Next Up… Hot Dog Eating Contest

There are now more billionaires than ever, 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021, according to the new 38th annual Forbes magazine Rich List.

They’re also richer than ever, with $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion more than the previous record, also set in 2021.

Frenchman Bernard Arnault, 75, and family, who own LVMH, ranks Number One with $222.4 billion with Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos, 60, Number Two with $197.8 billion, $80 million more than 2023.

Tesla mogul Elon Musk, 52, ranks third with $189.8 billion, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 49, fourth with $171.9 billion, $113 million more than last year.

Santa Barbara’s Larry Ellison, 79, is fifth with Oracle computers with $152.8 billion, followed by Warren Buffett, 93, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 68, with $137.7 billion and $130.7 billion respectively.

Montecito resident Eric Schmidt, 68, is 89th with $22.6 billion from Google, while Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, 81, whose NFL team does summer training in Oxnard, is at 139 with $13.9 billion.

Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner, 79, owner of the San Ysidro Ranch and the Biltmore, is ranked 528 with $5.6 billion, 

Rosewood Miramar owner Rick Caruso, 65, is at 587 with $5.3 billion, while Carpinteria resident Star Wars tycoon George Lucas, 79, is 533 on the list with $5.7 billon.

Mall magnate Herb Simon, 89, is at 654 with $4.8 billion, with former TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey, 70, ranked 1210 with $2.8 billion.

Real estate investor Geoff Palmer, 73, a Santa Barbara Polo Club patron with his team Antelope, who was at 905 last year with $3.2 billion is now 1062 with $3.1 billion, and Hotel Californian owner and mega winemaker Bill Foley, 79, ranks 1804 with $1.9 billion.

The U.S. has the most billionaires with a record 813, followed by China with 406, India with 200 and Germany with 132.

The Last Laugh

Carpinteria resident Conan O’Brien has made his first appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show since his abrupt firing in 2010.

The 60-year-old Harvard graduate, who lives on an oceanside estate on Padaro Lane, a tiara’s toss from actor Kevin Costner and Star Wars magnate George Lucas, appeared on the show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, to promote his new Max series Conan O’Brien Must Go.

Conan hosted The Tonight Show from June 2009, to January 2010.

His departure, a move by the Peacock Network to replace him with former host Jay Leno, remains one of the most striking turns in late night television history.

Following his Tonight Show stint, Conan embarked on an 11-season journey as host of the TBS late-night program Conan, culminating in its finale in 2021, thus concluding his 28-year stint as a late-night talk show host.

The Healing Power of Literacy

Riven Rock resident Meghan Markle showed off her acting skills while reading to youngsters in the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.

The Duchess of Sussex visited the institution recently where she led a “Literacy Healing” session.

“The children were laughing and singing as the Duchess turned into characters with every page as she read from favorite books like Rosie the Riveter, Pete the Cat, and I Saw a Cat,” read a statement.

Meghan authored a children’s book, The Bench, to mark her son Archie’s first birthday in March 2020, and also appeared in a clip where she read Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld.

All too beastly for words…

And Nothing Went Wrong

Former Montecito resident Michael Douglas has discussed the use of “intimacy coordinators” on film sets.

In a new interview with London’s Daily Telegraph, the iconic UCSB-educated actor, 79, insisted that in his heydays in the late 1980s and early 1990s that actors themselves would “take care of those that overstepped boundaries.”

The Oscar winner also explained that such behaviors would result in a “negative reputation” for the perpetrator which would also “take care of them.”

With the rise of modern safeguarding measures, the Basic Instinct star says that has obviously impacted the TV and movie industries.

Michael revealed how he and women he acted with in ‘sexual movies’ have joked about what working with an intimacy coordinator would have been like.

Homeowner Lets Strangers In

King Charles III is pursuing an open door policy!

Britain’s monarch has now opened Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, to the masses for the first time with tickets costing around $120, selling out in less than a day causing the website to crash.

The 50,000-acre estate was built in 1856 by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, after he bought the expansive property near the city of Aberdeen in 1852. It became one of the long-lived sovereign’s favorite
rural retreats.

Visitors to London’s Buckingham Palace, for around $100 a ticket, will now get an extended tour which will include the East Wing – the front facade that faces The Mall and includes the famous balcony where members of the Royal Family gather for the Trooping of the Color, state occasions, and other major celebrations. 

Both properties now join historic Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edingburgh and The Tower of London in welcoming “commoners.”

Charles wanted the Royal Family and its properties to be more accessible to the public.

Barbara Rush Remembered

On a personal note, I remember Golden Globe-winning actress Barbara Rush, who had died at her L.A. home at the age of 97.

Barbara was married to an old friend, Beverly Hills PR powerhouse Warren Cowan of Rogers & Cowan, who was her husband from 1959 to 1969.

She was known for her roles in 1953’s It Came from Outer Space and 1957’s Peyton Place.

Barbara also appeared in myriad TV series and made-for-TV movies including The Twilight Zone, Murder, She Wrote, and Batman.

A charming, vivacious and vibrant individual.

Sightings

Singer-fashion designer Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori sashaying on State Street… Michael Douglas and actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones golfing at the Montecito Club… Warbler Katy Perry at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in L.A.

Pip! Pip!