on The Monster Lake Ranch in September 2019, then as we first told you, paid another $14 million in November for a property called the Bighorn Mountain Ranch.

Ye recently got approval to build a 52,000 sq. ft. mega-mansion on the lakeside ranch ... so all signs point to Wyoming being the place he calls home, home on the range for a long time.

What does a dude nicknamed "Big Ticket" get for a chain??

How about A BIG ASS TICKET!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... New York Jets rookie Mekhi Becton is the proud new owner of a piece that is as big as his 6'7", 360-lb. frame ... copping a huge pendant in honor of his awesome moniker.

We're told Becton hit up famous jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills for the fancy jewelry ... which is made with more than a kilo of gold and 120 carats of flawless white diamonds.

So what's a piece like this worth?? We're told it's valued at a whopping $400k. Now that's an expensive ticket!!

Of course, the rookies are packin' on the ice before the season -- as we previously reported, Cincinnati Bengals first overall pick Joe Burrow just got his diamond #9 chain.

Welp, it's finally over for Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez -- they will not be buying the NY Mets.

The couple was in a serious battle with hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen to buy the team from the Wilpon family, but they officially dropped out of the running Friday night.

"Alex and I are so disappointed," Lopez said in a statement.

"We worked so hard the past 6 months with the dream of becoming the first minority couple and the first woman owner to buy her father’s favorite Major League Baseball team with her own hard-earned money. We still haven’t given up!!"

J Lo and A-Rod had put together an ownership group which included sports drink billionaire Mike Repole and NFL stars Travis Kelce and DeMarco Murray.

The group issued a statement saying, "The consortium led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez has informed the Mets that they are no longer pursuing the acquisition of the team."

"The consortium said that they are disappointed to not be part of the revitalization of New York City and provide an exhilarating experience for the fans and wish the Wilpon family and the entire Mets organization well."

J-Rod had just toured Citi Field earlier this month -- and just this week, Jennifer went on Barstool Sports' "The Corp" podcast and talked about how special it would be to have a woman as an MLB owner.

Steve Cohen has now reportedly entered "exclusive negotiations" to buy the team and should have it all wrapped up in the next few days.

The final price is expected to be somewhere north of $2.6 billion.

Justin and Hailey Bieber are land barons in L.A., with multiple, multi-million dollar mansions in the same city ... and the latest is a major upgrade.

The singer and his model wife just dropped a whopping $25.8 million on a massive home in the rich and star-studded Beverly Park, an insanely exclusive Beverly Hills gated community ... where they'll live right across the street from Magic Johnson.

The 11,000-sq. ft. mansion comes with 7 bedrooms and TEN bathrooms, sitting on a 2.5-acre estate up high in the Bev Hills mountains.

Among the highlights -- besides the obvious -- checkerboard stone floor in the foyer, a chef's kitchen, a library that opens up to a garden, a master suite with its own patio, a home gym, a movie theater, an outdoor fireplace, and infinity-edged swimming pool, a koi pond ... and a full-size tennis court.

Along with Magic ... some of their other new neighbors include Sofia Vergara, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, Rod Stewart and Denzel Washington.

The Biebers still own a 6,132-square-foot, 5-bed, 7-bath Beverly Hills property they bought in 2018 for $8.5 million. However, like we first told you, they were quickly looking for a new place in L.A. to plant roots ... and Justin casually posted about selling it in October.

Great news for Isiah Thomas -- the NBA legend was reunited with his stolen NBA All-Star MVP trophy ... and he's thanking an auction house for making it happen.

Remember, Thomas was initially FURIOUS when he saw the trophy from the 1984 All-Star Game was up for sale on the Heritage Auctions website ... claiming it was stolen property.

Here's the backstory ... Thomas claims he loaned the MVP trophy to his old high school to display -- but some jerk snatched the item back from the campus in June 2020.

"This trophy was stolen from St. Joseph High School the night Mr. Pingatore my coach died," Thomas posted on Twitter ... "It belongs to me."

Heritage Auctions immediately pulled the item from auction and launched an investigation -- working with the Westchester Police Dept. to gather information.

