Could St. Barts’ status as the jet set’s most exclusive holiday destination be slipping? Russian mogul Roman Abramovich has moved his annual New Year’s Eve party from the ritzy Caribbean island to Moscow this year — and many of the wealthy regulars have also headed for other exotic destinations.
Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich and his fashion-designer, art-collector and editor girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, whose annual St. Barts bash at their sprawling property on breathtaking Gouverneur Beach has been the hottest Eve ticket for years, are instead throwing their lavish party in their native Moscow.
Missing from the St. Barts crowd this year is Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman, who are in the chichi Swiss resort of Gstaad; Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, in Australia; Rachel Zoe, Jon Bon Jovi, plus Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, who headed to Turks and Caicos.
Meanwhile, gracing the slopes in Aspen are designers Nicole Miller and Dennis Basso, Goldie Hawn and family, Melanie Griffith, Mariah Carey, Daisy Soros, Giada De Laurentiis and Tory Burch.
As we previously reported, those in Gstaad include Valentino and Giancarlo Giametti. Madonna is expected in time for the New Year’s bash at Valentino’s chalet.
At the same time, in Tulum, Mexico, are Katie Couric, Demi Moore with daughter Rumer Willis, and a fashion crowd that includes Bergdorf goddess Linda Fargo and Brian Atwood.
While St. Barts does have its fair share of yachts in the harbor, and those seen on the island include Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell, Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour, also missing this year is billionaire Ronald Perelman’s annual New Year’s and birthday bash, held on his 261-foot yacht, C2, anchored in Gustavia. We’re told Perelman is heading to a different island.
A source familiar with the high rollers said, “A lot of people are skipping St. Barts, partly because they want a change, and mostly because many of the big parties and big moguls are missing.”