Birthdays really are a time for celebrating, and no one seems to know how better to throw an extravagant bash than these celebrities… friends, I hope you take notes for how to really celebrate birthdays once we all become rich and world-famous.
1. We’ve all heard of the sweet 16, but what about the sweet 60? It seems even if Sir Elton John is not a pioneer of the concept, he surely perfected the art. His 60th allegedly boasted a price tag of $1.5 million, which is nothing next to his net worth these days of almost half a billion USD. The black-tie celebration took place at the largest gothic church that exists, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine located in NYC. Elton John’s first appearance of the night was in a Louis XIV costume complete with a larger-than-life wig, and his guests amounted to 500 people with names like Rod Stewart, Liz Hurley and Sir Paul McCartney in the mix.
2. For Sir Philip Green, owner of Topshop, money was no object when it came to celebrating his 60th birthday with a four-day fiesta held in Mexico: Green reportedly dropped $6 million on the affair. Guards on jet skis patrolled the event to keep nuisances away, and the guest list was full of big names like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Hudson and Simon Cowell. But that’s not all – celebs like Stevie Wonder, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams and Enrique Iglesias all performed for the birthday bash. Multi-billionaire Green even had his own face projected onto cliffs surrounding the party. Guests danced from dusk ‘til dawn, enjoying a fireworks display, and even the late night snacks were ritzy: evening guests noshed on Kobe beef burgers that cost $50 each to make.
3. Proving she truly cannot be tamed, Miley Cyrus pulled out all the stops for her wild 21st birthday celebration held in Hollywood, at Beacher’s MadHouse where some of the most insane nightlife antics in California take place (picture zip-lining liquor servers dressed as Oompa Loompas, celebrity impersonators and theatrics galore). Present at the party were blow-up dolls, exotic dancers and even Dr. Seuss’ Lorax made an appearance. Celebs Ke$ha, Emma Roberts and Wiz Khalifa were amongst the attendees, and all were treated to a birthday cake decorated like a nude Miley, with marijuana leaves preserving her modesty.
4. Kate Moss is no stranger to the lavish and glamorous celebrity lifestyle, and her 40th birthday (a four-day ‘Glastonbury’-themed fest with non-stop entertainment) was well in keeping with those trends, but her 30th birthday festivities take the cake. That celebration began with a lunch comprised of the finest cuisine and bubbly for Kate and her closest friends so they would be energised for the long night ahead. To truly do her ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’ theme justice, Kate hired a full team of makeup and hair artists, there to beautify the model and her inner circle. Then came the party itself, an F. Scott Fitzgerald scene come to life, set in two Regent’s Park mansions connected by a lush courtyard. Noise complaints eventually became so serious that Kate was forced to leave, taking 50 guests with her to a smaller get-together (rumoured to be the height of debauchery) at her suite in luxury hotel Claridge’s.
5. Similarly to Kate Moss, one thing that is to be expected from heiress Paris Hilton is a truly legendary blow-out when the occasion arises. In 2002, Paris commemorated her 21st birthday with a party that would go down in history books – scratch that, she held five parties. In honour of the big landmark, the socialite hosted five birthday bashes around the world in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, London and Tokyo. Party-hopping with the help of a private jet, Paris was able to celebrate with her friends in several different time zones, and she certainly made attendance worth their while: the festivities cost Hilton $75k for each guest in attendance.
5 ½. Honorary mention must go to the Sultan of Brunei, whose 1996 star-studded birthday party cost him $27.2 million. The celebration included a private concert by Michael Jackson, not to mention the finest champagne and caviar money could buy.
Written by Gaia Croston