Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reveals Beyoncé gave her four concert tickets worth nearly $4k – but here’s who pocketed the most freebies

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has revealed the very generous gift she received from Beyoncé, but she is far from the Supreme Court member who has received the most gifts while on the job.

The pop superstar sent Biden appointee Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, four tickets to her Renaissance world tour, worth a total of $3,711.84, according to a report from the watchdog. Fix the Court.

The nine current ones SCOTUS According to the analysis, which used official disclosure reports, judges received at least 344 gifts worth $3 million in gifts between January 2004 and December 2023.

George HW Bush appointed Justice Clarence Thomas topped the list with the largest share of gifts received. Since joining the bench in 1991, Thomas has received 193 gifts totaling $4,042,286.

And according to Fix the Court, he has only publicly disclosed 8.5 percent of the total gifts he has received. The watchdog cited news reports claiming Thomas received an additional $1.7 million in gifts.

The pop superstar sent Biden-appointed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, four tickets for her Renaissance world tour

Beyoncé performed two concerts in the Washington area in August 2023, although Jackson’s revelation does not say when or where the tickets were.

“Justice Jackson loves Beyoncé’s music,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said, invoking a Beyoncé song. ‘Who not?’

Jackson received artwork for her Supreme Court office valued at $12,500. And then there were the Beyoncé tickets, worth more than $900 each

The late Sandra Day O’Connor, appointed by Ronald Reagan, came in second, with 73 gifts worth $35,625 from 1981 to 2006.

Reagan appointee Antonin Scalia received the third-highest number of gifts: 67 with a total value of $210,164.

Bill Clinton appointee Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t far behind in the number of gifts received, with 61 gifts worth $59,814.

Meanwhile, it was David Souter, who served from 1990 until his retirement in 2009, and Donald Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh who received the fewest number of gifts — just one worth $349 and $100, respectively, according to the report.

According to Fix the Court, only two justices reported 100 percent of the gifts they received: Souter and John Paul Stevens, who left the court in 2010.

George HW Bush’s appointed Judge Clarence Thomas topped the list of most gifts received. Since joining the bench in 1991, he has received 193 gifts worth a total of $4,042,286

In addition, only two judges reported receiving gifts last year. Thomas said Terrence Giroux and his wife gave him two photo albums worth $2,000. Giroux is executive director emeritus of the Horatio Alger Association.

Jackson received artwork for her Supreme Court office valued at $12,500. And then there were the Beyoncé tickets, worth more than $900 each.

Beyoncé performed two concerts in the Washington area in August 2023, although Jackson’s revelation does not say when or what the tickets were for.

“Justice Jackson loves Beyoncé’s music,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said, invoking a Beyoncé song. ‘Who not?’

Last year, ProPublica revealed that Thomas accepted the “hospitality” of real estate billionaire Harlan Crow for 20 years, enjoying luxury vacations and transportation that he could not afford on his $285,000-a-year salary.

This includes touring Indonesia’s Pacific waters on a 50-meter superyacht equipped with multiple decks, including a crew and private chef in 2019, according to an explosive new report from the journalism nonprofit ProPublica.

In their daily duties, the justices are paid $298,500 this year, with the exception of Chief Justice John Roberts, who makes $312,200.

Meanwhile, it was David Souter, who served from 1990 until his retirement in 2009, and Donald Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh (pictured) who received the fewest gifts — just one worth $349 and $100, respectively.

Following ProPublica’s reporting, SCOTUS has promulgated a code of ethics in an effort to shore up collapsed public trust after a series of revelations that donors showered judges with secret gifts and lucrative real estate deals.

The nine-page code places no specific restrictions on gifts, travel or real estate offers.

Instead, it says that judges “shall not allow family, social, political, financial or other relationships to influence official conduct or judgment.”

And they may not participate in activities that ‘affect the dignity of the office of justice’ or ‘have a negative impact on the impartiality of the judiciary’, such as speaking at political events.

Over the past year, pressure has been put on judges to sign a code of conduct.

Last year, ProPublica revealed that Thomas has been accepting the ‘hospitality’ of real estate billionaire Harlan Crow for 20 years

Unlike other federal courts, the Supreme Court had no formal rules of its own, but the justices insisted that they followed the rules used by U.S. lower courts.

ProPublica revealed that Republican billionaire Crow helped pay the tuition bill — as much as $150,000 for four years at a private school — of a relative of Thomas, who was treated like a son by the judge.

An earlier ProPublica report found that Thomas used luxury jets, a megayacht and beautiful retreats, all owned by the same real estate mogul.

None of it had been disclosed.

“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for more than twenty-five years,” Thomas said at the time.

“Like friends, we have accompanied them on a number of family outings in the more than quarter of a century that we have known them.”

Only two judges reported receiving gifts last year: Thomas and Brown Jackson

Thomas said he followed the advice of others in deciding what required disclosure and that Crow himself had no cases before the court.

Due to his wife’s political activities, he faced additional questions. Virginia Thomas, along with allies of Donald Trump, was active in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor have also come under scrutiny.

Alito was revealed to have made a secret escape in 2008 for a luxury fishing trip organized by hedge fund founder Paul Singer; Gorsuch was involved in a real estate deal with the CEO of a major law firm; and Sotomayor’s assistants promoted sales of her books.