Money

Scoring anything Janis Joplin owned would be cool, but an instrument that belonged to Janis AND Jimi Hendrix is a whole new level of rock memorabilia.

We're talking about a hand-painted mandolin that fetched a whopping $281,250 after 29 bidders battled it out. The history on this item is pretty cool, so that price could be considered a steal.

Up until now, it has never been up for auction, and had been a part of a private collection for 20 years after it was acquired from the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

More importantly, guitar god Jimi was the last famous owner ... having received it from Janis as a gift.

Besides just being a cool instrument to own, the mandolin represents the friendship between 2 of the most iconic rock stars of all time. It's painted with flowers and phrases such as "love thy neighbor," "Janis Joplin & B.B.H.Co," and "Jimi Hendrix."

The new owner got themselves 2 Rock and Roll Hall of Famers for the price of one.

BTW, the Johnny Depp motorcycle from "Cry-Baby" was a part of the same auction ... but its reserve price wasn't met. Instead, GWS auctions say it has several museums interested and currently vying for it.

A significant piece of history is now up for sale ... a letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. where he candidly talks about the "n" word and the term "dark skinned American."

MLK wrote the letter January 18, 1966. The recipient was a man named William A. Bennett -- unclear who Bennett is. Dr. King embraced the term "dark skinned" ... saying he used it often as it reflects "both our great heritage and our devotion to a brand of Americanism of the highest order."

Of course, MLK has thoughts about the "n" word, which he says "carries with it a meaning deeply rooted in the debilitating racist caste ordering of our society's slavery epoch and segregation era."

The historical artifact was held in a private collection until recently, and now it's for sale on the Moments In Time site for $95,000.

Sammy Hagar makes most of his money from booze, books and bars ... which he says is the precise reason he enjoys rocking out with his band. We will explain.

The Red Rocker joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked if he made more money outside of music ... he does, and he tells us how his success in the business world benefits his art.

Sammy says the only reason he's still playing shows with his band, The Circle, is because he doesn't have to play music to pay the bills ... a big bonus for a 74-year-old rock star.

The former Van Halen frontman says whenever he plays a show nowadays, it's for fun and not about the paycheck. His wealth allows him to pay his band more, making everyone happy and giving him the feeling they're just like a good ol' garage band.

In addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sammy's a savvy businessman ... with legendary restaurants like the Cabo Wabo Cantina, where he sells his own lines of spirits. He also writes books, including his latest, "Sammy Hagar's Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker."

Adam Hicks, the former child star of several Disney movies and TV shows, is living life on parole after doing time for second-degree robbery.

Hicks was arrested in 2018 for allegedly pulling a bunch of armed robberies in Burbank, CA -- and eventually, in July 2021, got sentenced to 5 years behind bars.

He caught a major break though, because the judge gave him credit for 1,460 days he served while awaiting sentencing, and he was released back in March.

TMZ broke the story ... Hicks, who starred in "Zeke and Luther," "Pair of Kings," and "Lemonade Mouth" and his girlfriend Danni Tamburo were arrested after cruising the Burbank area and pointing a gun at pedestrians -- taking their cellphones, money and other property.

While Hicks got 5 years in prison, his GF got off with 3 years of probation.

The actor had shown a history of violence before his arrest -- he once shot himself in the leg while hanging out with friends, and court docs said he was "very uncooperative" with police.

Amber Heard wants a do-over in court, demanding a judge toss the verdict against her in the Johnny Depp defamation trial ... because of shoddy evidence and an alleged fake juror.

The actress's lawyers filed new docs this week in VA, asking the judge to either set aside the verdict in favor of JD entirely, dismiss the complaint or order a new trial. Take your pick!

The reasons they lay out are many, but essentially fall into 3 categories -- one, she argues there wasn't sufficient evidence presented on Johnny's side to convince a jury that her words had hurt his career/cost him roles ... and yet, they somehow decided she had anyway.

Amber's attorneys argue that Johnny's career was already on the ropes -- including within the 'Pirates' franchise -- before her op-ed in Dec. 2018, and yet ... she was found liable for that. Furthermore, AH's team claims JD and co. failed to prove she acted with actual malice in the sense that there was little to no evidence offered up showing she ever believed she hadn't been abused by him and didn't believe every word uttered or written in the op-ed.

They're also harping on the fact that Amber never named Johnny in the piece, and more importantly ... insist that the defamatory lines in question were, in fact, true on their face.

