Ron Burkle

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Neverland Ranch Sells for a Fraction of Original Price

Michael Jackson's property was listed at $100M in 2016, just sold for $22M

(Newser) - Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California has found a new owner in billionaire businessman Ron Burkle, the AP reports. Burkle views the 2,700-acre property in Los Olivos, near Santa Barbara, as a land banking opportunity, his spokesman said Thursday in an email. The Wall Street Journal reports the...

Clinton Turns Back on Burkle, $20M

Amount owed from former business deal may have diminished with economy

(Newser) - Bill Clinton has called it quits with Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos, walking away from a payment once estimated at up to $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton began distancing himself from Yucaipa in 2007 as Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House heated up, and continued to...

Year's Top 10 Moments of Celeb Activism

Oprah, Paris, Will.i.am make a difference

(Newser) - It’s been a big year for celebrity activism—so big that it deserves its own year-end top 10 list, Tina Daunt writes in the Los Angeles Times. Some famous faces that made a difference in 2008:
  • Oprah Winfrey fought hard for Barack Obama, including hosting a traffic-stopping garden party.
...

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M
 'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M 
Dec 16, 2008 4:23 PM CST

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M

Ann Hathaway's ex says he wants to repay fraud victims, but may be too broke

(Newser) - Raffaello Follieri, the jailed ex-boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway who used alleged connections to the pope to scam investors, has agreed to return $3.6 million to victims, including two priests and celeb-billionaire Ron Burkle. It’s a small chunk of the $13 million the “Vati-Con” is accused of...

Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea
 Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea
Sep 10, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea

Admits laundered money used to fund his lavish lifestyle

(Newser) - Wearing prison attire, Raffaelo Follieri pleaded guilty today to 14 federal counts of fraud and money laundering, Reuters reports. "I knew what I was doing was wrong," actress Anne Hathaway's ex said as he admitted misrepresenting his ties to the Vatican and using investors' money to fund his...

Hathaway's Ex Considers Copping Plea

High-living Follieri weighs deal with feds on fraud charges

(Newser) - Italian entrepreneur Raffaello Follieri may plead guilty as soon as today to fraud and money-laundering, the Wall Street Journal reports. Anne Hathaway's ex could still opt for a trial. He faces federal charges that carry a sentence of up to 5 years, even with the plea deal, but the government's...

High-Rolling Hathaway Ex Charged With Fraud

Raffaelo Follieri said to use Vatican in scam, which ensnared billionaire Burkle, others

(Newser) - Actress Anne Hathaway’s ex-boyfriend was charged today with defrauding investors of millions with a real-estate scheme in which Raffaello Follieri claimed intimate connections with the Vatican, the Smoking Gun reports. Billionaire Ron Burkle appears to be the "principal investor" scammed by Follieri, 29, who used Burkle’s money...

Is Bill Losing His Grip?
 Is Bill Losing His Grip? 
Glossies
Jun 2, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Is Bill Losing His Grip?

Vanity Fair spots the stains on Teflon Bill’s retirement clothes

(Newser) - As Hillary’s campaign staggers to a close, a professional Clinton-watcher shines the flashlight back into a familiar face—her husband’s. Bill has had a checkered ex-presidency, Todd Purdum reports in Vanity Fair, as a phalanx of former aides spills about girlfriends (including, maybe, Walter Mondale’s daughter), cash,...

$20M Payday May Await Bill Clinton
$20M Payday May Await
Bill Clinton
Jan 22, 2008 12:30 PM CST

$20M Payday May Await Bill Clinton

Ex-prez will cut ties to Ron Burkle's company, ruler of Dubai

(Newser) - Hoping to insulate his wife’s presidential campaign from potential conflicts of interest, Bill Clinton is negotiating to untangle himself from a business relationship with billionaire Ron Burkle that includes a potentially sensitive link to Dubai, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the process, Clinton could earn a $20 million...

Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood
Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood
Oct 5, 2007 6:15 AM CDT

Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood

After flirtation with Barack Obama, entertainment power brokers now back Clinton

(Newser) - After an early romance with Barack Obama, entertainment industry power brokers have largely switched their affection to Hillary Clinton, the Los Angeles Times reports, finding the former first lady more charming and personable than they had expected. Director Rob Reiner, who had been skeptical that Clinton could be elected, is...

Rivals Team Up on 11th-Hour Dow Offer

Greenspan, Burkle hatch partial buyout option for W SJ owner

(Newser) - Supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle and former MySpace CEO Brad Greenspan may join forces to make at least a partial bid for the Wall Street Journal's parent company, say sources close to the discussions. The pair met yesterday with members of the Dow Jones board to craft an alternative to Rupert...

Dow Makes Last-Ditch Play for New Offer

Board goes after alternatives to Murdoch sale

(Newser) - As Rupert Murdoch tries to finalize a deal to take control of Dow Jones, the company is making a last effort to find an alternate buyer, pushed by a holdout director, Leslie Hill, who's a member of the controlling Bancroft family. The Wall Street Journal reports that among those being...

Union Seeks Journal Savior
Union Seeks Journal Savior
Jun 5, 2007 4:48 PM CDT

Union Seeks Journal Savior

Burkle agrees to talks with Dow Jones employees

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal employees' union, in search of a white knight as Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch appear to be moving closer to a deal, has enlisted the help of supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle. News Corp. has offered $60 a share for the company, and one analyst tells Bloomberg,...

Geffen, Zell Talk Deal For LA Times

Geffen wants it; Zell has $13 billion in debt to pay down

(Newser) - David Geffen wants to get his hands on the LA Times, and he's optimistic that he may yet succeed after talking to Sam Zell, the feisty real estate mogul who bought the Tribune Company Monday. The two discussed both a spin-off and a joint venture partnership, sources close to the...

Tribune Sold To Zell
Tribune Sold
To Zell
Apr 2, 2007 9:45 AM CDT

Tribune Sold To Zell

Real estate magnate will take it private; Cubs for sale

(Newser) - Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell won a last-minute bidding  war to buy the Tribune Compay with a $34-a-share offer, reports the Chicago Tribune. Zell will take the media conglomerate private in a deal that includes an employee stock ownership plan. The Cubs will be sold separately.

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