Billy McFarland Sells Fyre Festival Brand For This Eye-Watering Amount: 'Damn'
Billy McFarland sold the Fyre Festival brand for $245,000
The disgraced businessman created the event, which took place in 2017, promising attendees luxurious accommodations and days of entertainment in the Bahamas
After serving four years in prison for wire fraud, McFarland began planning Fyre Festival 2It's the end of an era for Billy McFarland.
The creator of Fyre Festival revealed that he sold his brand on eBay, months after announcing its eventual sale. The highest bid of the 175 that came in was a cool $245,300 on Tuesday, July 15.
Per NBC, the businessman livestreamed the auction and said, "Damn. This sucks, it's so low," to the bid that came in just under $250K.
The unknown buyer now owns the "FYRE Festival – Iconic Brand, Trademarks, IP, Social Media Assets, and More," per the listing. "This is your opportunity to take control of a brand that still trends every time it's mentioned."
McFarland, 33, shared an update on the sale on Instagram via what appears to be a Notes app screenshot. "I would like to congratulate the winning bidder in the FYRE Festival IP auction on eBay. I look forward to working with them to begin the process to finalize the sale."
The disgraced businessman called the festival "one chapter of my story" and said he's "excited to move on to my next one."
The social media post claimed that the auction was the "most-watched non-charity listing on eBay" while it was live. McFarland said that this proves "attention is currency, and views are the root of attention."
"That belief is at the core of what I'm building next: a tech platform designed to capture and power the value behind every view online." McFarland told followers that his next project is "coming soon."
For those who missed out on bidding on the infamous brand, you can still buy Fyre Fest merch.
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McFarland launched the Fyre Festival experience in 2017, promising attendees who paid upwards of $1,500 per ticket luxurious accommodations and celebrity guests, including influencers and musicians.
However, those who traveled to the Bahamas were met with underwhelming stays and a lack of talent. The festival and its subsequent fallout were the subject of the Netflix documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Hulu's documentary Fyre Fraud.
McFarland was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud and served four years in prison from 2018 to 2022 for his involvement in the festival.
In 2024, McFarland announced that Fyre Fest 2 was in the works. "We have a private island off the coast of Mexico in the Caribbean, and we have an incredible production company who's handling everything from soup to nuts," he said during a September appearance on Today.
Though final details such as talent and location were in the works, McFarland claimed he had already sold 100 $500 tickets and had packages lined up costing up to $1 million.
McFarland said the festival's second iteration was slated to take place in late May on Isla Mujeres. However, the Isla Mujeres tourism board stated in February that there were no permits requested by McFarland or his company for the event.
"We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it. For us, this is an event that does not exist," they said at the time.
In April, he updated fans that the event would take place in Playa del Carmen, which also denied any involvement in the festival.
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