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Cash is king for Tom Cruise

“Tom is really into money,” a source revealed. “He has no problem spending it. It makes him feel powerful.”
/ Source: msnbc.com contributors

With an estimated net worth topping $250 million, Tom Cruise stands to leave some big bucks to his kids one day. That is, if he doesn’t spend it all first. The A-list actor isn’t exactly frugal. Instead he’s flashing the cash and living large, reports Star.

“Tom is really into money,” a source revealed. “He has no problem spending it. It makes him feel powerful. He loves to brag about his Porsches, his homes, his planes and his motorcycles.”

But Tom’s not the only one benefiting from the bucks. “When (Tom and wife Katie Holmes) go out, he has his security people hand $100 bills to anyone who helps them, even someone who opens a door! He’s a big giver.”

Rolling in green is one thing, but Tom’s not exactly living the green lifestyle. The magazine claims Tom spent nearly $1 million last year on fuel alone. Hey, it takes a lot of go-juice to keep those four private planes in the air!

Legendary photog: ‘I don’t give a damn about Paris Hilton’
Thanks to a handy bit of cultural analysis from Jezebel.com, it’s been revealed that the guy who shot 2007’s definitive image — Paris Hilton sobbing in the back of a cop car — couldn’t care less about his overexposed subject.

The disinterest of one of journalism’s most celebrated lensmen regarding one of America’s most photographed subjects isn’t so shocking once you’re reminded that Nick Ut shot another time-defining photo 35 years earlier in Vietnam — 9-year-old Kim Phúc running naked and screaming, her napalm-burned skin hanging in strips.

The famous photographer commented on the photographic extremes in this quote republished from UK’s Telegraph: “When I look at my photograph of Kim and my photograph of Paris Hilton, I think they are both good pictures, in their way. I suppose the big difference is that I grew to love Kim, whereas ... well, frankly, I don’t give a damn about Paris Hilton.”

Jess and Tony: Match made in PR heavenThe blonde starlet and the hunky quarterback may look like the picture-perfect couple, but are Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo just putting on an act? According to Star Magazine, the rumor mill points to a PR hookup for the couple orchestrated by none other than Jessica’s dad-cum-manager, Joe Simpson.

“It seems that Joe set them up to make sure Jess got good publicity,” an insider told the publication. “She’s got a new country album coming out, but her movie career is stalled, so she’s doing what her dad tells her will be good for her image and to keep her name in the papers.”

So what’s in it for Tony? Well, publicity is a two-way street. Star reports Jess and Tony are in talks to film a Pizza Hut commercial for the Super Bowl broadcast. And another source told the magazine that Joe offered to sweeten the pot by giving Tony a “small role” in Jessica’s next movie.

Tony doesn’t mind “playing along,” assured the source. “He has a hot chick on his arm and lots of media attention.”

Dish on the fly
“The View’s” Sherri Shepherd, who famously failed to give an opinion on the general shape of the planet, is gearing up for the general knowledge round. “If you had told me I’d be up every night reading The New York Times and the Washington Post and watching CNN, I would’ve laughed,” Sherri told Entertainment Weekly. “Now I am learning more about politics and world events. I’m taking an interest in more things outside of myself.” Better late than never! … Johnny Depp seems perfectly comfortable getting sprayed with gallons of blood in Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd.” But he’ll think twice should the gore-favoring director ever again introduce him to equine co-stars, according to In Case You Didn’t Know. “One morning when we were filming ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ Tim called me to the set, pointed to two large horses strapped to a carriage and said, ‘This is what we are going to be doing today,’” Johnny recalled. “I was to hold on to the carriage behind the horses, being dragged along through the muck. The horses must have fed on curry. I’ve never smelt anything like that.”

Tabloid Tidbits is compiled by Ree Hines and Helen A.S. Popkin.