The cops ultimately allowed H.A. to give the trophy back to Thomas -- and he's obviously thrilled.

"I am very happy that my 1984 NBA All-Star Game MVP Trophy has been returned to me, and I want to thank Heritage Auctions, the Westchester Police Department and St. Joseph High School for all of their hard work and professionalism throughout this process," Thomas said.

"This trophy is a special piece of memorabilia for me and my family, and it remains something that I am very proud of being awarded during my playing career."

As for Heritage Auctions, an official says "It came as a shock to discover the MVP trophy had been stolen from St. Joseph but we are pleased and proud to have been able to return the trophy to the man whose name is inscribed on the award."

Donovan Mitchell is using his latest shoe release to help Jacob Blake's family ... announcing he's donating $45k from the sales to support Blake's children's education.

Blake is currently paralyzed from the waist down after a cop in Kenosha, WI shot him 7 times in the back on Sunday ... and 3 of his kids were present when it happened.

The Utah Jazz star decided to take action through his sneaker sales ... announcing a portion of the earnings will go toward the Blake family.

"For the first 45 hours of the #DONISSUE2 spidey-sense drop, I will be donating $45k of the proceeds to support the education of Jacob Blake’s children."

Mitchell is also getting some help from Adidas, who will match his contribution for a total of $90k.

Mitchell explained his reasoning for the donation, saying, "Education reform is something I really believe in and I believe will be able to help push our country and our future past the point we're at."

"Allowing kids to understand and be able to go into the same classrooms and be able to be taught at a level playing field is something I believe is the key to generational success and being able to push past racism, systemic racism, voter suppression and everything."

The D.O.N Issue 2 Spidey Sense shoes are available in six colors and going for $100 on the Adidas website.

This news comes just a few days after Mitchell and the NBA boycotted playoff games Thursday and Friday following the Blake shooting.

Bella Thorne is raising millions of dollars with her OnlyFans account, but she's also raising hell for sex workers, who say she's hurting their bottom line.

Here's the deal ... Bella joined the subscription-based social media platform last week, charging folks $200 for a 3-pack of sultry photos and insinuating they were nudes when they weren't. Bella says she's already banked $2 million and made the account to do research for an upcoming movie.

Some subscribers felt they were duped, became upset and requested refunds ... and now the other girls selling images of their bodies on the site say OnlyFans is changing its rules on account of Bella and making it harder for them to earn money.

Sex workers are complaining they can now only charge a maximum of $50, a steep decline from the $200 and up they and Bella were once able to charge, and they say they're being forced to wait 30 days to get paid when before it was only 7.

Lots of folks are speculating the payout change is due to OnlyFans owing Bella so much money. We reached out to OnlyFans ... so far, radio silence.

Bottom line ... sex workers say Bella's single-handedly screwed them.

Jennifer Lopez says owning the NY Mets would not only be "amazing" for her ... but extremely beneficial for MLB to have a strong woman in a position of power.

Both J.Lo and Alex Rodriguez have been laser-focused on trying to buy the team from the Wilpon family -- raising millions of dollars from high profile investors in the hopes of closing a deal.

Jen's main competition is from Wall Street titan Steve Cohen -- who reportedly made a $2.6 billion bid ... though word on the street is the Wilpons would rather sell to J-Rod's group if they can get close to that number.

Jennifer appeared on Barstool Sports' "The Corp" podcast -- where she was asked about the latest developments with the ownership pursuit.

"Listen, in this day and age, that would be something that would be so amazing," Lopez said.

"We don’t, I don’t have anything to report on that end right now. But, I think in every field, especially in institutions like Major League Baseball that are so American in this moment in time, it is important for diversity and it is important for women to have positions of power that they’ve earned and deserve and can contribute in a way that is just as good as any man on the planet."

She adds, "So of course I am for it."

There are currently zero women listed as a principal owner of a Major League Baseball franchise.

Also, Lopez wouldn't just be a silent partner -- she has a reputation as a savvy self-made businesswoman who's made a fortune over the years ... and she's not afraid to speak her mind.

