Last week, Donald Trump's silly suit against author Timothy O'Brien was tossed out of court by a New Jersey judge. Now another one of his silly legal actions has ended in defeat. Trump filed suit against the law firm Morrison Cohen last year for having the audacity to list him as a client on its website.
• 50 Cent has put his estate in Farmington, Conn. back on the market—for about $8 million less than what he was seeking two years ago when when he first listed it. The 51,000-square-foot house, which comes with 19 bedrooms, 37 bathrooms, and a fully-functional club with stripper poles, had been listed for $14.5 million when it was taken off the market last month. It now can be yours for the bargain basement price of $10.9 million. [NYP, NYDN, CB]
• The former home of the late novelist Mary Cantwell has sold after nearly two years on the market. The 3,720-square-foot townhouse at 21 Perry Street, which was first listed for $7.75 million in 2007, was purchased for $5.7 million by Brandon Haley, a portfolio manager at Ken Griffin's Chicago-based hedge fund, Citadel Investment Group, and his wife Anna. [Cityfile]
Jared Kushner learns quick. And he's going to blend into the Trump family just fine. WWD reports today that the engagement ring he gave Ivanka was from Ivanka's own collection, a 5.22 cushion cut diamond that's "proprietary" to Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry™. Ivanka will now serve as a living, breathing ad for her engagement ring line (as well as benefit from the press attention that follows). And Jared—hopefully!—managed to knock a few bucks off the price thanks to this most personal connection. Most importantly:
• McGraw-Hill, which announced recently that it's looking to get rid of BusinessWeek, has now announced plans to get rid of 550 employees. [WSJ]
• Jim Spanfeller, the president and CEO of Forbes.com, either decided to leave the company or was forced out, depending on who you talk to. [DF, NYT]
• As expected, the new Harry Potter movie raked it in yesterday. [THR]
• Donald Trump's long-running libel lawsuit against author (and New York Times business editor) Timothy O'Brien has been dismissed by a judge. [NYP]
Eva Longoria is delightfully kinky, Leo DiCaprio is cruising for new tail, Lily Allen proclaims her desire to bone a rocker, Victoria Beckham is taking acting classes, Emma Watson and Robert Pattinson are "just friends," and Demi hits the beach.
• Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie moving to NYC and into a giant apartment at the Apthorp? That's the rumor! [NYDN]
• The good news/bad news for Madonna: She's getting along much better with her ex, Guy Ritchie, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, the reconciliation isn't making Madonna's boyfriend, Jesus Luz, very happy. [DM]
• After six months in St. Lucia, Amy Winehouse is lonely, homesick, and deeply unpopular with the locals. So now she may return to the U.K. where she's totally adored, naturally, [DE]
• Boys will be boys: Leonardo DiCaprio looked like he was "on the prowl" in NYC last week. And Jeremy Piven looked like he was "ogling" Hayden Panettiere the other night. [P6, P6]
When we noted Stewart Rahr's fondness for yellow sunglasses a couple of weeks ago, we had no idea that the pharmaceutical mogul (and 227th richest man in America) was planning to spread the trend. But he clearly is, since he managed to get Bill Clinton to wear a pair the other day. After the jump, a photo of one of Rahr's other recent conquests. Michael Phelps and Donald Trump: You're up next.
Were you aware there are two groups of real estate moguls with the last name Trump running around town and they're not even related? The Real Deal has the story on the "other Trumps"—Eddie Trump and his brother Jules—who not only have "no financial, philosophical or even familial ties to Donald Trump," they actually kind of despise one another, too. "The difference with Eddie and Jules is that they build their own buildings," explains an employee of the lesser-known Trumps who goes on to describe Donald as a "peddler." "They don't take a label and stick it on somebody else's product. Donald Trump isn't that involved in his projects. He comes down, makes three appearances, gets his commission and goes away." Eddie and Donald do seem to both enjoy posing with B-listy celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and CariDee English—and they both appear to be rather fond of lavender clothing—so if you inadvertently figured they were related, well, you're forgiven. [The Real Deal]
In the wake of Billy Joel and Katie Lee Joel's big breakup last week, Jo Piazza takes a look at the trophy wife phenomenon for The Daily Beast today. And you know what? It turns out it's a pretty good gig. A "transitory stepping stone into a better life," the job doesn't necessarily have to last all that long; a trophy wife may only be forced to sleep with the creepy old man she's vowed to remain with for the rest of her life for a matter of months, in fact. "The shelf life for the typical trophy wife—the time it takes her to increase her monetary and social standing for the rest of her days—is typically two or three years," which, as Piazza points out, is less time than the time it takes to attend medical school. (And Lord knows training to become a doctor doesn't come with boozy afternoons at charity golf tournaments or trips to the Côte d'Azur.)
