Journalist Yashar Ali Ordered to Give Earnings to Getty Heiress After Failing to Pay $230,000 He Owes
Journalist Yashar Ali was ordered by a judge on Wednesday to direct future earnings, including from Substack subscriptions and reader donations to his former friend Ariadne Getty after he failed to repay her more than $230,000 in debt.
California Judge Michael Stern ruled on Wednesday that Getty will be entitled to Ali’s future earnings from journalistic work, media appearances, Substack subscriptions, and reader donations so she can regain the more than $230,000 worth Ali owes her.
Creditor Arden Silverman told Courthouse News Service that while he didn’t know exactly how much Ali makes from his journalistic work, “for the most part, whatever money is due to him will now be diverted to us.”
Ali — who has more than 700,000 Twitter followers and previously worked for California Governor Gavin Newsom — reportedly borrowed nearly $180,000 from Getty between 2012 and 2014. However, due to interest, that number was now reportedly worth $232,769. Getty sued Ali in 2017 after he failed to pay her back, and in April it was reported that Getty employed a debt collector in an effort to seize Ali’s income.
Ali’s debt was first made known to the public in a 2021 Los Angeles Magazine article that alleged he had “been evicted from multiple residences, defaulted on several loans, and has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in tax liens.”
The article claimed that Ali preferred “to live in the homes of generous friends,” many of whom were members of the “entertainment and political elite” — including Getty, Democratic Party megadonor Susie Tompkins Buell, and comedian Kathy Griffin — and that those relationships often ended up souring.
Ali’s relationship with Getty “began to sour after Ali began borrowing large sums of money from her in 2012.” While Ali had allegedly promised to pay Getty back in “monthly installments,” the article, citing court documents, claimed he had “made only two of those payments before defaulting.”
Ali went on to sue Los Angeles Magazine for defamation over the article.