So far, a bunch of NBA and NFL stars have joined the J-Rod investment group including Travis Kelce, DeMarco Murray and Brian Urlacher.

Kris Jenner's done amazing work as a momager, and now it looks like she’s eyeing another sweet business venture based on something she says to her daughters.

The Kardashians matriarch filed trademark docs last week to lock up the rights to what she likes to say ... "You're doing amazing sweetie" ... first delivered way back on a 2007 episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

Kris is looking to slap the catchphrase on a slew of products, ranging from cosmetics and clothing to baby supplies and home goods ... and even books and magazines.

As you may recall, Kris was on set for Kim Kardashian's nude Playboy shoot on the 'KUWTK' episode and snapped a few pics herself before offering the words of encouragement ... "Kim, you're doing amazing, sweetie."

The phrase got the meme treatment for years, but has also made a comeback of sorts after Kylie Jenner appeared in the much-talked-about music video for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP."

As you can see ... Kylie's sexy guest spot on the vid gave Kris the perfect setup for the callback.

This isn't the first time Kris has aimed to capitalize on her famous reality TV mom status. She also scored a "momager" trademark in 2017, and parlayed that into an unforgettable cameo in Ariana Grande's "Mean Girls"-esque vid for "thank u, next."

UCLA says Under Armour is full of crap for using the COVID pandemic as an excuse to back out of a $280 million sponsorship deal ... and now the school is suing.

Here's the deal ... back in June, UA announced it would be pulling the plug on the 15-year deal it made with UCLA which began in 2017.

The University had touted it as the "largest athletic apparel sponsorship deal in the history of American college sports."

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ Sports, UA messaged to the school that because of the pandemic, the company would not be getting the widespread brand exposure it was promised when it entered the massive contract.

Under Armour allegedly cited the cancelation of college baseball games and the uncertainty of bigger sports like football and basketball as the main reasons for the move.

But, UCLA ain't buyin' the company's excuse -- claiming the REAL reason UA backed out is because the company is in financial trouble and was looking for a way to save some cash.

UCLA says in its suit, "Under Armour decided to try to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover to get out of paying on a deal that it no longer wanted to be in."

UCLA claims it seeks to "hold Under Armour to the promises that it made" ... and wants to force them to pay out the rest of the contract.

There's more ... UCLA claims UA also tried to use the excuse that the school didn't take appropriate action in the wake of the FBI's Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, which involved a former UCLA soccer coach.

UCLA claims it took swift action and put the coach on leave the same day as his arrest -- and then accepted his resignation a few days later.

UCLA says Under Armour never suggested they mishandled the situation until using it as an excuse to get out of the deal.

UCLA is suing for more than $200 MILLION in damages for breach of contract.

Jeff Bezos is doing quite well for himself in the pandemic ... he just became the first person ever to be worth $200 billion.

The Amazon honcho saw his net worth reach the incredible milestone Wednesday, as his company's stock continues a rock-steady climb that started when the pandemic first reached the United States.

With Amazon's share price climbing another 2.3% Wednesday to $3,423 per share, Bezos' net worth soared past the $200 billion benchmark.

It's incredible ... Jeff himself is worth more than huge brands like McDonald's, Nike and Pepsi. Those companies are valued between $139 bil and $191 bil. Chump change to Bezos.

Jeff's really cleaning up thanks to the coronavirus ... Amazon shares are up more than 100% since March 16, when COVID-19 turned American and global life upside down and steered more folks to online shopping.

Bezos is putting more distance between himself and Bill Gates, who is the world's second-richest man with a net worth of $123 billion. Bill kinda looks like a panhandler next to Jeff. Sorry, Bill.

Jeff woulda crossed the $200 bil threshold earlier if not for last year's $137 billion divorce with his ex-wife, MacKenzie ... but this feat is definitely better late than never.

LaMelo Ball will NOT be reppin' the family business when the NBA season rolls around -- the prospect is about to ink a huge deal with Puma!!!

The news will officially end an era for the Big Baller Brand ... with Melo becoming the first Ball Bro to jump ship for another company.

