Money

Carole Baskin bought a home late last year ... with funds from her Big Cat Rescue org ... TMZ has learned.

Carole and her husband Howard got the Odessa, FL house for $895,000. The deed, obtained by TMZ, lists Big Cat Rescue as the property owner. There is no mortgage evident from the deed, so it appears the property was purchased outright with Big Cat Rescue funds.

BCR is a charitable org and Carole is the CEO. Carole tells TMZ, she bought the place after she and Howard sold their sanctuary/headquarters and moved the cats to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.

Melania Trump is recalling the first time her now-husband, Donald, made a pass at her ... revealing 45 went about the flirtation in an unconventional way.

The former First Lady shared the memory in her memoir, titled "Melania," confessing Donald approached her at a 1998 Fashion Week party ... while on a date with someone else.

As Melania put it ... the former prez made his way over to her at the industry event, even though he was escorted by an "attractive blonde woman" that evening.

Diddy's latest accuser -- who's suing him for allegedly raping her and recording it -- tried to get her now-ex-boyfriend to corroborate her claim by paying him 7-figures, according to the ex ... TMZ has learned.

Thalia Graves is suing Diddy and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, for allegedly raping her back in 2001 -- and in the suit, she says she was dating one of Diddy's employees who was shown a video of the alleged incident.

However, TMZ has seen a November 2023 text exchange between Thalia and the man who was her BF, and in it, she reveals she's planning to sue Diddy "because he's the one that has the money."

Tekashi 6ix9ine isn't sweatin' the fine print in his new record deal ... which requires the rapper to stay out of trouble to keep his payday.

We caught up with the musical artist on "TMZ Live" Tuesday, where he explained why the special clause in his new contract doesn't have him worried. As he put it ...  he views himself as a "squeaky clean" individual -- and trouble just happens to find him "all the time."

At the end of September, Tekashi 6ix9ine found himself in a heated exchange outside a nightclub in Miami, and was sued for revenge porn by an ex-girlfriend. So, here's hoping all this drama was settled before 69 signed on the dotted line!!!

9:35 AM PT -- According to Walker Buehler's reps, the incident actually took place back on Sept. 27 -- while he and a few of his teammates stayed home from the Dodgers' series with Colorado to prep for the postseason.

Buehler's reps say the pitcher and his wife, McKenzie, were attending the races at Santa Anita Park, when he was "unknowingly the victim of a snatch and grab robbery of his watch."

"The incident was reported to police and is currently under investigation," Buehler's reps said in a statement. "We are grateful Walker and McKenzie were not harmed and Walker is focused on the playoffs."

Tekashi 6ix9ine is taking his talents to Kartel Music ... signing a new record deal with the label that will pay him millions of dollars.

The rapper just inked a lucrative contract that calls for him to record a new album with Mexican regional artists and go on tour in the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.

According to the contract, obtained by TMZ, Tekashi is being paid $1 million for the album, which will feature 10 songs ... and he's going to make $250,000 for every concert of an upcoming tour. This all adds up to Tekashi potentially pocketing over $6 million.

Rihanna didn't have enough "Diamonds" to trump Taylor Swift's growing network ... the pop star just surpassed RiRi as the world's richest female musician.

A year after Swift joined the ranks of billionaire musicians, Forbes is reporting the "Cruel Summer" singer has since nabbed the top title ... which was previously held by Rihanna.

Per the outlet, Swift is now worth a reported $1.6 billion ... citing her sold-out "Eras" tour as the biggest boost to her financial portfolio. And, Taylor did make history with her money-making moves ... reportedly becoming the first musician to reach billionaire status mainly from her music and live shows.

The famed haunted house from "Poltergeist" is getting revived following a recent sale ... and it's coming back as a short term rental.

Christian Melgar and Zo Amilee with Coldwell Banker Realty Westlake Village tell TMZ ... the Simi Valley, CA house sold Friday for $1.28 million, which was $100,000 over the asking price.

We're told the new owner is an investor from Los Gatos, CA ... and they are planning to turn the home into an Airbnb that will replicate the actual "Poltergeist" film set.

In other words, each room will have furniture and décor that makes the space look just how it looked in the film.

Halloween is right around the corner and horror movie buffs would line up to rent the place, but we're told the home won't be ready in time ... because the owner wants to make it perfect and not rush things.

