Billionaires -- they're not just like us. No, something happens when you reach a certain level of wealth. The jets become private. The apartments become penthouses. And the parties get real epic real fast. Here are the secret parties billionaires don't want you to know about.
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00:00Billionaires, living in a world far beyond ours.
00:03Once they reach a certain level of wealth, private jets, penthouses, and legendary parties become the norm.
00:09Discover the exclusive, secret celebrations they prefer to keep hidden from the public eye.
00:16Burning Man may attract plenty of wealthy attendees, but it's known for downplaying overt displays of wealth.
00:21Further Future, however, embraces luxury without hesitation.
00:25Created for the elite, this offshoot festival caters to those who crave the Burning Man experience, minus the austerity.
00:33At Further Future, unabashed luxury is a core principle.
00:37Guests can indulge in upscale accommodations like Airstreams and Lunar Palaces,
00:41costing thousands per night, complete with personal valets and private chefs.
00:45For an extra touch, Nobu offers 250-per-seat dinners, or attendees can opt for a smudging or a cleansing session.
00:53Wellness panels are accompanied by saline and vitamin transfusions, while beer and foie gras autochthon tastings offer a gourmet twist.
01:00Entrepreneurs and tech billionaires, dressed in steampunk futurism attire, mingle and make deals in this lavish environment.
01:07Unlike Burning Man's more egalitarian vibe, Further Future is where the powerful gather to mix business with pleasure,
01:14redefining what a festival can be for the ultra-wealthy.
01:17When you're a billionaire, saying no isn't part of the equation, especially for a wedding.
01:23In 2013, Napster co-founder Sean Parker took this to heart with a wedding extravaganza in Big Sur, California that set a new standard for opulence.
01:33For months, Cruise transformed the venue into a fantastical realm, complete with an artificial pond, a bridge, rock staircases, faux stone ruins,
01:42and a towering 20-foot wrought iron gate adorned with the couple's initials.
01:47Renowned costume designer from the Lord of the Rings movies crafted token-inspired attire for all 364 guests,
01:54including Sean Lennon, Emma Watson, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
01:59The celebration featured cuddly bunnies, animal furs on chairs and beds, and roasted pigs on a spit.
02:05Sting performed in front of a towering nine-foot wedding cake.
02:08The entire affair was estimated to cost between $5 million and $10 million.
02:14However, the lavishness came with consequences.
02:16The event faced criticism for its environmental impact, leading one website to dub it an eco-wrecking wedding.
02:24Additionally, the venue's failure to secure proper permits resulted in legal issues.
02:29Despite the backlash, Parker resolved the situation by paying a fine and committing to design an app for California as restitution.
02:37Henry Nicholas, the tech mogul behind Broadcom, transformed a California warehouse into a hedonistic paradise.
02:43This personal lair was filled with cocaine, meth, and ecstasy,
02:47alongside state-of-the-art tech creating the perfect environment for parties with his friends and a revolving door of escorts.
02:54But that wasn't enough for Nicholas.
02:56He allegedly commissioned underground tunnels to connect this adult playground to his home,
03:00ensuring his secretive lifestyle remained hidden.
03:03Nicholas' wild behavior didn't stop there.
03:06He was known for spiking his colleagues' drinks with ecstasy,
03:09and once smoked so much marijuana on his private jet that the pilot had to don an oxygen mask.
03:15His extravagant lifestyle caught up with him when he was arrested, facing charges that included drug offenses and securities fraud.
03:22Although he was eventually acquitted, the scandal left a stain on his reputation that's hard to shake,
03:27casting a long shadow over his achievements in the tech industry.
03:31Bohemian Grove, the secretive retreat in Northern California for high-profile figures,
03:36is officially described as a venue for
03:43according to a spokesperson.
03:44However, this serene facade belies its history as the site where preliminary discussions for the Manhattan Project took place,
03:51suggesting there might be more to it than just campfires and tunes.
03:54When former President Bill Clinton was asked about Bohemian Grove,
03:58he humorously remarked,
03:59that's where all those rich Republicans go out and stand naked against redwood trees, right?
04:04In 1989, spy magazine's Philip Weiss infiltrated the Grove and uncovered a few intriguing rules.
04:11Avoid business deals, don't urinate on the trees, and always be inebriated.
04:15While the first two rules were loosely observed, the third was rigorously enforced.
04:21Weiss reported that amid the copious drinking, influential figures made significant decisions.
04:26Notably, in the summer of 1968,
04:28Ronald Reagan is said to have agreed not to challenge Richard Nixon in the primaries during their time at the Grove.
04:35In the secretive world of Silicon Valley's elite,
04:38dinner kicks off the evening at exclusive gatherings, with hosts handling the cooking to keep prying eyes away.
04:43Social media is a no-go, ensuring privacy for what follows.
04:47Once the meal is over, the atmosphere shifts as drugs, particularly MDMA, make an appearance.
04:53Guests often form
04:55a term masking the reality of groups engaging in intimate activities.
04:59These events, frequented by the mostly male tech moguls of Silicon Valley, are far from rare.
05:05They often involve a selection of young women, invited from various sources, joining the wealthy elite for these hedonistic nights.
05:12Surprisingly, wives and girlfriends sometimes participate, blurring the lines of traditional relationships.
05:18As Emily Chang outlines in her book Brotopia,
05:21these parties reflect the disruptor mentality that drives these men in business,
05:26challenging norms not just in tech, but also in their private lives.