There's also this ... Amber and her team claim that one of the jurors who decided her fate may not have actually been the person summoned to court, and that the court apparently missed it by not properly vetting them. It's Juror #15, whose birth year on paper is 1945.

Amber's team says they've done a quick search on this would-be imposter -- whom they say is clearly younger than that -- and it appears this person might've been born in 1970. As a result, they want the court to investigate the matter further. If it's found they did erroneously end up on the jury ... just another reason to scrap this whole thing and start from scratch.

Mind you ... this is NOT Amber's appeal of the case -- which she's vowed to carry out, even though it would cost her a fortune she apparently doesn't have. Because of that fact, this seems to be a roundabout way to achieve the same thing, sans throwing down any dough.

The Playboy Mansion's face-lift is now in its 4th year, with expenses breaking the $1 mil mark, but to the naked eye ... it's hard to see where all that money's going.

According to building permits, the property's had a bunch of work done since 2020 ... including a revision of the roof, adding detached living quarters, interior revision, an updated elevator, new fire sprinklers, underground generator, new lighting, fixing the basement foundation and removal of the spa area to install a new one.

Tons of permits have been filed, and the most up-to-date number we can see for all those renovations is $1.6 million.

As we reported, the place had $1M in renovations as of 2020, so that's hardly a quantum leap over the course of 4 years.

The fix-ups began back in 2019 when billionaire Daren Metropoulos started filing permits to renovate the world-famous pad he'd purchased from Hugh Hefner ... who died in 2017.

Since then the Mansion and its grounds have been covered in tarps, scaffolding and heavy machinery.

One of the greatest to ever grace the backfield is weighing in on two NFL running backs duking it out in the boxing ring ... and it's great news for Adrian Peterson.

Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson spoke with TMZ Sports about the massive Social Gloves bout between AP and Le'Veon Bell coming up later this month at Crypto.com Arena ... and the Rams legend says there's a clear favorite in his eyes.

"I know how strong AP is," ED said at LAX this week ... saying the ex-Vikings star is simply too big for Bell.

And, if he were to put money on the fight ... Dickerson says it's All Day.

We broke the story -- Peterson and Bell will face off as part of the Austin McBroom vs. AnEsonGib fight that's going down in Los Angeles on July 30.

The card will also feature ex-Laker Nick Young and rapper Blueface ... with more fights being announced throughout the next few weeks.

Enes Kanter Freedom just went in on the NBA and Adam Silver -- calling them hypocrites ... and telling TMZ Sports he believes they're trying to force him to retire due to his willingness to speak his mind.

We talked with the 30-year-old center -- who's played 11 seasons in the NBA -- while he was in D.C. this week, and he told us he's unsure if he'll be granted another opportunity to play in the Association again because of his outspokenness against the league and authoritarians across the globe.

"They're pushing me to retire at the age of 30, unfortunately," Enes said. "I'm going to push through it. I'm still working out. I'm still practicing."

"But, the one thing I can say is, the NBA and Adam Silver is definitely one of the most hypocritical organizations and one of the most hypocritical commissioners out there in the world."

Enes accused the NBA -- who does business with China -- of having "billions of dollars tied up with that dictatorship" ... and, as a result, he feels they prioritize their bottom line (money) over human rights.

"They stand up for things until it affects their money or business," Enes said, "and someone had to expose them, and someone finally exposed them and from firsthand."

Enes did, however, give a nod to his NBA brothers and WNBA sisters for speaking up about Brittney Griner -- who remains in jail in Russia on drug charges -- but he wishes the United States government would be more aggressive in their approach to bring her home.

"They definitely need to do more because you're dealing with, like I said again, one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world," Enes said.

Britney Spears' lawyer is calling BS on her former business manager, claiming the owner of the company lied about its involvement in the conservatorship, and THAT'S why it's objecting to forking over critical documents about its conduct.

Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, filed legal docs obtained by TMZ ... saying Tri Star Entertainment -- which he says snagged more than $18 million from the 13-year run of the conservatorship -- has lied to the judge by claiming it had no involvement in the creation of the conservatorship. Rosengart notes ... just before Jamie Spears went to court and became his daughter's temporary conservator, he borrowed a minimum of $40,000 from Tri Star, which at the time was a pretty obscure company and repped no other celebrities.

