Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - The Price of Met Gala Admission

Episode Date: May 1, 2023

The day is has arrived— the Super Bowl of fashion, the Oscars of the East: the Met Gala. Today, Nicole breaks down how much your favorite celebs have spent to walk the Met Gala carpet tonight (spoiler alert: it's a small fortune). But here's the million-dollar question: can the Met Gala stay relevant in a world that increasingly holds celebrities accountable for how they use their influence— and wallets? Nicole has an answer that will surprise you.

One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that

I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime. Feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details.

I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. Today is the biggest day in fashion. It's the Met Gala. It's been called the Oscars of the East Coast, and the guest list is a reflection of the biggest A-listers in pop culture. I mean, the red carpet fills up with stars like Beyonce and Rihanna, all the single-name celebrities, plus the Kardashian-Jenners, the Hadids, and pretty much anyone who's a who's who in Hollywood. None of us can escape the best dressed lists that flood the internet every first Monday in May. If you're feeling a little left out, just remember that Angelina Jolie, Adele, and Meryl Streep have never been to the Met Gala. It's undeniable, though,

that the Met Gala is an out-of-control showing of next-level wealth. As a money person, the Met Gala is kind of like a car crash to me. Even though it's kind of a shitshow, I can't look away. However, it's not extravagance for the sake of extravagance. For everyone, anyway. Because the Met Gala gets so much attention, some celebrity attendees use the red carpet as a stage to share a message they believe in. But is that enough to keep the Met Gala relevant in a world that increasingly holds celebrities accountable for how they use their influence? To answer this question, let's start with the money trail, aka the car crash. So even though to the public eye the Met Gala is just a big red carpet event, it also is technically a fundraiser. Every year the gala is put on by Vogue and raises money for

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically the Costume Institute. The gala has been going strong since 1948, but leveled up when Anna Wintour took over Vogue in the 90s. Last year, the gala raised over $17 million for the Met. For reference, last year, the Met's Springtime Gala only raised $2.6 million. I say only like $2.6 million is not a lot of money. It definitely is, but it's also a long ways away from $17 mil. So what puts the Met Gala in a financial league of its own? It's pretty simple. It comes down to the price tag. In 1960, tickets to the Met Gala were $100. In 1999, when Anna Wintour first took over, tickets went up to $1,000. Last year, tickets were $30,000, and this year, tickets

are reportedly $50,000. So Met Gala tickets seem to be the only thing that has kept up with inflation, and then some. So to recap, if you're looking for a Met Gala ticket for tonight, you're looking at shelling out a year's tuition at a private university. Cool, cool. If you're looking to buy a table, you can expect to at least 6x that. Met Gala tables, which are usually scooped up by big fashion labels or brands trying to play it cool, start at $300k. In 2015, Yahoo reportedly paid $3 million to lock in two tables at the gala. But even if you do have seven figures of money just lying around, you're not guaranteed a table. And even if you do get a table, you don't have the final say on the guest list. Anna Wintour okays every single attendee. This year, there's an

expected 400 attendees. Assuming they're coming in at 50000 a pop, that is $20 million in revenue. Sources say the event takes about $3 million to put on, which leaves the profit of the event at the $17 million mark. That is a dizzying amount of money. I am still trying to imagine dropping $50,000 on a dinner, but the truth is that's just the tip of the iceberg if you're showing up to the gala. Because again, this isn't any old charity event. This is the Super Bowl of fashion. So in your Met Gala budget, you can't just factor in the price of tickets. You also need to take into consideration travel and, of course, what you wear. The most expensive fit to ever hit the Met Gala carpet was Kim Kardashian's dress last year.

You probably heard about this. She wore the exact dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she famously sang Happy Birthday, Mr. President to JFK in 1962. It was a very cool idea, but Kim K got a ton of flack for this look. First, there was a very vocal group of folks who didn't think that Kim should have ever been allowed to wear what is effectively a piece of American cultural history. Plus, there were claims that she damaged the dress, although the evidence didn't really seem there to me, but what do I know? I am no Olivia Benson. Beyond that, Kim got the most criticism for her proud announcement that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the dress.