05:30The result? A series of extravagant, secretive encounters on yachts, estates, and private mansions around the globe.
05:38At the 2018 President Club charity dinner held at London's luxurious Dorchester Hotel,
05:43host Johnny Gould made a provocative statement.
05:46Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year.
05:49This proclamation might have been an understatement.
05:51Originally advertised as a fundraiser for various English charities,
05:55the event, exclusively for men, quickly revealed its true nature.
05:59High-profile figures from finance, politics, and business flocked to the gathering,
06:04which seemed to prioritize indulgence and objectification over charitable causes.
06:09The soiree featured hostesses hired primarily for their appearance.
06:13These women were dressed in black underwear and revealing outfits, their phones confiscated to ensure privacy.
06:18Once given drinks to loosen their inhibitions, the hostesses were paraded for the male guests to ogle.
06:23The atmosphere was reportedly rife with inappropriate behavior, including groping and suggestive comments.
06:29Men, often intoxicated, attempted to kiss the women and inquire about their backgrounds,
06:35some even asking if they were sex workers.
06:37The Financial Times' Madison Marriage, who attended the event undercover,
06:40reported that even the bathrooms were monitored to prevent the women from seeking refuge.
06:45Despite the event's charitable facade, offering prizes such as lunch with former London Mayor Boris Johnson
06:52and supporting a prominent children's hospital, the exposure led to the cancellation of future dinners.
06:57In 2012, Wall Street elites gathered for the secretive Kappa Beta Phi dinner, opening with an intriguing address.
07:04Good evening, exalted High Council, former Grand Swipes, Grand Swipes-in-Waiting,
07:09fellow Wall Street Kappas, and worthless neophytes.
07:12The Kappa Beta Phi dinner, created during the Great Depression, serves as an ultra-exclusive fraternity for the financial elite.
07:20Kevin Ruse, author of Young Money, called it a one-percenters friar's club.
07:25It's a rare event where billionaires let loose behind closed doors,
07:28performing tasteless skits and singing cringeworthy parodies that flaunt their wealth.
07:34According to Ruse, it's one of the few places where the ultra-rich openly revel in their privilege, far removed from public scrutiny.
07:41Here were executives who had strong ideas about politics, society, and the work of their colleagues,
07:47but who would never have the courage to voice those opinions in a public setting.
07:51In 2012, Kevin Ruse crashed the exclusive event, only to be promptly ousted by Wilbur Ross, who played Bouncer.
07:58The black-tie dinner is strictly off-limits to outsiders.
08:02It sounds like something Occupy Wall Street would invent if they wanted people to hate bankers even more.
08:07The Cannes Film Festival is known for its glitz and glamour, where Hollywood elites cut deals and mingle with movie stars.
08:14But beneath the surface, it's also a lucrative opportunity for many women who travel there to offer their services.
08:21Each year, thousands of women descend on Cannes, ranging from high-end escorts commanding thousands of dollars
08:27to streetwalkers charging as little as $50.
08:30For those who connect with the right clients, the payday can be astronomical.
08:33Some reportedly earn up to $40,000 a night.
08:36A Lebanese businessman shared with The Hollywood Reporter that during the festival,
08:40around 30 to 40 luxury yachts anchor in the bay, each one filled with about 10 women,
08:46along with plentiful supplies of drugs and alcohol.
08:49This scene has reportedly been part of the Cannes tradition for over 60 years,
08:53making it a hidden yet enduring aspect of the festival's allure.
08:58As Mel Brooks famously quipped,
09:03In Saudi Arabia, it's even better to be one of the kingdom's 10,000 princes,
09:08living lavishly and bending the rules of their conservative society.
09:12Despite Saudi Arabia's strict religious laws, the royal class often indulges in extravagant parties that flaunt every prohibition.
09:20Take Prince Faisal, a cadet prince far removed from the throne but still enjoying all the benefits of royalty.
09:27His 2009 Halloween party became legendary, with details emerging through a leaked diplomatic cable.
09:33At this opulent affair, alcohol flowed freely despite being illegal under Saudi law.
09:39The party's atmosphere mimicked a high-end nightclub, complete with a DJ, dancing and guests dressed in costumes.
09:46Among the attendees were numerous working girls, a detail that's reportedly not unusual at such royal gatherings.
09:52This event was exclusive, with a carefully curated guest list ensuring only the elite made it inside.
09:59In the kingdom, being a prince clearly comes with perks that transcend even the strictest of societal norms.
10:05Billionaires don't do birthday parties like the rest of us.
10:08Take Jay-Z and Beyonce, who reportedly spent $200,000 on their daughter Blue Ivy's first birthday.
10:16Meanwhile, businessman Ronald Perelman prefers celebrating on his 188-foot yacht in St. Barts, often with performances by stars like Barry Manilow.
10:25Retail mogul Philip Green once whisked 100 friends to the Maldives for his 55th birthday, no small feat for a last-minute surprise.
10:35But these celebrations pale in comparison to Joe Lowe's epic 31st birthday bash in Las Vegas.
10:41Despite his relatively unknown status at the time, the Malaysian billionaire threw a party that outshined all others.
10:48He constructed a massive structure resembling an aircraft hangar and packed it with A-list celebrities.
10:54The event featured everything from a Ferris wheel and carousel to a circus trampoline and cigar lounge.
11:00Jamie Foxx hosted, with performances by Britney Spears, Q-Tip and Chris Brown.
11:06The night culminated in a breathtaking fireworks display over the Nevada desert, cementing Lowe's party as one for the ages.