Meet the Woman Who Gives Free Diamonds to Celebs
Kari Feinstein. Photo: Getty Images
“I’m the Santa Claus of Hollywood,” declares Kari Feinstein, Los Angeles’s self-anointed “Queen of Swag.”
And though she looks nothing like Father Christmas—she’s slim enough to fit into one of his pant legs—the 30-something publicist has a point. Every year, she gives away millions of dollars in trips, diamonds, clothes, beauty products, and even laptops.
The trick? You have to be very famous—or at least very popular on Twitter—to get them.
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“My company, Kari Feinstein Public Relations, sets up gifting suites during awards season,” she explains. “We’ve been doing it for a long time—13 years! What happens is, we bring in about 15 companies. They pay a fee—” sometimes tens of thousands of dollars—“and they set up booths in our space, and 70 to 80 invited celebrities come through. The celebs meet with the different brands, and a lot of them will tweet or Instagram, and drive a lot of attention and buzz to the brands.” Which, obviously, is good news for emerging labels.
Amber Rose at the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge. Photo: Courtesy KFPR
Of course, inviting Hollywood’s elite to receive free stuff can reveal some pretty interesting things about your favorite stars—especially when it comes to their manners. “I’ve had everybody at my events, from Ben Affleck to Naomi Watts,” Weinstein reveals. “And some of the A-List celebrities are among the absolute nicest people we’ve ever had.” But not all A-listers are grateful and gracious for the pleasure of getting free gifts. “I’ve actually noticed that some of the younger stars, like ones in their early 20’s, they’ve got kind of that expectant attitude where, you know, ‘I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do that, just give me this!’ It’s very easy to notice that attitude. So we try and avoid those celebrities!”
And by “those celebrities,” she means…? “I’ve noticed that the TV actors are the most spoiled,” Feinstein says. “But I don’t know why. It’s not people from reality TV; they’re actors from regular TV shows…you know, the ones on some of the shows that teens always watch!”
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Miles Teller checks out the goods. Photo: Courtesy KFPR
But Feinstein insists those grabby TV starlets—we’ll let you guess which ones—are a small minority. “Ninety-five percent of celebrities are really nice and thankful,” she insists. And they should be: At this year’s Golden Globes Style Lounge, attendees such as Hailee Steinfeld, Paris Hilton, and Gigi Hadid are getting two kinds of snowboards, crystal jewelry, eyebrow threading, and a smart phone breathalyzer. “But the most expensive thing we’re giving away is a trip to an island resort called Capella in St. Lucia,” Feinstein says. “Not every celebrity gets that one—we have to be limited about who we give them out to because they’re only gifting a select amount!”
As for Feinstein’s most famous giveaways, she’s handed camping gear to Matthew McConaughey and luxury headphones to Joe Manganiello. But one of her most favorite memories involves Robin Williams. “He came to our Style Lounge a few years ago, and we gifted him an Apple laptop and a lot of other high-end products,” she says. “He asked us to donate everything to a children’s charity he was involved in. Then he shook everybody’s hand at the event, and he was really kind. He might be my favorite person that we’ve had.”
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Come back to see what the stars wear to the Golden Globes! We’ll be covering the red carpet, the ceremony, and the post-show festivities. It all kicks off on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Stay tuned for our live-stream coverage after the show!