Rosengart believes the money had strings attached ... that Jamie would get the cash and Tri Star would get Britney's business. The lawyer has said in the past, this alleged quid pro quo is highly suspicious if not improper, and he wants Tri Star to produce all the documents related to the issue, but Tri Star wants a judge to block that move.

Britney's lawyer notes Tri Star's owner, Lou Taylor, has reportedly said her company had "no role whatsoever in the creation of a conservatorship for Britney Spears." Taylor's associate, Robin Greenhill, said in a sworn declaration, "At the time the conservatorship ... was established by this Court in early 2008, Tri Star had no role in Ms. Spears' affairs."

Rosengart says that's just false, pointing to an email from Lou Taylor to Jamie in January 2008, weeks before the conservatorship was established, in which she wrote, "he [attorney Andrew Wallet] and tri star will serve as co's [i.e., co-conservators] w you." Taylor wrote another email to another lawyer before the conservatorship was established, saying, "I look forward to working with you."

And, there's this ... one of Jamie's lawyers sent an email to Taylor before going to court and creating the temporary conservatorship, saying, "We have run into a problem with [the] judge selection ... the only judge who will be able to hear our case on Friday is the one drug [sic] who will not give Jamie the power to administer psychotropic drugs."

Rosengart notes, during the run of the conservatorship, Tri Star got a 5% cut of whatever Britney made, and that amounted to more than $18 million. He also says Tri Star's celebrity clientele -- which includes members of the Kardashian family and Travis Scott -- was built off the back of one Britney Spears.

And, Rosengart wants documents to determine Tri Star's role, if any, in secretly monitoring Britney's communications, including her text messages. Of course, the attorney also wants to review Tri Star's communications with Jamie Spears regarding the latter's conduct in the conservatorship.

The judge has yet to rule on whether Tri Star must ante up the docs.

Former Yankees star Joba Chamberlain says his ex-team is going to have to cut a fat check to Aaron Judge to keep him around next season and longer ... telling TMZ Sports he believes they've "got to" give him $40 MILLION per year.

A contract of that magnitude would make the outfielder the second-highest paid player in baseball -- just $3 mil shy of Max Scherzer's annual $43 million payday -- but Joba says the Yanks just have to do it.

"Pay him, now. Immediately," Joba says. "Whatever he wants. Give him a key to the city."

Because Judge is 30 years old, Chamberlain tells us he's not sure how long he'd make the deal go for, but he clearly believes the guy needs a contract north of the historic $37 million-per-year pact that Mike Trout just recently signed with the Angels.

"You got to pay him," Chamberlain said. "I mean, he’s just an absolute figure in NY. It’s somebody that you want to hold on to."

Judge has been one of the best players in the MLB since coming up to the big leagues in 2016 -- and he's now the runaway favorite for AL MVP this season as he's on pace to hit around 60 home runs.

Despite all that, though, he's been locked in what appears to be fairly contentious negotiations with the Yankees, who have still yet to give him a new long-term deal even though he's just months away from free agency.

Clearly, if it were up to Joba, that wouldn't remain the case for much longer.

So, this is ironic ... Amber Heard lost Johnny Depp's defamation case in no small part because she lied about donating half her divorce settlement to the ACLU ... and now a judge has awarded the ACLU $38,000 ... and guess who has to pay -- NOT AMBER.

Here's the deal ... Johnny's legal team subpoenaed documents from the ACLU to prove Amber never anted up the cash. According to the ACLU, they had to produce 1900 documents and that took a lot of time. The org asked the judge to order Johnny to pay $86,000 for the time and expenses associated with the document production.

Johnny's lawyers called BS, saying the tab was "exorbitant and unreasonable."  The judge sided with Johnny and cut the bill pretty much in half ... so now Johnny has to pay $38,000.

As you know, Johnny won the case against Amber, so you might think she'd have to pay the costs that were incurred to reach a verdict ... a verdict squarely against her insofar as Johnny's defamation case is concerned. But, that's not the law, so Johnny has to pay.

Thing is ... it sounds like Johnny isn't going to take it to the mat and make Amber pay the $8.35M net judgment. So, even though he won, he's left holding the bag with the ACLU.

Deion Sanders is giving big thanks to Ja Rule -- after the rapper just announced he'll be donating money to the Jackson State football team!!

The New York rapper shared the news on Friday via Instagram ... saying some of the money he makes off his upcoming NFT collection will go to several HBCUs, including JSU.

