David Geffen avoids interviews, so his Instagram account, which the mogul-philanthropist launched in 2016, offers the only window to his private world. And what a view.
That is thanks in large part, 138 meters, to be exact, to Rising Sun, the superyate that bought in 2010 the multimillionaire fellow Larry Ellison, in which Geffen houses some of the most famous names in the world of films, music, business and policies. With many of those guests smiling in photos in the context of Ibiza, Mallorca or Capri for its 72,000 followers, studying Geffen’s Insta has become a hollywood hobby. C-Suites were Abuzz With This Summer’s Guest Log: Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Katy Perry with Fiance Orlando Bloom, Chris Rock With Girlfriend Megallyn Echikunwoke, Karlie Kloss and Husband Josh Kushner (Brother of Jared), Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and Wife Laura, K5 Global Founder Michael Kives and Wife Lydia (A Nonprofit Lawyer), Petroleum Heir Mikey HESS and promising designer Misha Nonoo.
But the Yachty who inspired the greatest talk was the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, published on August 6 in a group shot with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez-Whitsell. Bezos, seen barefoot and in shorts grabbing a glass of wine, has its own Instagram, but never gives its 987,000 followers a look at their private world. Then, to appear in Geffen, especially in the same photo as Sánchez-Whitsell, might seem the best flexion for his host. But familiar sources with the activities of the rising Sun say that Geffen, 76, is not strategic about the shots it publishes.
«He is right in the place of his life where he doesn’t care,» he offers one. Another source of the industry well located: «There is a reason why the most powerful people in the world appear. It is the most coveted, more exclusive and incredible vacation experience.»
Since Geffen Has Been Documenting His Guests, He’s Snapped Disney’s Bob Iger, Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams, Nbcuniversal’s Ron Meyer, Netflix’s Ted Saramond Paul McCartney, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Jerry Seinfeld, Diane Sawyer, Scooter Braun, Bradley Cooper, Mariah Carey, film executive Stacey Snider and producers Walter Parkes and Laurie Macdonald. A couple who organized but never published: Barack and Michelle Obama.
For all accounts, your guests are in love. «You are the friendliest host,» Bloom wrote to Geffen in the comments section under a photo of the couple. Kloss, who, like Kives and Blankfeins, is a sun of the ascending sun, once wrote «the most magnificent weekend with the most extraordinary man», after an excursion.
There is a reason why many of the images of Geffen’s publications look similar, published from the terrace or common dining areas. According to Yates expert Nick Jeffery of Nick Jeffery Yacht Publicity in Monaco, the common label is to photograph and publish only external shots. If internal rooms are photographed, professionals are generally carried out in carefully selected photo sessions to protect the faces of art and furniture.
Jeffery suggests that Bezos, who knows that he travels with his own personal security team, must have granted his permission for Geffen to publish the photo, one that Jeffery says that it contains an obvious problem. «The photographer should have removed or overcome his glass!»
Perry and others have also published (or have reproduced Geffen’s shots) in their instals. An individual with knowledge of Hollywood and yacht label says that guests should stop before taking out a smartphone. «You can do a dry execution test taking your phone to pretend to verify a message. If you see that the owner of the ship gets anxious or looks at your way, put it back … after all, the yacht is your sanctuary.»
Rising Sun can be his sanctuary, but Geffen is still rooted at his education, says author Kevin Sessums, who knows him. «For someone who is very rich and very famous, he has always been Brooklyn’s boy with his nose pressed against the window. Instagram is just a novel window,» says Sessums. «That is why I have always loved it. For all the traps of an elite life, it is still quite equal with respect to its perspective of life itself. He is a man.»
A publicist whose client has been photographed in Rising Sun says that although A-Listers values the discretion, there is not much inconvenience of appearing in Geffen’s feed. «It is a glamorous, Mega-Millions Yacht and its groups are always the best, so it would be difficult to find someone who is, ‘No, I’m fine, I don’t need them to take a photo'», says the representative. «It is a status state. When Paul Allen used to have great parties in Cannes on their yacht, people would try to pay money to get on the boat because if you see yourself there, something would be worth something. The same for David Geffen.»
But good luck writing down an invitation. «There is no way of catapulizing that world without already being in that world,» explains the representative. «If you have a fame, great. If you have money, great. But otherwise there is no possibility.»
A version of this story first appeared in the August 21 edition of Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
(Tagstotranslate) David Geffen
