Billy Mcfarland Net Worth: Fyre Festival & Career
The American fraudster Billy McFarland has a net worth of $ -5 Million.
William Z. Mcfarland, popular as Billy McFarland, is an American con artist born on 11 December 1991 in New York, USA.
Meanwhile, Billy was the organizer of an ill-fated Fyre Festival scheduled to be in the Bahamas Island.
Born to parents who were in Real Estate, Billy attended Bucknell University, where he studies Computer Engineering for just nine months.
And Billy defrauded investors of $27.4 Million by marketing and selling tickets in the name of the Fyre Festival.
Quick Facts
Meanwhile, here are some quick facts about Billy Mcfarland before getting to his net worth in detail:
Full Name | William Z. Mcfarland |
Net Worth | $-5Million |
Birth Date | 11 December 1991 |
Known as | Billy McFarland |
Age | [calculate_years datestring=”12/11/1991″] Years Old |
Birth Place | New York City |
Religion | Christianity |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White |
Education | Pingry School, Bucknell University (drop out) |
Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
Father’s Name | Steven McFarland |
Mother’s Name | Irene McFarland |
Siblings | Not Available |
Height | 5 Feet 10 Inches |
Weight | 83Kg |
Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Brown |
Profession | Entrepreneur |
Endorsements | Hulu |
Marital Status | Unmarried |
Girlfriend | Anastacia Eremenko |
Children | Not Available |
Social Media | Instagram, Linkedin |
Last Update | [current-month], [current-year] |
Net Worth and Income
Meanwhile, Billy McFarland has always been a fraudster and, rather than gaining, has been in debt or loss.
However, Billy grabbed income by appearing in the Hulu documentary.
His earning from his entrepreneurship has a negative growth making his net worth in negative amount.
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Houses and Cars
Houses
Meanwhile, once Billy Mcfarland rented a duplex house in the west village for around $13,750 a month as a black cardholder.
And, he had a lavishing penthouse in Manhattan called Meatpacking district, which is being put up on sale for around $7.5 Million.
Moreover, the house had beautiful interiors, master suite bedrooms, huge windows, and a private terrace.
Also, McFarland used to earn his income by renting the apartments for around $25,000 per month.
Cars
Billy spent his ample sum on luxurious cars.
In around 2016/2017, McFarland was seen driving a Ferrari Car worth $300,000.
Also, the fraudster was seen testing various models of the Tesla Model cars, which are worth over $70,000.
However, it is believed that he didn’t own the ca.
Lifestyle and Vacations
Meanwhile, the con artist used to lead a luxurious lifestyle before his tenure in prison.
To boost his wealthy side and to appear real, Billy used to wear expensive outfits of Prada, which are over $3000.
Also, for vacations, Billy traveled places mostly around the United States while frequently going to Mexico and London for his refreshments.
Nonetheless, the fraudster went to Bahamas Island several times, being the sole organizer of the Fyre Festival.
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Magnises, Fyre Festival, Penalty, and Acting
Magnises
Billy Mcfarland had a fake influencer credit card.
Earlier, Billy used to lure investors by showing them fake company reports to attract them for membership.
‘Magnises aimed to create an exclusive ‘Black Card’ for millennials with special membership costs of around $250 a year where the members were given discounts for exclusive events.
And, Magnises party was held out of West Village townhouse where the members were invited to attend cocktail parties, dinners, art shows, and lectures.
Although the company seems legal initially, people started for refund when the company didn’t keep up with its promises.
However, there were complaints that the refunds were taking more than a month of processing time.
Fyre Festival
Billy McFarland became the CEO of Fyre Media Inc., a parent company for the Fyre Festival.
Earlier, Billy told his company was worth $90 Million. However, its actual value was as low as $60,000.
Billy justified his claim by alleging the company has received millions of dollars from sponsorship and ticket sales.
Later, it was found that the company has generated just $57,000 in revenue.
