Who’s on the List?

Forbes magazine has just released its 37th annual World’s Billionaires list, with 2,640 billionaires worth a total of $12.2 trillion ranked, down by $500 billion last year.

At Number One is Frenchman Bernard Arnault, 74, the owner of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany for the first time with $211 billion, while Tesla magnate Elon Musk, 51, is in second place with $180 billion, and Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos, 59, is third with $114 billion, $57 billion less than 2022.

Local resident Larry Ellison, 78, is at number four with $107 billion for Oracle computers, Warren Buffett follows with $106 billion, and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, 67, at number six with $104 billion.

There are 150 newcomers including basketball ace LeBron James, 38, with $1 billion, golfer Tiger Woods, 47, with $1.1 billion, and fashion icon Tom Ford, 61, with $2.2 billion.

The list’s average age is 65, with the U.S. having the most billionaires – 735 of them, with a total net worth of $4.5 trillion. China is ranked number two with 562, and India third with 169.

As usual, our rarefied enclave is well represented with Google tycoon Eric Schmidt, 67, who bought the Solana estate from Bill and Sandi Nicholson, ranked 104 with $16.2 billion, and frequent visitor Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, 80, whose team trains in Oxnard during the summer, at 133 with $13.3 billion. Rosewood Miramar owner Rick Caruso, 64, is listed at number 497 with $5.3 billion.

Beanie Baby tycoon Ty Warner, 78, who owns the San Ysidro Ranch and the Biltmore, is ranked 511 with $5.2 billion while mega director George Lucas, 78, who owns a sprawling beach house in Carpinteria, is ranked 534 with $5 billion. Mall magnate Herb Simon, 88, comes in at 852 with $3.4 billion.

Real estate investor and Santa Barbara Polo Club patron with his Antelope team Geoff Palmer, 72, is at 905 with $3.2 billion followed by former TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey, 69, listed at 1217 with $2.5 billion, and Hotel Californian owner Bill Foley, 78, is ranked 1804 with $1.6 billion.

He shares the spot with Montecito’s Peter Sperling, 63, son of John Sperling, the founder of the online University of Phoenix.

Court Appearance Across the Pond

Prince Harry, who just announced he will be attending his King Charles’s coronation, made a surprise appearance at a London court for his phone hacking case against the Daily Mail, joined by other bold-faced names like Sir Elton John and model-actress Elizabeth Hurley.

The Riven Rock-based Duke of Sussex, 38, did not have to attend the initial hearing, but while in the U.K. stayed at Frogmore Cottage, his former five-bedroom residence a short drive from Windsor Castle, before his father reportedly evicted him.

Harry, who has also been told he can stay there if attending May’s crowning, did not see the monarch during his visit, but did retrieve possessions from his former home to ship back to our rarefied enclave.

90 Years of Laughter and Love 

Comedy legend Carol Burnett, who celebrates her 90th birthday later this month, says she still feels “like I’m 11.”

“But it sure went fast,” the Montecito funny lady tells People magazine, as she graces the latest cover.

“I’m glad because I’ve got all my parts – got my hips, I got my knees and I’ve got my brain, so I’m happy about that.”

On her actual big day, April 26, NBC will air a pre-taped star-studded retrospective in her honor called “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love.”

Local Mom Starts New Instagram Account

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has set up a kinky Instagram account dedicated to sex as her controversial lifestyle platform Goop branches out.

The Oscar winner, 50, has established an @goopsex account on the site that has so far focused on how lovers can tease each other with ‘edging’ and instructions on how to achieve the perfect orgasm.

Her wellness platform, valued at around $200 million, told members of the launch of the kinky feed.

“An important pillar of this is how we feel about our sexuality,” says Paltrow. “We have created a new Instagram channel for those who want to further our education in this area @goopsex.

The site is described “as a place for the pursuit of pleasure covering sex, intimacy, and relationships.”

Birthday Boy Meets World

Actor William Daniels, who used to split his time between his Montecito and L.A. homes, celebrated his 96th birthday with his former Boy Meets World cast members.

A former president of the Screen Actors Guild, Daniels, who played on the ABC sitcom from 1993 to 2000, met his co-stars Will Friedle, Rider Strong, and Danielle Fishel on a panel at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo 2023.

The Emmy winner’s wife of 72 years, Bonnie Bartlett Daniels, was also guest at the three-day event as she co-starred on the show in seasons four and six.

Watercolorist Gets Big Break with Gift Shop Snacks

King Charles, whose coronation is at London’s Westminster Abbey next month, has launched a new range of Sandringham-branded cookies and confectionery in packaging adorned with one of his own watercolors.

The boxes and tubs, costing $7 to $10, are all decorated with His Majesty’s pictures of imposing Sandringham House, built in 1870 for the future King Edward VII as a gift from his mother Queen Victoria.

The range of snacks and treats is being sold at the visitor’s center gift shop on the 20,000-acre estate in Norfolk in the east of England.

The selections include candies, chocolate bars, gingerbread cookies, and clotted cream fudge. 

Orange You Glad You Tanned

Santa Barbara singer Katy Perry has revealed a crucial tanning mistake while filming her “California Gurls” music video in 2010.

The former Dos Pueblos High student, 38, shared she had to spend “so much extra money on color-grading” on the iconic video when she appeared in Vogue’s Life in Looks segment.

“Rarely do I get spray tans, and typically you’re meant to get them the night before,” says Katy. “Well, I didn’t have time, so I got one the day of my music video.

“When you get a tan the morning of your music video your color changes gradually throughout the day. So, I just kept getting oranger, and oranger, and oranger.

“We had to spend so much extra money on color-grading this video because in one part of the video I’m this color orange, and then I’m this shade of orange in the next part.”

All very ap-peeling….

Suzanne Rheinstein Remembered

On a personal note, I mark the passing of top interior designer and philanthropist Suzanne Rheinstein, who split her time between her home in L.A.’s Hancock Park and her hideaway in Montecito.

A native of Louisiana, Rheinstein, 77, owned a store, Hollyhock, and was a board member of the Garden Conservancy.

She won the Albert Hadley Award for Lifetime Achievement and wrote three volumes with top coffee table tome publisher Rizzoli, her last being, A Welcoming Elegance.

Sightings 

Rocker Adam Levine tooling around the ‘hood in his vintage Ford Bronco…Warbler Katy Perry shopping at Wendy Foster…Actor Ashton Kutcher and wife Mila Kunis enjoying a gondola ride in Venice.

Pip! Pip!