The partnership makes sense, considering Melo, Lonzo and LiAngelo all just signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports ... and Hov is the creative director for Puma Basketball.

In fact, we spoke with LaVar about the possibility of a BBB x Puma collab back in May ... and he seemed interested in the idea.

Melo's move adds to Puma's growing list of clients ... including names like veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, Suns star Deandre Ayton and Hornets guard Terry Rozier.

Of course, Ball is no newbie to the shoe game -- he had his own signature shoe in high school, which eventually deemed him ineligible for the NCAA.

Ball is widely regarded as one of the best players in the 2020 NBA Draft ... and is projected to be a top-3 pick.

The Athletic's Shams Charania says the deal is close to being completed ... but so far, no word on the $$$ or if Zo will make another song in honor of the move.

Jim Belushi says cannabis is a better way for all people to manage and heal from our internal traumas ... but he really thinks legal weed will greatly impact our homeless folks, especially veterans.

The actor joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us all about his legal marijuana farm in Oregon, the subject of his new Discovery Channel show "Growing Belushi," and what he's doing to help people who are struggling on the streets.

Jim says he encounters lots of homeless vets with psychological problems on the streets of Portland, plus other desperate people dealing with all sorts of problems, and he's convinced cannabis is a better way for them to treat their issues -- certainly better than alcohol or prescription pills.

Just listen as he describes the epiphany he had while observing a homeless woman.

Jim's lucky ... he can skinny dip or use cannabis to take a load off, but he understands not everyone has access to CBD and its healing effects ... so he's planning to open a pop-up dispensary in Portland offering free cannabis to homeless and low-income people.

It's a pretty interesting conversation ... and Jim also tells us how an Iraq war veteran changed his whole perception on the benefits of cannabis.

A former "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star might take the cake for one of the most tone-deaf publicity stunts ... she faked being beaten and kidnapped to promote her OnlyFans account, but says it was to raise awareness of sex trafficking.

Masika Kalysha posted the video of herself Tuesday in lingerie with apparent cuts, scrapes and bruises all over her body, claiming she got assaulted and was still in danger.

Then, she strangely asked for money to stave off her kidnappers, saying ... "They said you guys have to leave me tips and follow me so they can take the money or they're not gonna let me go."

In the caption to her video, she flat out claimed she was kidnapped and being held in a warehouse, and asked her followers to subscribe to her OnlyFans account and tip her so her captors would let her go.

She later deleted the video and posted a second one ... even more strange than the first.

Kalysha, now wearing a white robe, says she's totally fine and apologizes for possibly scaring people ... but insists she needed that "shock factor" to raise awareness for something important.

The reality star claims she's on set filming a project about child sex trafficking, and her kidnapping stunt was needed to grab people's attention for the important matter.

She even goes as far as to say everyone should know there's a method to her madness, while completely ignoring the insensitivity of her first vid ... or addressing how she might have tricked people into sending her money.

Kanye West is pulling out all the stops to get on the ballot in a crucial swing state that he sorta needs to have half a chance at this thing ... and it's home to the Grand Canyon!

Sources tell TMZ ... Ye and his campaign are doing a full blitz to get his name in front Arizona voters' eyes come November, and a big part of that will lie in what KW and co. are willing to spend to get it done. Brace yourself ... we hear they'll drop half a mil if needed.

The devil's in the details ... we're told the 3rd-party petitioning group Ye has hired to gather signatures, Let the Voters Decide, is sending upwards of 100 people into the Copper State over the next week to try and gather 37,769 names ... the required number to get in.

Our sources say petitioners on the ground are getting paid $8 for every signature collected, so if you do the math ... that adds up quick. Ye's got money to blow though, obviously. Fact is ... Kanye needs Arizona considering he's been booted off nearly as many ballots he's on.

If you've been keeping counts ... Ye has qualified to appear on November ballots in eight states thus far, and he's been nixed from seven others. Arizona's a major swing state, so he's gotta lock this down if he seriously wants to contend. He's almost breaking even here.