The Hollywood Hills home where Kendall Jenner was both stalked and burgled back in March of 2017 is back on the market, and at a significantly higher price than the sum Jenner got. Jenner sold the house for $6.5 million in 2017. It was just listed for $8.5 million following an extensive renovation of the home.

Kendall Jenner isn’t the only celebrity to have called this house home. She bought it from married actors John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, who apparently did not suffer any major theft incidents while they were the property’s owners.

Kendall Jenner lost approximately $200,000 worth of jewelry in one heist. On another occasion an obsessed fan was arrested by police for hanging around the gate of the property, waiting for Jenner to get home.

These incidents aren’t mentioned in the home’s official marketing materials, of course. Here’s how the $8.5 million listing is being described:

“Located behind tall gates at the end of a long private gated driveway in one of the most sought after exclusive locations and best streets in the Hollywood Hills. This extraordinary architectural estate is perfect for those who require the utmost in privacy. Featuring incredible modern design, quality, and craftsmanship. Approximately 4,800 sf set amidst complete privacy and overlooking beautiful city views. Featuring soaring ceilings, great walls for art, incredible indoor and outdoor living perfect for large scale entertaining. Beautiful living room, gourmet kitchen opens to family room, formal dining, bar, theatre, recording studio, gym, and state-of-the-art details. There is an extremely luxurious master suite, stunning guest rooms, an amazing pool, and rooftop deck overlooking the city.”

Kendall Jenner came to believe the house was “jinxed” in some way, before eventually managing to sell it to its current owner anyway. The home has since been thoroughly renovated, but you can take a look at the home’s previous appearance in the video below from Beverly Hills Aerials:

Larry Xiangdong Chen had a great 2020. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the share price of his online tutoring company GSX Techedu (ticker symbol GOTU), surged. Unfortunately 2021 has been less positive for Larry. Not only has COVID retreated, allowing kids back in schools and away from online learning, but China has begun to crackdown on the online education sector in general. As a result, his company’s share price has fallen nearly 90% since the beginning of the year.

In February 2021, GOTU shares traded for $103. Today the share price sits at $16.

That drop shaved Larry’s net worth from an all-time peak of $16 billion to around $1.5 billion today. In other words, Larry has seen $14.5 billion wiped off his net worth in the last few months alone.

GSX Techedu is a Chinese education technology company offering online tutoring for K-12 students, through its online education platform Genshuixue. The company also offers foreign language and professional training courses for adults. It was an extremely popular and perfectly-timed service as COVID wreaked havoc on the world’s education system. As kids go back to the classroom it has become less useful.

Making matters worse, China’s President Xi Jinping has focused a new intense scrutiny on the education sector, claiming that after-school tutoring is negatively affecting children’s well-being. Techedu has shut down its pre-school education sector for children ages three to eight due to the Chinese government’s ban on kindergarten and private-tutoring schools engaging in elementary school curriculum. The company has had to fire nearly a third of its staff.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

Losing A Fortune

In early January, Chen’s net worth peaked at $16 billion.

In March, Techedu’s main investor, Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management collapsed, leading to a 56% drop in share price in one day. Further complicating matters, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Chen’s company after more than a dozen research reports revealed GSX may have inflated its projected revenue. The reports, it should be noted, come from firms that specialize in short selling.

Chen owns 44% of his company’s outstanding shares. The company went public in June 2019.

Chen comes from a small, poor Chinese village. He was a middle-school teacher until 1999 when he joined New Oriental Education and Technology Group. He rose through the ranks to become that firm’s executive president. He left in 2014 to found GSX Techedu.

From middle-school teacher to billionaire is still a great story! But perhaps not quite as exciting as middle-school teacher to $16 BILLIONAIRE ?

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is inching along in its bankruptcy proceedings and in the multitude of lawsuits filed as a result of its allegedly aggressive opioid sales tactics. Prosecutors alleged that Purdue Pharma hired a consulting firm that pushed sales reps to target doctors they identified as “high prescribing.” One doctor allegedly wrote an additional 167 prescriptions for OxyContin after a sales rep made additional visits to their practice. Thousands of lawsuits were filed against Purdue Pharma by state attorney generals and others.

