The billionaire summer calendar: How the world’s wealthiest business icons spend their warmer months

For more than 40 years, media moguls and tech CEOs have made their way to Sun Valley, Idaho, after the July Fourth holiday for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Forum — also known as billionaire summer camp.

The event, hosted by boutique investment bank Allen & Co, has drawn the biggest — and richest — names in business who partake in rounds of golf, guided hikes, and, famously, dealmaking.

AI and the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes were the topics of the day at last year’s meeting, which counted Sam Altman and Bob Iger (not a billionaire, but close) among its attendees.

On this year’s invite list, according to Variety: Shari Redstone, who will surely be asked about the fate of Paramount; Iger and a gaggle of his potential successors; and a smattering of tech executives like Apple’s Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg, who will likely come ready to discuss the latest in AI.

While the Olympics are, in theory, an event for every spectator, billionaires enjoy the games a little differently and will do so in Paris this year.

For starters, one of the richest families in the world, the Arnaults of LVMH, is a major sponsor of the Games, and its members — including the third-richest person in the world, Bernard — will likely be highly visible attendees. One of Paris-based LVMH’s jewelry houses, Chaumet, is designing the medals; Moët & Chandon and Hennessy will be flowing at various events, and Sephora will host activations along the Olympic torch’s route.

Billionaires with no official connection to this year’s Olympics will no doubt be there, too, and in style.

Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch have attended the event with their families in years past, and newly minted billionaire Magic Johnson has played for Team USA and carried the Olympic torch.

This year, the ultrarich are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to watch the most covetable events, meet athletes, and have a front-row seat for the Opening Ceremony, the Guardian reported. Tickets to events like the women’s gymnastics final cost $6,500 each from the official ticket seller.

Vistajet has seen an uptick in private flights booked to Paris around the Olympics, and luxury yacht brokerage Fraser has fielded a number of requests around the Games — including one client chartering a yacht to follow the windsurfing competition live.

Burning Man has gone from anti-billionaire to peak billionaire in the decades since it was founded.

The annual art and “radical self-expression” festival in the Nevada desert has drawn techies like Elon Musk and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page since the 1990s — before they became billionaires.

Mark Zuckerberg, Drew Houston, and Josh Kushner have all been spotted at the anti-capitalist revelry. Even Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge fund manager, wanted to see what all the hype was about, sporting some psychedelic bell bottoms and joining the party in 2019.

Some of the uberwealthy — or uber-famous, after all, Paris Hilton has attended — eschew the traditional Playa experience. They charter private planes to land on Black Rock City’s temporary runway, stay in “fancy camps” complete with air conditioning and private chefs, and travel in tricked-up art cars that definitely require money to create.

This may explain why the internet didn’t feel all that bad when the festival was marred by flooding.

As one TikTok user commented: “Isn’t this where rich people go to feel poor?”

Tennis has long attracted the monied, and the US Open is proof.

The biggest names in finance, tech, and entertainment — Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon, David Geffen, Jerry Seinfeld, and Bill Ackman are regular attendees — head to Arthur Ashe Stadium to catch the last of the year’s tennis Grand Slams.

Many Wall Street firms have boxes at the event to wine and dine clients — and things may soon get even more luxe. The USTA is reportedly considering renovating the stadium, which would include “bunker suites” off the main court, complete with top-of-the-line amenities. They could cost as much as $175,000 per person for the duration of the tournament, The New York Times reported.

Tickets to this year’s men’s final cost as much as $18,000 each on the resale market, and suites can go for six figures. Luxury sponsors from Rolex to Ralph Lauren pay millions to attract spectators’ attention.

For billionaires, the summer ends and begins with yachting.

In September, the uberwealthy or their surrogates gather in Monte Carlo to check out the superyachts and megayachts on offer, already plotting for their next vacation season. The boats — some for sale, some for charter — have an average length of 50 meters and include features like helipads, spas, and wine cellars.

While the list of vessels on offer has yet to be announced, past years’ shows have included yachts belonging to Paul Allen, Steve Wynn, and Heidi Horton.

Last year’s most expensive public listing was the Lady Lara, a 91-meter ship with two swimming pools (one of which can convert to a dance floor) and a movie theater. Its price? A cool $245 million.