Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Party With Powerful Billionaires: Is The Duchess Making Business Moves?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were spotted hanging out with billionaires and a Hollywood "power broker" during their recent trip to Las Vegas, according to a new report.
The New York Post's Page Six reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended Katy Perry's final performance of her Las Vegas residency Saturday night with Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder and CEO of multinational hedge fund Citadel.
Photos published by the outlet showed Griffin, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $34.6 billion, sitting next to Prince Harry in the VIP section at the Resorts World Theater during the show.
According to the report, Prince Harry and Markle allegedly flew by private jet to Las Vegas with Michael Kives, a former aide to both Hillary and Bill Clinton and former top agent at talent agency Creative Artists Agency who used to represent Perry but now runs an investment fund called K5 Global.
Kives sat directly behind Prince Harry during Perry's performance, as seen in the outlet's photos and videos posted by the Daily Mail and concertgoers.
Meanwhile, Markle was reportedly seen sitting close to Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd at the show.
Wolfe Herd and her husband Michael Herd, an oil and gas heir from Texas, reportedly had invited the Sussexes and Kives to Las Vegas.
An unnamed Hollywood source described Kives to Page Six as a "power broker."
The "well-placed" insider went on to claim that the sighting raised questions about whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have plans to work with their rich and well-connected pals in business or charitable activities.
"This really presents a cozy picture of Meghan and Harry's growing network. Who only knows what Harry and Griffin could be talking about," the source told the outlet. "It's all about power and money and who knows whom."
"It's a tangled web," the insider added. "They all have friends in common. And it begs the question: will Meghan be seeking entrepreneurial advice or signing Whitney Wolfe Herd or Michael Kives on as Archewell donors or board members. Or both?"
But other unnamed insiders told Page Six that Markle and Prince Harry have no working relationship with Kives, who reportedly lives near the Sussexes in Montecito, California.
While Markle is rumored to be working on a business similar to Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand "Goop," unnamed sources told the news outlet that no concrete plans have been established for it so far.
In addition to Kives, the royal couple and the Herds were joined on the 40-minute flight from Santa Barbara airport to Las Vegas by Cameron Diaz, her husband Benji Madden and Zoe Saldana.
All three stars were also spotted in the audience at Perry's Saturday concert.
The Sussexes' Las Vegas sighting comes more than six months after Markle signed for representation with WME.
Variety reported at the time that the duchess would not be returning to acting despite signing with a high-profile Hollywood talent agency.
This was backed by a "highly placed" Hollywood insider who told Page Six at the time that the deal was about projects for Markle to produce.
"They need to find a way to make money - this is business," one unnamed source who reportedly knows the Sussexes told the outlet in May.
Since then, there has been little to come out of the WME deal, but some experts have suggested that a slow and careful approach may be a better choice for the Sussexes following the criticism sparked by their previous moves, including Prince Harry's bombshell memoir, "Spare."