• Favorite headline of the morning: “Bowling Not Always An Option For Blacks.” What if it’s an option, but it bores you to tears every time you do it? [DFP]
• Your 401(k)? Please don’t forget about it. []
• And now for the obligatory Beyonce. She and her mom are launching a line of House of Dereon prom dresses. Oh no yay!
• John Edwards isn’t giving up on black voters. It’s a good thing, because we’re all going to die or go to jail if he doesn’t get elected. [CNN]
• Kim Fields got married, and Us Weekly didn’t even notice. I wonder why. [People]
I rarely do “Caption This” posts, preferring to titillate bore you with my dazzling words. But this picture, spotted at Celebrity Babylon, begs a different sort of treatment. It was bad enough when a young Justin Combs was caught , but the glint in the eyes of little D’Lila Star or Jessie James as she holds her Daddy’s platinum card is proof that Diddy is breeding a generation of dangerous mini-hims.
Please, weigh in with captions. The best one wins a prize!*
*My undying respect.
No matter how rich small screen entertainers might think they are, there’s always Oprah, who, according to Forbes‘ recently released “TV’s Top Earners” list, made $200 million more than the 2nd person on the list over the past year. Eat your heart out Jerry Seinfeld! You think you can top Oprah making just $60 million a year! You’re crazy.
Tyra Banks also made the top 20 at #12, with $18 million earned from June 2006 to June 2007, proving money can buy a lot of things, but not necessarily a good wig. Check out the full list after the jump.
CONTINUED »
Not to speak ill of the dead, of course, but when a guy’s finances and family life are in a complete and total shambles nearly a year after his death, you’ve got to come to the conclusion that James Brown left this earth with many, many unresolved issues. And unclaimed children, but that’s a different story for a different time.
Special administrators appointed to look into the handling of James Brown’s estate have told a judge that a former trustee may have misappropriated up to $7 million of the late soul singer’s money.
The judge agreed that Brown’s heirs could pursue those claims and ordered the ex-trustee to pay $370,000 back to the estate, on top of $350,000 the man repaid last month.
At that rate, the trustee is going to be paying back that $7 million he took for quite a while. And with look-a-like children coming out of the woodwork, they’re going to need every penny of that trust for the mass payout.
[SP]
For a split second there, I was sort of believing Wesley Snipes that he was innocent of the tax fraud charges against him. But now that I hear about him stiffing his management agency $1.7 million, I’m seeing a financial pattern of sorts.
Perhaps he got enough money from Gallowwalker, The Contractor, and the appropriately named Hard Luck — his last three movies on IMDB — to make this little problem of his go away quickly. Common sense says no, though.
Nino Brown would never have found himself in such a pickle.
[]
• Bob Johnson recent experiences with racism come from white people not understanding how insanely, unimaginably rich he is. [WP]
• Despite Mychal Bell’s conviction getting overthrown, protesters will still rally Thursday for the Jena 5. []
• I can’t really be mad. The cash is really all 50 Cent has left. []
• Oh, the conundrum of American history — celebrating the beginning of our country means celebrating something else a lot more sinister. [DP]
• The NAACP continues to rally for a North Carolina black man they say is wrongly accused of raping and murdering a young woman. [WRAL]
• The California Parks Dept. realized the PR disaster on their hands and paid off a farmer who had plans to build huge, stinking dairy farms next one of the states most important African American historical sites. [NYT]
• Economists continue to scratch their heads over why on earth blacks and hispanics have higher-cost subprime mortgage loans. [USAT]
• Racism is all the rage with the young kids these days. [WP]
• Steve Biko’s message is still relevant in post-apartheid South Africa. []
• Beating up a witness in her shooting case probably won’t help Remy Ma’s situation. [IHT]
The 2007 U.S. Poverty Guidelines — you know, the federally accepted “poverty line” used for statistics and eligibility for federal programs — are out. And guess what? For a family of 8, the poverty line starts at $34, 570 a year. I know from experience that this amount is barely enough to feed, house, and clothe a family of one and a small, adorable cockapoo named Charli. Not in New York City, anyway. According the to federal government, the poverty guideline for a single person is $10,210.
With this in mind, consider the fact that 36.5 million people — roughly the state of California’s population — lived in poverty last year. They were weeded out using these guidelines. Using my personal opinion of what poverty is, that number is probably at least 2 times that. At this rate, I’m bordering on rich.
[, HHS]
Sometimes people spend a lot of money and collect things in a sad attempt to fill other voids in their lives. I’m just sayin’…
‘I DON’T know why everything I like has to be, like - the most expensive limestone that was somebody’s antique floor in France! For some reason, I always gravitate toward that.”
So says Mariah Carey, telling Interview’s Ingrid Sischy why she doesn’t own very much art. Her tastes are too extravagant.
So is this why she’s never wearing enough clothes? She would be totally covered up in extravagant couture, but then she wouldn’t have any money. Finally, some understanding!
[ via MG]
How annoying must it be for 50 Cent that his Vitamin Water deal came through after the cut off date for Forbes first ever Hip Hop Cash Kings list? In 2006, he only made a measly $32 million to Jay-Z’s $34 million, so he came in second place.
Our estimates are based solely on 2006 income. In March, Jay-Z sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix (nasdaq: ICON - news - people ) for $204 million. Forbes estimates he pocketed about a quarter of that, after taxes and other payable commitments. And in May, Coca Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ) announced it would buy Glaceau, maker of VitaminWater, for $4.2 billion in cash. Once the deal is consummated, 50 Cent, who agreed to endorse the brand in 2004 in exchange for a small stake, should walk away with some $100 million.
Diddy, who’s no longer the biggest baller in the land, came in third with $28 million. He’d better sell something big this year or else he’s going to look really small next to 50 and Jay on next years list.
If you want to have a really depressing weekend, watch an E! special about the list this Saturday at 6 pm while you balance your checkbook and cry.