Government officials and public health officials place the blame for the U.S.’s opioid epidemic pretty much squarely on the proverbial shoulders of Purdue and its billionaire former owners, the Sackler family.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in reaction to the hundreds of lawsuits that had been filed against the company. There’s been more than a year of negotiations for Purdue’s bankruptcy plan. This week, a federal judge approved the plan, which brings the members of the Sackler family one step closer to not facing any personal liability for future lawsuits related to OxyContin.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The immunity from prosecution would apply to dozens of members of the Sackler family, more than 160 trusts, and at least 170 companies, consultants, and other businesses and entities tied to the Sacklers.

An attorney representing Purdue pointed out that due to the fact that the Sackler family is paying $4.275 billion in fines, they expect to be done with this chapter of their lives from this point on.

Purdue Pharma has pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to its opioid marketing schemes in the past, but no member of the Sackler family has ever faced criminal charges. They have continuously maintained their innocence. The Sacklers will pay the more than $4 billion fine and they have given up control of the family business as well. The Sacklers paid $225 million as part of their settlement with the DOJ while denying the allegations against them.

A number of government officials believe some members of the family were aware of the highly addictive nature of OxyContin but went ahead with the aggressive sales tactics anyway.

Despite the judge’s approval of the bankruptcy plan, 24 states oppose the deal because it will rob them of the ability to sue individual members of the family.

The approval isn’t the end of the road for Purdue, it’s merely a step in the process so that Purdue’s creditors can begin to recoup some money. Over the next several weeks, more than 600,000 state and local governments, companies, and individuals will vote on the bankruptcy package, which has been described as one of the most controversial and complicated bankruptcies in history.

If the plan is rejected, the situation could devolve into years of litigation that would cost claimants billions in legal fees.

Today is Allen Iverson’s 46th birthday. On this day in 9 years, Allen will finally inherit an infamous $32 million trust fund. The trust fund was established by Reebok back in 2001. The trust fund’s distribution date is June 7, 2030. Allen’s 55th birthday. How did this arrangement come to be? Was this actually a good financial move? Will Allen get the full trust, or does his ex-wife get half? Let’s look for The Answer.

Let’s start with that first question:

How Did The Trust Fund Get Set Up In The First Place?

Over 15 seasons in the NBA, Allen earned $155 million in NBA salary and roughly $50 – $100 million from endorsements. That brings his total career earnings up to $200 – $250 million. The vast majority of his endorsement income came from shoe company Reebok. Allen signed his first Reebok contract in 1996 right after the 76ers took him with the #1 pick of the NBA draft. That first contract was worth $50 million over 10 years, aka $5 million per year.

After winning the 2001 NBA MVP award, Allen and Reebok convened to talk about the future. Even though he still had 5 years left on that original deal, Reebok wanted to be in the Allen Iverson business forever.

So a new deal was struck. A very unique deal thanks to three important terms:

1) Allen would be paid $800,000 per year for the rest of his life.

2) Allen would continue earning $5-10 million per year for the remainder of his professional career.

3) Reebok would set aside $32 million in a trust fund for Allen to inherit on his 55th birthday, 29 years in the future at that point.

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How Did The World Learn About The Trust Fund?

Despite earning $200 – $250 million during his career (before taxes), Allen was broke a few years after retiring.

How?

Well, throughout his career Iverson’s profligate spending was the stuff of legends, even by NBA standards.

Instead of maintaining a more-common 3-5 person NBA entourage, he was known to travel with an entourage of 50 people. He showered these same people with luxurious jewelry, expensive cars and exotic vacations. He showered himself with jewelry, cars, homes and vacations.

He was also a bad gambler in both senses of the word. He gambled a lot and was not particularly good at it. Iverson was known to drop over a million dollars gambling in single evenings in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Allen’s financial problems came to light after his wife Tawanna filed for divorce and demanded custody and full support for their five children. In a December 2012 court filing, Iverson told a judge that his monthly income was $62,500. Nice, right? Well, unfortunately his expenses were $360,000. Leaving him $300k in the hole every single month. An annual debt accumulation of $3.6 million. Here’s how the filing broke down some of Iverson’s expenses:

• $125,000 to cover various mortgage and creditor debts
• $10,000 on restaurants and entertainment
• $10,000 on groceries
• $10,000 on clothes

Tawanna knew Allen was cash poor today, but she also knew about the Reebok trust fund. So she petitioned for a judge to give her half of the $800,000 annual pension and half of the $32 million trust fund when it is distributed in 2030.

