From left: Kim Kardashian, Robert Kardashian Sr., O.J. Simpson. Photo:

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Jason Bean/Pool via Bloomberg/ Getty

Kim Kardashian was turned down when attempting to purchase a family heirloom.

As the executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate, Malcolm LaVergne sells Simpson’s assets to pay off leftover debts. The SKIMS founder, 44, reached out to offer $15,000 for a bible inscribed by her late father, Robert Kardashian Sr., but LaVergne tells PEOPLE he denied Kim’s request because the item was already under contract with the court to be auctioned off.

“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?” LaVergne explains. “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.”

“Kim can bid on it online,” he adds of the item, which currently has a leading $9,800 bid. “She may even get it cheaper than the 15 grand, so who knows.”

Robert Kardashian Sr. and Kim Kardashian. kimkardashian/Instagram

In addition to the sentimental value the bible holds for the Kardashians, LaVergne points out that Robert Sr.’s handwritten note was dated June 18, 1994 — the day after Simpson was arrested and charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. 

“O.J., this book will help,” Robert Sr. wrote in the note. “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.”

TMZ was the first to report the news.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Robert Kardashian and O.J. Simpson. Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty

The Kardashian family patriarch always stood by Simpson’s side, going on to act as his defense attorney in the infamous murder trial, at the end of which Simpson was acquitted on all counts. He was later found guilty in a civil trial in 1997.

Robert Sr. died in September 2003 at the age of 59, just eight weeks after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Simpson ran into legal trouble once again in 2008 and served nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping. He died in April 2024 from prostate cancer at the age of 76.

Kim, along with sisters Kourtney and Khloé, brother Robert Jr., and their mom Kris Jenner, have long been vocal about upholding Robert Sr.’s legacy. In fact, Kim decided to study to become a lawyer like her dad, passing the baby bar exam in 2021 and advocating for criminal justice reform over the years.

In her 2020 Oxygen documentary, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, she discussed how her legal work has helped her feel connected to her father.

“There are times when I could be frustrated and studying really late and have to get up and wonder how he did it, having four kids and must’ve been going through some of the same things that I have gone through,” she said. “So it would have been exciting to talk to him about that, and I know that he would be so, so proud.”