A judge ordered influential media reporter Yashar Ali to direct all of his future earnings to Ariadne Getty until he repays a $232,769 loan from the California heiress.
California judge Michael Stern ruled that Getty is entitled to Ali’s earnings from his journalistic work, Substack subscriptions and reader donations.
Ali — who boasts more than 700,000 followers on Twitter and was named by Time Magazine in 2019 as one of “the 25 most influential people on the internet” — borrowed nearly $200,000 from Getty sometime in 2015, according to court documents.
The filing said that Getty, the granddaughter of oil magnate J. Paul Getty, loaned Ali the money with the understanding that he would pay her pay in increments of $500 per month, with interest.
Ali, 43, defaulted after just two payments, and interest ballooned his debt to Getty to $232,769.
Ali and Getty reportedly became friends during Ali’s time working as a political operative and adviser to California Gov. Gavin Newsom during his gubernatorial campaign in 2008.
By 2009, Ali was promoted to Newsom’s deputy chief of staff, and was making a salary to the tune of $130,000 despite having never attended college.
The Getty family, including 61-year-old Ariadne Getty, financially supported Newsom’s political campaign.
The San Francisco-based oil dynasty is estimated to be worth $5.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Soon after meeting, Ali reportedly flew regularly between his home in San Francisco and Getty’s $14 million condo at the Beverly Hills Montage, Los Angeles Magazine reported in 2021.
By 2017, Ali and Getty’s relationship had soured, as Getty claimed she had dished out $179,000 over the course of two-plus years and had yet to be repaid.
In April, Getty hired a debt collector in an effort to seize Ali’s income.
Though no longer in politics, court documents showed that Ali makes his earnings as a contributing journalist to HuffPost, New York Magazine and MSNBC News.
It’s unclear how much money Ali makes, though he also has a Substack — where subscriptions cost $5 per month or $49 annually.
Ali’s landing page shows that he currently has more than 44,000 subscribers on the platform.
According to the court filing, Ali’s also believed to be making money from advertising revenue generated on his Twitter account, where he has more than 700,000 followers.
Representatives for Getty did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The 2021 LA Magazine profile of Ali first revealed that the journalist was encountering financial hardship.
“He’s been evicted from multiple residences, defaulted on several loans and has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens,” the outlet reported.
It also said that he “preferred to live in the homes of generous friends” rather than have a fixed address. “But sometimes he overstays his welcome,” according to LA Magazine.
One of those friends was comedian Kathy Griffin, who Ali befriended over social media in 2017 after Griffin was ousted from her job at CNN over a photo shoot where she posed with a prop resembling a bloody and beheaded Donald Trump.
Ali reportedly became Griffin’s unofficial publicist and agreed to work with her in exchange for housing and use of a car.
He lived in her 13,000-square-foot Bel-Air mansion for nine months before he was asked to leave.
According to LA Magazine, two of Griffin’s part-time assistants oversaw Ali as he packed his belongings.
Griffin was thought to be “uncomfortable and maybe even afraid” of her house guest.
The Post has reached out to Ali for comment.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
