Ron Burkle news stories on Newser

Clinton Turns Back on Burkle, $20M

Clay Dillow — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:05:45 CDT

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 do...

Year's Top 10 Moments of Celeb Activism

Matt Cantor — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:50:01 CST

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. Norman...

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M

Ambreen Ali — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:23:02 CST

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 pilfering, but...

Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:22:51 CDT

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 high-rolling lifestyle....

Hathaway's Ex Considers Copping Plea

Matt Cantor — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:31:19 CDT

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

Jonas Oransky — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:52:13 CDT

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 to bankroll private...

Is Bill Losing His Grip?

Greg Atwan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:38:31 CDT

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, "cavernous narcissism," and...

$20M Payday May Await Bill Clinton

Jim O'Neill — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:30:37 CST

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 payout.

Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood

Peter Fearon — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:15:12 CDT

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...