Top 10 Epic Parties Thrown By The Rich And Famous

Cost: $5 million

From air-conditioned tents and a 5-foot, gluten-free wedding cake to 500 guests and a glamourous Vera Wang gown, there were a lot of reasons why Chelsea Clinton’s wedding is considered to be one of the most glamourous nuptial ceremonies ever.

Estimated to cost about five million dollars, the star-studded wedding was attended by both superstars and politicians, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, film producer Steven Bing, and tons of other congressmen and prominent Democrats.

The wedding was so extravagant that Bill Clinton, the bride’s father, was dogged by tons of controversies, with one saying that he had used donations for Haiti to pay for his daughter Chelsea’s wedding.

Cost: $6.2 million

Ever wondered how billionaires spend their special days? Ukrainian steel magnate and media mogul Victor Pinchuk might just have the answer for that. In 2010, the Ukrainian billionaire spent about $6.2 million on his 50th birthday.

Held at the Courchevel, a French ski resort, the uber-wealthy businessman hosted one of the best and most extravagant birthday parties ever. It was marked by major firework displays, a performance by Cirque du Soleil (flown in from Canada), premium and vintage wines, and food preparations by superchef Alain Ducasse.

The event was attended by 300 guests, among which include President Bill Clinton and singer-actress Christina Aguilera. 

The birthday bash was so glamourous and costly that it made headlines all over the news and even generated criticism from many French residents, who think that the celebration was a mockery to the worsening economic condition of the state at the time.

Cost: $7 million

Another extravagant birthday bash, David Bonderman’s 60th birthday celebration, comes as one of the grandest ever staged in history. Curious to know why?

Aside from providing his 300-plus attendees with bags filled with $1,000 worth of goodies, the celebration included a surprise performance from none other than the favorite classic rock band The Rolling Stones and comedian Robin Williams.

Although it was not disclosed how much money the guest musicians have bagged, it was revealed that the celebrant, David Bonderman, spent a whopping $7 million just to make the party a success.

A decade later, Bonderman yet again made headlines for his 70th birthday with a surprise performance from The Beatle’s Paul McCartney. Can you top that?

Cost: $10 million

Do you know what to expect from a 13-year-old’s birthday bash? Well, if the celebrant is a daughter of a tycoon like Elizabeth Brooks, then you can expect a lot.

By “a lot,” we mean live performances from musical legends Aerosmith, Ciara, 50 Cent, and Stevie Nicks. If that wasn’t enough, the guests of the party were even given £600 goody bags, packed with digital cameras and video iPods. Wild, isn’t it?

Spending around $10 million for the party, body armor tycoon, David Brooks, assured that his daughter’s birthday bash was over-the-top. And with the presence of such big names and the staggering overall cost, it seems the father was able to accomplish his plans.

Cost: $20 million

For his 60th birthday, Tycoon Philip Green did the unimaginable by flying his 200 guests to Cyprus for a three-day toga party. He also brought in 155 staff from London to make sure that the event would run smoothly. To make his celebration even more lively, he even had his guests serenaded by none other than Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Enrique Iglesias, Robbie Williams, and Stevie Wonder.

Overall, the party is said to have cost a staggering $20 million, with £150,000-worth of fireworks, meals that include ‘caviar surprise,’ and other expensive items.

Cost: $27.2 million

When it comes to birthdays, no one could top the royalty in celebrating their excessive lives. The Sultan of Brunei, in particular, raised the bar on how one should celebrate his or her special day by hosting a staggering $27.2 million birthday bash. 

Known for his insanely decadent life, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei seized headlines for his 50th birthday after inviting thousands of attendees for a dinner that serves only the finest of champagnes and caviar available.

To make the night even more spectacular and memorable, the Sultan flew in no other than Michael Jackson to turn the place into an all-out fiesta. Now that’s what you call royalty, indeed!

Cost: $31 million

While the previous parties on our list are linked to weddings and birthdays, our 4th grandest event concerns the opening of a luxury hotel in Dubai.

Reported to have cost a total of $31 million, the 7-star Dubai Atlantis hotel captured the attention of citizens all over the globe with its spectacular and lavish opening that seemed to have forgotten the ongoing economic crisis.

During the night of the event, the $1.5 billion hotel welcomed more than 2,000 high-profile guests, among which included Robert De Niro, Janet Jackson, Denzel Washington, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Jordan, the Duchess of York, and many more. 

The dishes that were served were also reported to have been carefully and expertly prepared by four Michelin star chefs, along with the help of 500 other chefs. To add up the hype, the opening ceremony even included fireworks that were so massive they could be seen from space.

Cost: $45 million

Back to our wedding series, the nuptial ceremony of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi now stands as one of priciest modern-day weddings to date with a whopping cost of $45 million.

During the event, which was held in 1981, guests were welcomed in a 20,000-seat stadium specially built for the prince’s seven-day wedding to Princess Salama.

The celebration was so big and historical that the wedding gifts delivered to the bride feature 20 camels carrying bags that were loaded with jewels. During the event, every town in Abu Dhabi had also been reported to have hosted the Sheikh.

Cost: $60 million

Held in June 2004, the wedding of Vanisha Mittal, with London based banker Amit Bhatia, still holds the title of one of the most luxurious weddings ever hosted. Accommodating around 1,000 guests, all of which were flown on 12 jets, the wedding was said to cost $60 million.

For the event alone, the families of the bride and the groom reserved about 600 rooms at the luxurious Hotel le Grand Intercontinental for their guests and even hired a team of 38 chefs to prepare more than 100 types of dishes.

The after-party was even said to have included performances from superstars Aishwarya Raj, Akshay Kumar, and Kylie Minogue. It also featured a grand fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower.

Cost: $70 million

And now, for the top party ever thrown by the rich and famous, the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011 remains to be the most luxurious. 

Featuring more than a hundred horses in the procession and a wedding cake made by more than 1,700 Rich Tea biscuits, the royal wedding is reported to have cost a whopping $70 million in total.

Curious on what made this event uber-expensive? While the attendees and participants themselves made use of expensive touches, what made the ceremony unbelievably costly is said to come from the price of shutting down the British economy for the day of the event.

For the rich and famous, parties couldn’t be parties without some extra touches of lavishness. From hiring legendary superstars and inviting high-profile guests to featuring many luxurious touches, there is a broad range of reasons why these 10 parties remain to be the grandest and most expensive in history.

Which among these events do you wish you could have attended?

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