Posted on 04/25/2005 9:20:36 PM PDT by CHARLITE
The word in Michael Jackson circles is that the beleaguered pop star has found a white knight: billionaire Ron Burkle.
Jackson has gone to the tycoon hoping that Burkle, who is reportedly worth $2.3 billion, can stave off the former King of Pop's much-needed sale of his portion of Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
Jackson is currently at risk of defaulting on over $270 million in loans from Bank of America.
Burkle owns the largest supermarket chain in America, thanks to his acquisition of Kroger Stores. He is also the largest supplier of produce to McDonald's. His Yucaipa Companies also owns the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alliance Entertainment.
But Burkle is not just a corporate suit. He is a huge Democratic fundraiser and friend of the Clintons.
In order for Burkle to help Jackson, sources say he might first have to pony up a $12 million gift. That number is arrived at because Jackson is $6 million in the hole and isn't allowed to accept loans, according to his agreement with Bank of America. But there would be taxes to pay — making the true amount much higher.
Burkle now enters the Jackson story. Like a lot of people who've helped Jackson in the past, he may soon regret it.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
What would he have to gain by helping Jacko?
His portion of Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
Oh, my and I shop at Kroger---hm.....if he does this then in a very roundabout way, I would be helping Jacko, right?
Let me know when I need to switch to Albertsons!!! LOL
A peek at Jackson's little black book of little black boys.
I believe Albertson's is part of the Kroger chain...if I'm not mistaken, Kroger products are offered at Albertson's.
Close your eyes and see if you can picture this:
Jacko being led off in handcuffs, headed for prison.
I know... I can't either. (Even though he deserves it!)
Jacko being led off in handcuffs, headed for prison.
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We can only hope that justice is served, and he cannot buy his way out of this, as he did the first time. I think the testimonies in the Vaseline jar scenario, and the witnesses, to the young boy being held (and sodomized) will hang him big time with the jury.
Shop at Wally World. No connection to Jacko and they consistently beat Kroger's prices.
Who would want the whole bizarre face he has purchased? Go to old pics of Michael Jackson when he was the child star of the Jackson Five. Now tell me he has improved himself.
When an employee who had a child with Rev. Jesse Jackson left the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition for Los Angeles, a consulting job awaited her at an investment company owned by Ron W. Burkle, a friend of (Jesse)Jackson's.
A 48-year-old billionaire grocery store magnate from Los Angeles, Burkle also is a friend to former President Bill Clinton and a major financial donor to the Democratic Party. In 1998, Burkle and Jackson were invited to accompany Clinton on a 12-day trip to Africa. In 1999, Burkle co-hosted a party at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in honor of Rainbow/PUSH award winners and Jackson's 58th birthday.
Looking Inside INdTV
Al Gore and ex-Stanford prof Joel Hyatt say their S.F.-based cable news channel for twentysomethings won't be ideological. But do the Democratic moneymen behind the venture know that?
snip
Among those most intimately involved with the project are a veritable who's who of super-connected Democratic donors and operatives, from INdTV's board of directors on down. Besides Gore and Hyatt, those directors include San Francisco investment banker Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein; Ron Burkle, the billionaire Los Angeles investment banker and Democratic megadonor; and Ed Renwick, a partner in Burkle's investment firm. (That firm, Yucaipa Companies, claims former President Bill Clinton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson among its directors.)
Indeed, perhaps the least publicized aspect of the Gore-Hyatt venture is where the money has come from. Securities and Exchange Commission records and other public documents suggest that a big chunk of the funding for INdTV is being supplied, at least indirectly, by ordinary Californians who probably have no idea that they are invested in the former vice president's next career move. That's because two of the six "beneficial owners" listed in documents filed with the SEC are private equity funds controlled by the Burkle and Blum firms, respectively. And each of those funds is slated to receive huge investments from the California Public Employees' Retirement System, a $160 billion public pension fund controlled by Democratic officials whose party and campaigns have been supported by huge contributions from Burkle and Blum.
Jesse Jackson also sits on the board of Yucaipa.
Of course, Burkle has also given more than $100,000 to Schwarzenegger.
More Burkle:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=burkle
Char
My theory - The U.S. has no royalty, so lots of Americans elevate so-called movie stars (and pols, btw) to the status of royals.
I'm betting the jury will follow suit and slap that freak on the wrist and let him walk. I hope I'm wrong.
...Wouldn't surprise me in the least. He's a dead ringer for Joan Crawford, LOL!
"NO MORE WIRE HANGERS!!!"
I'm betting the jury will follow suit and slap that freak on the wrist and let him walk. I hope I'm wrong.
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Well it is really in the hands of the jury. And if the jury cannot be bought (it is really about money with Jacko and his ability to BUY PEOPLE) he will go down. The evidence and testimony, and the public has not seen all of it, is pretty strong, very strong to convict on. Again, it is up to the jury...
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