Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito reported receiving $900 in concert tickets from German Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis—a fellow Catholic and former imperial “it” girl of the 1980s who has since become an outspoken critic of Pope Francis.
Princess Gloria lives in Regensburg, Germany. (Photo by Armin Weigel/picture alliance via Getty ... [+]
The pricey concert tickets were reported in Alito’s 2023 financial disclosure, which named Princess Gloria as the source of the gift but did not reveal who the performer or band was.
Alito was the only justice to request a 90-day extension on his financial disclosure, according to Bloomberg, which comes a year after Alito was embroiled in controversy over his nondisclosure of a luxury fishing trip with billionaire Paul Singer.
Princess Gloria is the mother of Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who appeared on Forbes’ billionaire list as an 8-year-old and had an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion in 2014.
Princess Gloria married Johannes von Thurn and Taxis in 1980, becoming part of a family whose wealth stems from its role as the Holy Roman Empire’s postal service.
She eventually became known as Princess TNT—a nickname given to her by Vanity Fair for her extroverted personality and extravagant, party-centric lifestyle that crossed paths with celebrities like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.
The princess has since developed connections with right-wing Catholic figures like Steve Bannon, an ex-White House aide of former President Donald Trump who is serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, The New York Times reported, adding Princess Gloria has become a central figure for traditionalist Roman Catholics at odds with Pope Francis.
Princess Gloria has pushed for the pope to dial back on what conservative Catholics have considered a “too liberal” leadership style, telling the Times that Pope Benedict XVI influenced her to “save the tradition” and “save the faith.”
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Princess Gloria lives in St. Emmeram's Palace, a 500-room palace in Regensburg, Germany. The palace, which once went through a 100-year rebuilding phase, has parts dating back to the 12th century, according to Regensburg’s tourism website.
Princess Gloria was left with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt after her husband died in 1990. She received a business education and took St. Emmeram's Palace public, according to the Times, auctioning off silver, art, jewels and wine to save her family’s fortune.
Alito’s relationship with the ultra-wealthy extends beyond Princess Gloria. The Supreme Court justice faced backlash from congressional Democrats after ProPublica reported last year he took a luxury fishing trip with Singer without revealing it in his 2008 financial disclosure. Alito defended himself in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published before the ProPublica story, claiming the latter news outlet misled its readers. The justice also faced backlash and calls to recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases after the Times reported he flew an upside-down flag and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his homes in Virginia and New Jersey. The flags were flown by or had associations with rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Justice Alito Reveals Trip With Billionaire Paul Singer In Op-Ed—And Defends Himself (Forbes)