Money

Ellen DeGeneres is likely laughing all the way to the bank after unloading her sprawling California estate for a massive price tag.

According to property records ... obtained by the Wall Street Journal ... the TV personality and her wife, Portia de Rossi, have sold their 10-acre estate in Santa Barbara County for a whopping $96 million.

The couple scooped up the home for $70 million back in 2022, and have reportedly sold it to mining magnate Robert Friedland.

A piece of Kobe Bryant's legacy is no longer on the market ... the warm-up jacket he wore before his last-ever NBA game has just sold at auction -- and it netted the seller a small fortune!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the threads the Black Mamba donned just prior to dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz back in April 2016 at the Staples Center racked up 35 bids -- and officially sold for $336,000.

The jacket -- which was photo-matched for authenticity -- had been up on the SCP Auctions block since mid-July.

The family of late singer Isaac Hayes is threatening to sue Donald Trump's presidential campaign ... claiming the former prez has been using one of his famous songs without permission at campaign rallies.

Lawyers for Isaac Hayes Enterprises fired off a legal warning shot, sending Trump and his campaign a notice of copyright infringement over the use of Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" at Trump rallies.

The singer's family says the anthem has been used at least 134 times at different political events between 2022 to 2024 without permission. Trump notably played the song in Harrisburg, PA back in July ... where he used the track to close out his rally.

Luke Bryan's selling his Florida beachfront home ... and someone finally pulled together the kinda scratch he was looking for -- 8 figures worth -- to part ways with the property.

TMZ has learned the country singer has a pending sale for his five-bedroom, five-bathroom home on the Sunshine State's panhandle. Luke was asking $12.95 million -- an astronomical price -- but one buyer clearly thinks it's worth it.

The 4,645-square-foot house sits on over an acre of land in Santa Rosa Beach complete with a Gulf adjacent pool -- for days when walking those 100 or so extra steps just doesn't seem worth it -- heart pine floors, elevated ceilings and a modern kitchen full of the newest appliances.

The fan who caught Shohei Ohtani's historic 176th home run is about to be a whole lot richer ... TMZ Sports has learned the man's putting the ball up for auction -- and it's expected to net him a small fortune!!

The guys over at Heritage Auctions tell us ... Jason Patino -- who snagged the record-setting baseball after Ohtani blasted it toward him in an April 21 victory over the Mets -- is selling the memento on their block, and they're figuring it'll eventually go for around $200,000.

The ball, of course, holds a ton of value ... as it marked the official breaking of Hideki Matsui's MLB record for dingers by a Japanese-born slugger.

Jeff Bezos didn't get to be one of the richest people in the world by squandering money ... so thought an Italian dude who offered the billionaire a deal he couldn't refuse.

Jeff and fiancée Lauren Sanchez were tooling along a beach in Sardinia when they came upon a guy selling sun dresses on the sand. It's a thing ... merchants pitching their wares on the beach, thinking beachgoers would find it irresistible to upgrade their fits.

J&L gave him a smile, but passed on the schmatta.

They had ventured off their super yacht to lunch with Leo DiCaprio, his GF Vittoria Ceretti, Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry, all of whom are guests on Bezo's big boat.

Jay-Z is staking legal claim to the master recordings of his iconic debut album ... and it's a "buyer beware" notice, of sorts, to anyone getting ready to drop more than $1 million to buy Damon Dash's share of Roc-A-Fella Records.

TMZ Hip Hop has learned Jay's attorneys just made a legal filing that might normally fly under the radar, but here's why it's suddenly very relevant. As we first reported, Dame's third of Roc-A-Fella is going up for auction later this month, and the label's only real asset is Jay-Z's 1996 album, "Reasonable Doubt."

While Roc-A-Fella currently holds the copyright on the record and all its tracks ... Jay's attorneys have now filed notice that those rights will revert to one Shawn Carter/"Jay-Z" in 2031.

Christina Ricci's walking away from her home sale with exactly what she wanted ... taking millions with her to a new pad, as she got every dollar of her original listing price.

Our real estate sources say Christina sold her home in the L.A. suburb of Woodland Hills for $2.249 million, the exact price she asked when she put it on the market back in June.