• Just when you thought Lindsay Lohan couldn't do anything to surprise you: It seems $400,000 worth of Christian Dior jewelry went missing following an Elle photo shoot in London. The last person to see it? That would be Lohan, who is now being sought by investigators for questioning. [NYDN, TMZ]
• Despite rumors to the contrary, Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone did not get married in Provincetown last weekend. It'll go down later this summer, however. [WWD]
• Adrian Grenier was seen "getting cozy" with Twilight star Ashley Greene. [P6]
• Paris Hilton says she's just getting to know soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. Her definition of "know" is probably different from yours. [Mirror]
Blow a kiss in Adriana Lima's direction. The supermodel turns 28 today. Others celebrating: Yankees star Hideki Matsui is turning 35. Deputy mayor Kevin Sheekey is turning 43. David Rockefeller is 94. Sports Marv Albert is turning 68. Real estate broker Michele Kleier is 66. Hunter College president Jennifer Raab turns 53. Kendra Wilkinson is turning 24. And George H. W. Bush celebrates his 85th birthday today. Weekend birthdays—including those of the Olsen twins and Donald Trump—after the jump.
• It looks like it's over for Paris Hilton and boyfriend Doug Reinhardt. Please excuse us while we go get a big box of tissues; we really weren't mentally prepared for news this upsetting this morning. [People, Sun]
• A couple of weeks ago, it was Gwynnie Paltrow who was getting blamed for setting A-Rod up with Kate Hudson. Now real estate "superagent" Adam Modlin is taking credit for brokering the transaction. Go figure. [NYDN]
• Maybe Kanye West and Amber Rose didn't break up, after all. Or maybe they did break up, but they're spending a lot of time together anyway? It's a mystery, really. [P6]
• Coco Rocha is not going to be an intern at Vogue this summer. She's just spending a lot of time there so she can "learn more about the business." [WWD]
Is Donald Trump really a billionaire or is it all smoke and mirrors? Details about Trump's true net worth are emerging in a New Jersey courtroom as Trump goes head to head with Tim O'Brien, the author of 2005's TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald. In his book, O'Brien had the nerve to suggest the real estate mogul was only worth between $150 and $250 million; Trump, enraged by the estimate, fired back with a $5 billion defamation lawsuit. At the time, Trump explained that the size of the suit was based on what he was actually worth, although as depositions in the case now show, Trump wasn't exactly sitting in front of an Excel spreadsheet as he tallied up his assets. (At one point, he said that he relied on "mental calculations" to come up with his figure.)
For years, doctors and researchers have stressed the importance of getting eight or nine hours of sleep. Sleep-deprived zombies can take heart in the list of people who do with much less: Barack Obama, for example, says he gets by with just four hours a night and yet he still seems capable of, like, running the country and stuff. (As for whether the same is true for members of Obama's inner circle, well, that's another issue.)
• George Clooney went out to celebrate his 48th birthday last week, had too much to drink, and ended up hurling in the VIP area. Clooney denies it was him, though, and says he was just "sitting next to someone who did throw up." [NYDN]
• Cops were called to Lindsay Lohan's house yesterday after a security alarm sounded and officers initially thought the house had been ransacked. It turns out Lindsay always keeps her house that way, which means in addition to everything else, she probably could use a good housekeeper, too. [TMZ]
• Marie Douglas-David has been embroiled in a nasty divorce with her elderly husband George David. Now she has a new man. She's dating a Swedish financier named Johan Saxon, and he's only seven years older than her. [P6]
• Lydia Hearst is going topless—again—in a new movie with Jason Behr. [P6]