"Be a part of something Beautiful… July 14th get on the Blacklist NOW," Ja Rule said.

Ja says there are 1,000 1-of-1 NFTs up for grabs ... and part of the proceeds will help support HBCUs like Hampton, Morgan, Spelman, Moorehouse, and Jackson State.

Sanders -- who has been the head football coach of the Tigers since 2020 -- was stoked about the news ... and praised the award-winning rapper for the amazing gesture.

"I wanna thank my brother Ja Rule for hitting me up and including our program in his heart along with several other HBCUs," the former NFL star said.

"My brother I’ve always admired and applauded you from afar but this is a TRUE blessing for our TEAM."

"God bless u my brother!!!"

Justin Timberlake's deal to make a documentary about his blockbuster album "The 20/20 Experience" isn't sitting well with the project's director, who's now suing JT for years of hard work ... according to a new lawsuit.

The singer is being sued by John Urbano, who claims JT recruited him back in 2012 to shoot and edit a documentary film about the making of his third studio album.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Urbano claims Justin proposed an arrangement where he would share profits from the film with Urbano instead of paying him his normal fee -- but Justin shelved the doc, which is why the director feels he got the shaft.

Urbano claims he filmed Justin for a total of 60 days all across the world and spent about 2,500 hours editing the footage into a documentary titled, "The Making of The 20/20 Experience."

The director says if he had been paid on the front end for the project, his filming and editing fees would have reached $2,450,000 ... but he says the only money he's seen out of Justin is a modest $20,000 upfront fee, plus reimbursements for expenses incurred while filming. According to his math, Urbano's been paid just $7 per hour for the project.

Urbano claims Justin was moved by the documentary at first, but after his album became his most successful solo project he lost interest in the doc, which has never been released.

The problem for Urbano ... he says Justin promised to share profits with him, but if the doc sits on a shelf, the promise of a big payday goes out the window.

Urbano claims Justin used his network of agents, managers, and handlers to stop the director from getting paid ... and he wants compensation for an allegedly breached agreement.

The director wants Justin to cough up lots more money, and he also wants a judge to declare he owns all the rights to the documentary.

Richard Gere has a buyer for his impressive New York estate ... and while he ended up selling for under the original asking price, he's still walking away with a fortune.

The "Pretty Woman" star's 50 acres of property sold on Wednesday -- the buyer shelled out $24.15 million for the entire space out in Pound Ridge, about an hour north of NYC in Westchester County.

The compound includes 5 structures, a pool and some stables -- the area has rolling hills that are perfect for horseback riding, making those stables look like a necessity. The main residence alone is a whopping 11,600 square feet.

The compound also comes with its own private beach, an island you can reach by rowboat ... and there's even a soccer field, too. The surrounding area is incredibly lush -- over 4,300 acres of protected land circle the estate.

Richard listed the property back in October for $28 mil, and records show he bought the space 35 years ago for a measly $1.5M -- talk about a profit!!!

Alicia Keys' hubby, Swizz Beatz, certainly knows how to make his wife smile while she's working abroad ... all with the help of some serious ice.

Alicia was performing in Milan Tuesday when Swizz and their kids surprised her with the massive bling -- a piece made possible by Celeb Jeweler Elliot Eliantte.

We're told at about 150 cts, the Egyptian-themed necklace set Swizz back about $400K. The baguettes around the main piece are set in a brick formation like the Great Pyramids.

The pendant is designed after Nefertiti, the queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, but with Alicia's face on it. Nefertiti stands for strength, power, and beauty, while the infinity links symbolize eternal life.

'RHONY' alum Dorinda Medley is on to new things ... cause TMZ has learned she sold the a Manhattan pad she's had for the last couple of decades.

Sources familiar with the sale tell TMZ the former NYC housewife sold her Upper East Side apartment near the end of May for $2,498,000 million. She paid $1.2 million for the place in 2007.

The apartment has loft-like 14-foot high ceilings with oversized windows, huge closet space, a chef's kitchen .... and a ton of renovations, including brand new bathrooms with designer fixtures and hardwood floors throughout.

Whoever snagged the space will also be able to enjoy a 24-hour concierge, a swimming pool, and a yoga room ... just to name a few of the building's amenities.

We're told she's already bought a new place in The Big Apple and the new pad is currently undergoing renovations. She's currently spending her summer at her home, "Blue Stone Manor" in The Berkshires of western Massachusetts.