Ricci's house was only on the market for 50 days -- not every celeb is that lucky -- before someone snatched up the 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home in the popular neighborhood.

Joe Haden's retired from the NFL, but he's still racking up wins ... TMZ Sports has learned he just scored a huge profit on the sale of his L.A. mansion.

The former Browns superstar bought the place for $4.3 million in 2016 -- but we're told he punted it just a few days ago for a whopping $6.5 mil.

It's unclear who the buyer was -- but we know Stephen Sweeney of The Beverly Hills Estates repped them ... and we also know the new owner got a sick house in the deal.

A well-known Italian soccer team was on the verge of going bankrupt ... but after starting from the bottom, now they're here -- and it's all thanks to Drake!!!

Venezia FC -- located in Venice, Italy -- is one of the most beloved soccer teams in the country. The org. was founded in 1907 and has been a mainstay on the Italian soccer scene ever since, spending most of its time in the Serie B division.

After years of struggling to earn promotion, the team finally made it back to Serie A in the Summer of 2021 -- the first time in two decades. The promotion was short-lived, as the team finished last that very next season ... bumping Venezia back to Serie B.

Nelly's arrest in a Missouri casino didn't stop him from cashing in his big win from a slot machine ... we're told the rapper walked away with a hefty chunk of change.

The hit-maker's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, tells TMZ ... his client did collect his money from a $50,000 jackpot on a slot machine Wednesday morning at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles, Missouri. That's the good news to go with Nelly's bad news -- as we reported, the win led to him getting booked for an active warrant.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Nelly initially thought the arrest was a joke or a prank, as he was in the middle of collecting his winnings when a background check revealed the open warrant.

We're told Nelly was first handcuffed to a chair ... with one hand free to collect the remainder of the cash.

The CrossFit community is coming together to support Serbian athlete Lazar Dukic's family after he drowned at the 2024 CrossFit Games ... with hundreds of people donating tens of thousands of dollars in wake of the tragedy.

FITAID -- a drink company who was one of Dukic's business partners -- started a GoFundMe on Thursday ... with an initial goal of raising $30K.

But, the contributions are pouring in by the minute ... with more than $75,000 raised at the time of this post. The new goal has been set at $100,000.

Marc Anthony's house in the Dominican Republic went up in flames Thursday ... burning up part of the building -- and a local TV crew caught it all on camera.

The singer-songwriter's villa burst into flames ... and check out the clip, because this wasn't a small contained flame ... the whole roof of the house -- dubbed "El Oasis" -- is completely gone. Support beams underneath are covered in fire.

Firefighting personnel were on the scene to put the flames out ... with thick black smoke pluming off the building -- visible from far away.

Social media gossiper Tasha K just found herself on the wrong end of another lawsuit ... this time, a man claims she and her crew beat him up in a Miami club!!!

According to docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Tasha K, her husband Cheickna Kebe and We In Miami podcaster Slim Stunta are being sued by a man named Omar Graham.

Graham says he was an invited guest at a private influencer party in November 2023 and says he had an exchange with Tasha at the bar in which he "verbally complimented her body and appearance" ... and he claims that minutes later, Tasha's husband and entourage pounced on him and decked him in the head with a bottle.

Lauryn Hill is finally breaking her silence on the surprise cancellation of the North American leg of the Fugees reunion tour -- Turns out, it came down to low ticket sales.

In a social media statement, the singer pointed to skewed, clickbait press headlines about an injury that forced her to reschedule her tour last year ... claiming they created a negative narrative that turned people off from buying tickets.

As you can tell, Lauryn was seriously pissed off ... explaining her trust and commitment to her art were overshadowed by this frustrating portrayal -- and no one’s more disappointed than she is about not being able to perform.

Cate Blanchett's star-making role in "Lord of the Rings" wasn't as glamorous as one would imagine ... as the actress admits she was paid practically nothing for the fantasy flick.

The A-lister made the confession during her appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" Wednesday, where she left host Andy Cohen shocked when she hinted at her minimal paycheck for the 'LOTR' franchise.

Cate confessed she and her castmates weren't "paid anything" to appear in Peter Jackson's trilogy back in the early '00s.