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What Happens When a Billionaire Joins Instagram

How David Geffen got a rare photo of Leonardo DiCaprio on his mega-yacht.


On Sunday, a photo surfaced on Instagram of Leonardo DiCaprio on a yacht looking like very much like he was still in character from The Revenant. His untrimmed beard fit perfectly into the cutout of his crisp, white V-neck shirt and it was unclear whether or not his hair was slicked back with seawater, sweat, gel, or all of the above. While his off-duty appearance was unsurprising, the fact that DiCaprio allowed anyone to take his picture, let alone while on vacation, and at such an intimate angle, felt like a gift from the social media gods. The photo quickly went viral.

Who had the temerity to take this photo? That would be one David Geffen, the 73-year-old billionaire founder of a Hollywood studio — Dreamworks, co-founded with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg — a major record label, Geffen Records, which released everything from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy to Nirvana‘s Nevermind — and, to boot, he was also one of the producers of Cats and Dreamgirls. In other words: ka-ching!

Geffen’s Instagram tagline is a coy, “Google me.” Modesty was never his strong suit. Discovering that he had joined the kids on social media was about as surprising as finding out that Candice Bergen and Mick Jagger are also on there, unbeknownst to anyone. Rich septuagenarians, they’re just like us!

So, what happens when a billionaire joins Instagram? After only six weeks on the platform, Geffen has gained 4,078 followers — hundreds of which came from the Leo photo. He’s only following a select 59 people though, including Elton John’s husband, Justin Bieber’s agent, Dasha Zhukova’s private account, and lots of buff men, like Colton Haynes. Alas, he hasn’t figured out how to tag anyone, yet. But tagging is for laymen if your ‘grams include Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and of course, Leo.

Lil Yachty, however, was nowhere to be found.

In sum, Geffen’s account can be broken down into three areas of interest: photos of his 453-foot yacht (“Rising Sun,” which makes an annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival, photos of famous people on his yacht, and famous people he hung out with before he had his yacht.

If you actually Google Geffen, you’ll learn that “Rising Sun” is only half the size of the Titanic, but don’t tell Leo that.

Photos: What Happens When a Billionaire Joins Instagram

Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

Bruce Springsteen, Gayle King, Paul McCartney, Oprah, David Geffen, and more. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

“Rising Sun.” Photo by @DavidGeffen.

David Geffen. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

Gayle King, Maria Shriver, Julia Roberts, David Geffen, Oprah Winfrey. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

Bruce Springsteen and David Geffen. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

David Geffen, Karlie Kloss, and Derek Blasberg. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

Andy Warhol and David Geffen. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

David Geffen and Dasha Zhukov. Photo by @DavidGeffen.

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