That’s how the world learned of the trust fund’s existence.

There’s actually some debate today over whether or not Allen and Tawanna ever fully divorced. I have been under the impression that they did get divorced and the fund was split. I pointed this out on this day last year in response to a tweet from sports writer Darren Rovell:

“Allen Iverson turns 45 today. Ten years from today, on his 55th birthday, he receives a $32 million trust fund as part of a the lifetime Reebok deal he signed in 2001.”

Here’s my twitter exchange with Rovell:

Interesting twist! So maybe Allen will get the full $32 million after all? But that begs another question…

Was The Trust Fund Actually A Wise Choice?

A lot of people look back on the trust fund today and call it a brilliant financial move. People also love to compare it to Bobby Bonilla’s famous multi-decade contract.

For those who are unfamiliar, in 1999 the Mets owed Bobby $5.9 million. They also wanted him off the team. To make a smooth exit, Bobby negotiated a deal where  he gave up that $5.9 million and instead would earn $29.8 million from the Mets in 25 annual installments. This is why the 57-year-old Bobby Bonilla will earn $1.2 million per year from the Mets until 2035 – when he will be 72.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon loved the deal because at the time he was one of Bernie Madoff’s biggest clients and was therefore used to earning double digit annual returns on his money. Over 25 years, $5.9 million invested with Madoff would grow into far more than the roughly $30 million they would pay out over time.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. As we all know now, Madoff was running a massive Ponzi scheme and those double-digit annual returns were totally fake. Wilpon personally lost a good chunk of his net worth from the scandal. He nearly lost the Mets.

Financially speaking, it also technically wasn’t a great deal for Bobby Bonilla. Had Bobby taken $5.9 million in 1999 and gotten a 5% annual return (which wouldn’t have been guaranteed), by 2035 he would have $34 million.

Similar arguments can be made with Iverson’s trust fund. Yes it’s nice for Allen to earn $800k a year with a huge retirement fund decades in the future, BUT consider this:

Had Allen gotten a 5% annual return on $32 million, by 2030 he would have $87 million.

If you think that’s unlikely or hard to achieve, between January 2001 and today, with dividends reinvested, the S&P has had an annual average return of 6%.

So had Allen invested $32 million in an S&P index fund in January 2001 AND reinvested all stock dividends, today his trust fund would be worth $102 million. If he maintained 6% for the next 10 years, by 2030 he would have $183 million. Far far far more than $32 million + $800k per year.

Bottom line though, hindsight makes us all amazing investors. Maybe this was the best deal for Allen personally? He gets a great annual income by any standard, while having a major windfall to look forward to in his golden years. Risk free. Doesn’t get much better than that!

In 14 seasons at Alabama, Nick Saban has amassed a 165-23 record. Along the way, he’s won seven SEC championships and six national titles. That record includes an undefeated 2020 season that ended with the College Football Playoff National Championship.

So, it’s safe to say Saban can stay with the Crimson Tide for as long as he pleases.

Alabama knows as much, too. The university just offered its coach a three-year contract extension. The new deal will keep him in Tuscaloosa through the 2028 season. If Saban sees the contract all the way through, he’ll be 77 when it concludes.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The deal will pay Saban $8.425 million annually. He’ll also make $800,000 each season from 2022 through 2025. Add it all up and that’s $70.6 million over eight seasons.

Saban implied this contract will take him until retirement. Here’s what he said regarding the new deal.

“Terry and I are pleased and happy to sign another contract extension that will keep us in Tuscaloosa through the end of our career. Our family calls Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama home, it’s a place where our roots now run deep. This agreement gives us the chance to continue to impact the lives of the young men and their families who choose to play football and get an education at Alabama.”

Of course, Saban’s massive deal once again highlights the ongoing controversy around paying college players. Alabama does have a terrific track record of getting players to the draft, but that’s only a dozen or so players in a given year. Everyone else will simply have the opportunity to contend for a national title on a regular basis, which is no small feat.

For his entire career, Saban has an all-time record of 256-65-1. Before arriving in Tuscaloosa, he had coached at Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU. He also won a title in 2003 with the Tigers.

It’s a safe bet he’ll win one or two more before he calls it a career.