The Hamptons Reigns as Celebrity Mecca in July 4th Debut

The Hamptons Reigns as Celebrity Mecca in July 4th Debut

Article and Photos By: Lieba Nesis

The Hamptons was all home runs in its July 4th debut, with hotels packed and celebrities filling nearly every inch of the South Fork enclave.  Friday evening I headed to a cocktail party at the beautiful Water Mill home of Elizabeth Steimberg where one hundred well heeled guests dined on ceviche and listened to Broadway tunes.  Saturday Josephine de Moura and her husband Alex held a grand barbecue in Southampton where guests María and Ken Fishel and Chris Arlotta dined on salmon, corn and dozens of intoxicating desserts.  Saturday evening the Halsey House Gala took place in Southampton with chair Jean Shafiroff wowing in a yellow Oscar de la Renta dress as hundreds of guests danced the night away. Billionaire Marc Leder’s grand Saturday party at his $23 million home in Sagaponack included oodles of Marc’s Miami friends.

Washington Post heiress Lally Weymouth also held her annual July 4th Saturday evening bash and guests remarked it was more scintillating than ever with attendees including billionaires Jeff Greene, Josh Harris, Leon Black, Ray, Veronica and Greg Kelly and Chuck Schumer.  The rarely seen Julia Koch was also spotted.  Saturday night was all about the moguls as tech whiz David Rosenberg opened up his palatial Bridgehampton home for a soirée featuring fireworks, ice cream and hundreds of models.

Celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio, Gigi Hadid and Odell Beckham Jr. held court while gearing up for Michael Rubin’s Monday July 3rd event.  Sunday was no less starry as Robert Kraft may have outdone bestie Michael Rubin in one of the most talked about parties of the Summer.  Dozens of food trucks were parked outside his Meadow Lane Southampton home days before he and wife Dana welcomed Tom Brady, Kevin Hart, Kevin Love and business titans Leon Black, Josh Harris, Lloyd Blankfein, Michael Rubin, Julia Koch, and David Zaslav for an all jeans party.

The least Democratic attendee was Senator Chuck Schumer who danced up a storm amongst the rich and famous. 772 Middle Line Highway in Sag Harbor was a millennial hotspot on Sunday as hundreds joined for dancing and entertainment amongst one of the most palatial Hamptons properties I have seen. The massive firework display and colorful entertainment had excited guests partying for hours.

Nightclub owner Richie Akiva took charge Sunday night at Kissaki Water Mill where Zack Bia and Rachel Winters DJ’d-regaling tired Hamptonites until almost 4 AM.  However, everyone knows Monday night is all about Fanatics mogul Michael Rubin’s all white bash that he continually promotes on social media and to the press.

I spoke to some attendees who claimed the festivities were boring with lackluster entertainment by Ne-Yo and Usher.  Kevin Hart used the stage to promote his tequila brand while The Fat Jewish showed up in underwear-classy crowd! The cocktail party was all Nobu catered while much ado was made about samplings of Cucina Alba and Lucali for the dinner.  However, the party was really about the epic 400 person mix which contained sports starts Tom Brady and Odell Beckham Jr, influencers Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Jonathan Cheban and the D’Amelio sisters, rappers Lil Baby, Travis Scott and Jay-Z and for the first time ever Jennifer and Lynda Lopez along with Ben Affleck and his daughter Violet.

Hailey and Justin Bieber even attended as DiCaprio and his posse snuck by-however, Drake was a surprising no-show.  Much was made about the impossible to bypass security but it really was just a name on a list which had to be accompanied by state issued security-nothing earth shattering about that.

A less talked about evening at Robert Downey Jr. ‘s East Hampton home was transpiring simultaneously but that top secret event will never make it on Page Six.  In case I forget Oprah and Gayle King’s Monday lunch took place at Walter Odom’s home in Sag Harbor while they will be missing the Chainsmokers at the Surf Lodge Montauk tomorrow afternoon. The New York Times should issue a correction after falsely claiming in May 2023 the Hamptons is passé. There is no other summer hotspot that attracts wealth and celebrity akin to the Hamptons as illustrated by July 4th 2023.