Not a great role model moment, but back to the dress. The iconic dress has been auctioned a few times, but most recently was bought by the president and CEO of Ripley Entertainment, James Patterson. Patterson bought the dress for a cool $4.8 million. If you think that's a lot of money, that is child's play compared to how much money is spent on the jewelry at the Met Gala. Two years ago, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain set the record when she wore a $30 million choker, the most expensive piece of jewelry ever made. This piece also came with its own controversy. The jewels in the choker were allegedly part of a larger necklace that was believed to have belonged to the Maharaja of Patiala. The Maharaja wore this piece regularly until he died, but then the necklace disappeared from the royal treasury of Patiala in the 1940s.

Some speculate that it was quietly sold for tax reasons, and others believe it was stolen. When Chamberlain wore the piece, she received backlash, specifically that the necklace is a piece of Indian heritage that should be returned to its home country. Now, of course, celebrities don't have to pay for what they wear on the carpet. If you're a fashion label, a celebrity wearing your design to the Met Gala is better than any billboard you could pay for or ever dream of. So the millions that these pieces are worth aren't actually changing hands, but it does add to this totally unrelatable picture of wealth that has come to represent the gala. This tends to be the thesis statement of the event, regardless of the actual annual theme. This year's theme, by the way, is Karl Lagerfeld,

a line of beauty, honoring the late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, who was a designer at Chanel and Fendi before launching his own line. Regardless of the theme, though, over the years, celebrities have used the Met Gala as a stage for good. Back in 2018, the theme was heavenly bodies, fashion, and the Catholic imagination. Filmmaker and actor Lena Waithe wore a cape in the colors of a pride flag. Since then, the political commentary has gotten even louder, with the frankest display coming from Representative AOC, who last year wore a white gown that said, tax the rich, in big red letters on the back. Taking an even bigger swing at affecting change was Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.

Because of the, again, absurdly high price tag for admission to the gala, it's impossible for up-and-coming designers to have their work represented. So Lewis Hamilton bought a table and invited select Black designers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford to go on their own. This year, we can be sure that some of the attendees will follow in these footsteps and use this as a platform for something good. Plus, the New York Times notes that because most guests will likely be honoring Carl's work by wearing vintage Chanel or Fendi, this could be the most sustainable Met Gala ever. So that is something. But let's revisit the $20 million question. Is the Met Gala totally ridiculous? Sure, the Costume Institute at the Met is a worthy institution, but it's also one building

in New York. There are global organizations that reach many, many more people than the Met and could do a lot with $20 million. Instead of slapping a slogan on the back of a dress, could public figures be affecting more change if they took the admission price and actually donated it to a worthy cause? And is any of this the Met Gala's fault? After all, Anna Wintour was charged with raising money for the Met, and she has absolutely crushed it. Okay, so this is not something you'll expect me to say, but I actually don't think boycotting the Met Gala is the answer here. Instead, I think more institutions could use Anna Wintour's winning formula to raise a boatload of money for their

own operations. Because realistically, if a celebrity can afford a ticket to the Met Gala, they can afford a ticket to whatever the next Met Gala is, right? They're not spending the last $50K in their bank account just to be in the same room as Justin Bieber. So this brings me to today's tip you can take straight to the bank. If you like this take a page from Vogue approach, what you should think about when you're selling a product or raising funds is how exclusivity might help your case. Now, this doesn't work for everyone. Some brands fare much better by being inclusive. That's my bread and butter and what, on principle, I've always preferred. But if you're in an industry like fashion, design, art, an industry

where you're selling status rather than community. Make your events or platform invite-only. Build toward finding a celeb spokesperson with a personal connection to your industry, and who knows? Maybe you can be the next Met. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com.

When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at chime.com slash MNN. That's chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A., members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and

conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Levoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at moneynews and TikTok at moneynewsnetwork for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you.

Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.