White Party Down

fanatics michael rubin
The legal blowback against Fanatics might not only reshape the company, but have ripple effects across the entire entertainment industry. Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic
Eriq Gardner
July 23, 2024

This month, two events highlighted the outsize ambitions of Michael Rubin, the billionaire Fanatics C.E.O. who has reshaped the sports landscape through high-profile dealmaking. The first, of course, was Rubin’s annual all-white party over the Fourth of July weekend, held at his $50 million Hamptons oceanfront home. The celebrity guest list included the Kardashians, Tom Brady, Drake, Robert Kraft, and Leonardo DiCaprio, each of whom dutifully donned colorless outfits and left with a brand-new pair of custom Air Jordan 1s. Rubin, never one to miss an opportunity to promote himself,  then posted multiple videos of the whole affair on his Instagram.