So, maybe next year folks.

As we reported ... the home -- which served as the central location in the Steven Spielberg-scripted supernatural flick -- went on the market back in August, the first time in 45 years the home had been listed.

Dolly Parton quickly got back to work after making a huge donation to Hurricane Helene relief ... and TMZ has video of her entertaining at a private event.

Here's the deal ... the country superstar just pledged $1 million to help Hurricane Helene victims in a partnership with Walmart ... the chain is donating a whopping $10 million!

While in Bentonville, Arkansas at the Walmart HQ on Friday ... Dolly put on a private show in an event for Walmart employees with 35, 40, or 45 years of service under their belt, TMZ learned.

Bronny James' NBA gear is rakin' in bank before ever playing a regular season game ... 'cause the young hooper's first Summer League jersey sold for over $38K!!

The purple and gold uniform top from the July 12 tilt between the Lakers and Houston Rockets at the Las Vegas SL was recently sold by Sotheby's (in mid-September) ... and is now part of "Lakers Shrine," one of if not the most impressive private collection of Lakers memorabilia in the world.

Bronny played 27 minutes, scoring 8 points in the contest.

The mother of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s two-year-old daughter is dragging the MLB superstar to court in an effort to try to get him to dole out more child support ... but the San Diego Padres outfielder's attorney claims she's spewing lies in the process.

Jennifer Rodriguez claimed this week in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, that back in September 2021 -- following a yearslong, non-exclusive relationship -- she became pregnant with Tatis Jr.'s child.

She said in the docs that, initially, she had hoped the two would work together to co-parent their kid ... but following a paternity test that confirmed Tatis Jr. was the father -- the baseball player and those close to him began treating the "impending birth like a business deal."

Christina Haack has put her Nashville-area home on the market ... and now her estranged husband Josh Hall has to pack his bags and move out.

Christina listed the modern farmhouse-style 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom pad in Franklin, Tennessee on Thursday for a whopping $4.5 million.

Christina bought the home, which has frequently been featured on HGTV's "Christina in the Country," for $2.5 million in 2021.

Here's Flavor Flav raising money for a cause near and dear to his heart in the most flavorful way possible ... selling a custom clock straight off his neck!!!

TMZ obtained video of the rapper taking the stage at the Black Music Action Coalition Gala in Beverly Hills and spontaneously auctioning off his blinged out clock.

A mini bidding war ensued, with Flavor Flav hyping up the crowd and putting on the hard sell ... and when the dust settled, the time piece sold for a cool $15,000.

Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are doing their part to make sure individuals affected by Hurricane Helene can get the assistance they need -- the two NFL stars donated $50k each to a relief fund.

The Falcons and Buccaneers quarterbacks made the combined $100k contribution to Team Rubicon -- a veteran-led humanitarian organization -- to help people who dealt with the impacts of Helene after its landfall back on September 26.

"We stand with those who have been affected," Mayfield said. "Honoring the lives lost and the families that are still in distress. Together, we can make a difference."

Pete Rose arguably signed more autographs than any ballplayer in MLB history, but that doesn't mean "Charlie Hustle" memorabilia isn't experiencing a sizeable boost in value in death, according to a top expert.

TMZ Sports talked to David Kohler, founder and president of SCP Auctions, just days after Rose's death ... and we asked whether items signed by the legendary Reds player have increased in worth following Pete's death on Monday.

"Every time a really important person in a game of a big American sport such as baseball passes, there's a lot of interest. I'm sure on eBay, there's a lot more sales now for his memorabilia," Kohler told us, while noting, "for a long, long time, [Pete] was at all the card shows, making appearances, signing a lot of balls and bats. He did it for a long time."

Edwin Castro's record-setting jackpot is staying in his hands -- a judge says the guy who accused Castro of stealing his Powerball ticket, doesn't have a case ... because he doesn't have the ticket in hand.

Jose Rivera had sued Edwin and the California State Lottery Commission claiming he had actually purchased the ticket that ended up being worth $2.04 billion. He alleged someone stole the ticket from him, and it somehow ended up in Castro's hands.

But, an L.A. County Judge has ruled, too bad, so sad ... essentially. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge said, "players are solely responsible for securing their Tickets against theft, loss, damage, or destruction" -- and, if Jose thought his ticket was stolen, he should've gone to cops.