This Privately Owned Island May Have the Highest Net Worth Per Guest Anywhere in The Bahamas
And it's not Musha, Over Yonder, or Little Whale Cay. Plus: Park Avenue plastic surgeons’ offices, a petition to keep Mezzaluna open, a Hamptons private chef shortage, and more.
Hi from New York City. It’s Monday, so you know what that means: free letter today. Sorry this is late. I ran into some travel issues yesterday, to say the least. I was supposed to land at LaGuardia and ended up rerouted to JFK after midnight instead. Thinking of everyone impacted by the crash last night.
I just spent the better part of a week on a 96-acre private island off the northeast coast of Andros in the Bahamas (and not for work no less. Added bonus). Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of Kamalame Cay (pronounced Kah-mal-a-me). Given who goes, it feels like a place I should have known.
I’ve been to Nassau, Harbour Island, Lyford Cay, Elbow Cay, the list goes on. Kamalame is part of that world, just not the part people usually talk about. You get there by private ferry, helicopter, or seaplane, and then there are two options: there’s a once-a-month lunch party or you can stay for a proper vacation. It’s owned by David and Michael King-Hew (David’s family were the originators), and there’s very little written about it online beyond a Town & Country story my friend Lindsay Silberman wrote eight years ago called “Inside the Secret Brunch Party Where Billionaires Let Loose.” Lunch is one Saturday a month. It’s a mix of guests of the island and people who fly in for it or bring their boats over, stay all day, and then go back to wherever they came from.
There are somewhere between 40 and 50 places to stay, from one-bedroom bungalows to expansive mansions, plus a Great House and pool where everyone ends up at some point. After a couple of days, you’ve met most of the island.
The guest list is what you think it is. I’m not going to get into names, especially since some of them are now subscribers to this newsletter (hi guys, welcome to RPS!), which has raised the average net worth in here in a way I didn’t think was possible. But there was a couple featured in a documentary by a writer you all like on Substack, and a family I profiled years ago. The word “billionaire” gets thrown around a lot. On Kamalame Cay, it’s real.
If we’re nice, maybe I can convince David and Michael King-Hew to do a Q&A for us about the place and the amazing life they have built for themselves in a future letter. Fingers crossed.
If you’re spending the cost of a Midwest mortgage on plastic surgery, the setting starts to matter. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but the interiors of these Park Avenue offices feel as competitive as the client lists. Pre-war spaces, real art, proper lighting, materials that read as expensive as the work they’re performing. You understand what you’re paying for before anyone touches your face.
If you’re wondering why I’m thinking about this, it’s because I’m sitting in one right now as I type you this letter. No, I’m not trying to look like a Kardashian. In a matter of minutes (or maybe I already have, depending when you read this), I am getting a CO2 laser from Dr. Sean Alemi. And it’s combining two things I care about more than I’d like to admit: aesthetics and interiors.
I was introduced to Dr. Alemi through my friend Rachel Harrison, who had some, um, “real work” done by him. (She gave me permission to be specific. I’m exercising restraint.) She did extensive research and told me he was the best. I went to see him a couple of months ago insisting I needed fat transfer under my eyes (yes, I will be writing more about fat transfer in the future and how I ended up being obsessed with it). I was ready for him to say yes. He said no. Flat out. Instead, he told me to get a CO2 laser. (I’m usually the one playing hard to get, so I was immediately interested). For context, I have not really done anything to my face. Most of you don’t know what I look like, and I prefer it that way. (Ed note: I am not trying to be some great mystery. There are pictures of me on the About Me page. ). I’ve done Botox and PRFM. Which, at this point, feels conservative. So here I am, about two and a half months later, about to have the top layer of my face taken off. But in an office that looks a lot different than the one I first came to. It has gotten an upgrade. And now so will my face.
They’re going to numb me for an hour or two, and then I will be on lockdown. Think Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. That is the closest reference point I have and it is not reassuring. I will report back and let you know if I am wearing a veil around town for the next week or two.
Again, this is happening in his new office. (I am not calm about it, this is not sponsored, and I am not getting paid to write this.) Dr. Alemi, who has a six-month waiting list, renovated a 2,000 square foot pre-war maisonette with Elterman Finer. There’s real art on the walls. Joan Mitchell, Picasso and Matisse lithographs (there’s one in the office where I am sitting at the moment), Degas sketches, Herringbone floors, Phillip Jeffries wallpaper, antique Italian light fixtures, custom marble, a private entrance. (My AD background rearing its head again). Is this happening everywhere, or am I just noticing it now? Is this a Dr. Alemi thing, a Park Avenue thing, or will they all get to this level of design eventually? I’ll tell you this. If I have to get the top layer of my face removed in the name of beauty, I certainly want to do it in a beautiful place. I have a feeling that’s probably everyone though.
A little housekeeping. I’ll be in London for about a week April mid-month. If you have recommendations for restaurants, hotels for a night here or there, shops, member clubs, or exhibits, I would love to hear them. If you’ll be there and want to grab coffee, let me know. I’m especially interested in unusual things and trends popping up, and would love to touch base on anything that feels very RPS or worth covering elsewhere. Or even just worth enjoying.
I also have some exciting things coming for RPS paid subscribers next month. And in case you’re sitting on any, I’m looking for any finance tips or news for our Wednesday edition of News & Noted. Also, I think you’ll like Friday’s RPS Guide. It’s very, very unusual and not something you’ve seen anywhere else.
In today’s letter: Bar di Bello reservations open, Hamptons chef panic, Taylor Swift goes Palm Beach, the OnlyFans billionaire dies, Mezzaluna backlash, peptide stacks and more…
Dionne Searcey, the wealth and power reporter for NYT and another friend of the letter, did a great piece for the paper about how Hamptons private chefs are already gone for the summer, with bookings locked in months ahead and very little left if you’re late.
Bar di Bello, the Silver Lake restaurant that has been floating around for months as one of the more anticipated openings in LA this year, started taking reservations today.
Palmer, Palm Beach’s version of the New York Post, reports that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have plans to build on a “major” lot they have purchased on the north end of the island.
Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans, has died at 43.
The UES is in an uproar over Mezzaluna’s expected closure next week. A friend of the letter went to see for themselves and found there’s already a petition circulating to try to keep it open.
A San Francisco startup called Superpower is selling personalized peptide stacks to make people hotter, smarter, and healthier, depending on how you define each.
Today’s letter is free. Most are not. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to RPS to receive all news, interviews, upcoming invites, and more. And if you’re not following @readrps on Instagram yet, now is a good time.
I fear Dr. Alemi has won both the genetic and professional lottery