The international jet set has abandoned St-Tropez this summer and gone to Ibiza, Greece’s Mykonos and other resorts with more fun and less crime.
Even Leonardo DiCaprio[1] has cut back on his time there, canceling his star-studded environmental benefit gala usually held in late July.
“Without Leo’s party, a lot of the American richies who would fly in for it have gone elsewhere, too,” a local told me.
“Plus, folks are really tired of getting robbed here. Burglars hit the posh villas here nightly, drug you while you’re sleeping, and clean you out — Hermès bags, Vuitton luggage, jewelry, watches, cash. The super-rich are going other places where crime isn’t such a big problem.”
Russian oligarchs are most conspicuous in their absence. “A couple of years ago, everywhere you went, you heard Russian,” said my source. “Not this year.”
Vlad Doronin, Naomi Campbell’s onetime boyfriend, is keeping his yacht Domino in Ibiza this summer, and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov[2] was recently there on his yacht Palladium, Tatler Russia reports. Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio[3] seems to have ditched the French mainland, too, in favor of the Spanish isle of Ibiza.
Roman Abramovich, who owns the Château de la Croë in Cap d’Antibes, seems to be the last oligarch on the French Riviera. His yacht Eclipse was anchored in Pampelonne Bay in July.
Not helping attract tourists was a rainstorm Thursday night that flushed all the sewers into the bay. One American remarked, “It looks like the Gowanus Canal.” Red flags were up and swimming was forbidden until further notice.
References
- ^ Leonardo DiCaprio (pagesix.com)
- ^ Mikhail Prokhorov (pagesix.com)
- ^ Alessandra Ambrosio (pagesix.com)