And, weeks before the starting of the Festiva, his company Fyre Media Inc. defaulted on a huge loan and frauded over 80 Investors.
Not only this, but he also lied about his personal property claiming that he has around $2.5 Million stock holding at Facebook, but in fact, it was just around $1500.
Meanwhile, the festival was promoted by the supermodel and Instagram influencers like Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski to buy tickets that were worth over $1200 to whooping $100,000 depending upon the luxury.
And, the cost of the day pass was $450. In addition, it was promised that the guest would fly from Miami on a custom Boeing 737 with a full VIP experience.
Instead, they ended up waiting hours at the airport, and their luggage was loaded in the middle of the night in a shipping container.
However, when the ticket holders went into the site, the venue has merely some leaky hurricane tents.
At the same time, the gourmet food consisted of Sandwiches and the major celebrities’ performance was either canceled or was not invited at all.
Got Arrested
Also, Billy got arrested for a $100,000 ticket-selling scheme after his arrest for the festival scam.
Thousand of pounds had been raised from Bahamian restaurant workers whose life savings got scammed by the Billy McFarland festival.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe has raised over $80,000 for the workers who lost in a festival scam.
Maryall Role, who used to feed 1000 meals a day for festival preparation, lost around $50,000 of her life saving because of this scam.
And, it is announced that the ticket holders will receive $2 million compensation as a cash settlement.
However, Billy and his festival partner, i.e., Ja Rule, received a class-action lawsuit of 100 Million as soon as the Fyre Festival was canceled.
Also, he developed a Fyre Mobile App to book agents.
Moreover, the show was eventually canceled because of a lack of funding and a struggle for security, food, logistics, staffing, accommodations, and talent relations.
Penalty
For his ill-fated Fyre Festival, Billy needs to pay around $26 million to compensate the victims.
Although The federal agents arrested him for wire fraud in mid-2017, he was released on bail of around $300,000.
Even after that, Billy led another scam to sell fake tickets worth $100,000 for events like the Met Gala, Burning Man, and Coachella.
Acting
However, Billy McFarland acted in Hulu’s ‘Fyre Fraud’ for which he received $250,000, and also he gets payments from ‘Dumpster Fyre’ podcast.
Also, Netflix approached him for the documentary of his fraudulent activity.
However, Billy got rejected for his demand to be featured in the documentary.
Career
Meanwhile, Billy initially dropped out of college and served as the Spiling CEO, an online ad platform.
In 2013, Billy seeded a payment company called Magnises with funding from investors, which was worth $1.5 Million.
Besides these, Billy also launched a Fyre Festival parent company called ‘Fyre Media Inc.’
Following this, Mcfarland announced a luxurious Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, working with famous rapper Ja Rule.
However, the festival turned out to be fake.
As of now, Billy is serving his tenure in prison.
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Charity
Billy’s plans included for every ticket sold worth over $450 for Fyre Festival, he decided to donate around $1.5 to the Bahamian Red Cross.
Also, Bill has announced a new endeavor from inside the prison, which is crowd-funding money for other inmates to call their family in this difficult coronavirus time.
He has named his donation venture as ‘Project-315’, where he has expected to collect the standard charge of around $3.15 for a 15-minute call.
3 Facts about Billy Mcfarland
Meanwhile, Billy once hosted a party for 500 people that caused around $100,000 worth of damage.
And Billy loves computers, oceans, and rap music.
Also, he created his black card, which costs over $450.
Quotes
“I am incredibly sorry for my collective actions and will right the wrongs I have delivered to my family, friends, partners, associates, and you, the general public.”
FAQs
Did Fyre attendees get a refund?
Around 277 ticket holders amounting to approximately $7,220 received their amount, and the process is going on.
Where is Billy Mcfarland now?
Mcfarland is currently at FCI Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio.
What punishment did Billy McFarland receive?
Billy is serving six years in prison from 2018 as a convicted ‘Serial Fraudster.’