A Bible gifted to OJ Simpson from his former defense attorney, the late Robert Kardashian, has been sold for a hefty price.
The executor of Simpson’s estate, Malcolm LaVergne, put the Bible up for auction earlier this month, with Robert’s daughter, Kim Kardashian, offering $15,000 for it. However, the offer was turned down, since the item had been under contract with the court to be auctioned off.
Now, the Bible — which featured Roberts’ full name on the front — has been sold for $65,800, according to Goldin Auctions’ website.
A total on 49 bids were made, 14 of which came on Saturday. The winning bid was made at 10:42 p.m. last night. However, LaVergne told TMZ he is unsure who the new owner is.
Robert gave Simpson the Bible in 1994 after the former athlete was arrested and charged with the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was cleared of these charges in 1995 following one of the most high-profile trials in U.S. criminal history.
“OJ, This book will help,” the lawyer, who died in 2003 after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, wrote inside the religious text. “God loves and he will speak to you with his words. Read this book everyday. God has a definite plan for your life. You are his child and he will use you again. I love you and God loves you.”
LaVergne later explained to People why Kim Kardashian’s offer to purchase the book was denied.
“The amount is why I had no choice, because why would I spend $15,000 of estate money — why would I spend $15,000 in attorney’s fees — to sell it to Kim for $15,000?” he said earlier this month. “That’s a zero-sum game. That’s a bad business model. If Kim had offered $150,000 for it, we would’ve been in court getting this approved outside of the auction.”
Simpson’s trial attracted extensive media attention, with Robert working as one of the six attorneys on his defense team. Robert met Simpson when they were students at the University of Southern California. The two quickly became close friends and business partners, investing in the companies Juice Inc and Concert Cinema.
The Goldman and Brown families subsequently pursued a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson in civil court. In 1997, a predominately white jury in Santa Monica, California, found Simpson liable for the two deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Robert married Kristen Mary Houghton, now known as Kris Jenner in 1978, and they welcomed four children – Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Robert Kardashian Jr – who all referred to Simpson and his former wife as “Uncle OJ” and “Auntie Nicole.”
However, Robert’s decision to defend Simpson divided his family. Kim has candidly spoken about the repercussions that Simpson’s trial had on their family. While Kris refused to support Simpson, Kim has admitted she stuck by her father’s side.
“Kourtney and I were drawn to our dad. We felt like Mom was happily remarried, so we would live with Dad. We didn’t want him to be by himself,” Kim told GQ in 2023.
She also remembered her dad pulling her and Kourtney out of school to attend the trial with him and seeing Kris on the opposite side of the courtroom. According to Kim, Kris was displeased they weren’t at school and confused as to why they were there.
Kim is also now following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a lawyer. During Thursday’s episode of The Kardashians, she opened up about how Robert inspired her career, as she visited a group of incarcerated firefighters in California.
“I think my passion for prison reform really kind of got sparked with my dad,” she said. “And all of the giving back that he would do and just all the places he would take us to help other people. My dad resonates through all of that and I always feel his energy every time I do something like this.”
