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From Social Consciousness to Social Butterflies:Socialites Then & Now

By Paige Bluhdorn & Jennifer Janisch

When we think of the socialites of old, we think of women who entertain for a living, with a disdainful sense of superiority, a closet full of fur and feathers. When we think of today’s young socialites, we think of spoiled brats with a penchant for partying and too much time and money on their hands, while prancing around with more than enough bling to sink a yacht. No matter the era, the term "socialite" seems to evoke the belief that greed is good, to truly live is to live luxuriously, brighter is bolder and enough is never enough.

But, in the end, what is a socialite? Is the term "socialite" destined to live with a negative connotation? Even if it is… Should it?

Wikipedia defines socialites as people who are professional entertainers, and who use personal charisma and social status to achieve prominence on the society pages and, in many cases, use their wealth and fame for charitable and cultural causes. Nothing negative there. Socialites can be male or female (but are typically the latter) and are people of social prominence whose razon d’etre is to entertain—and be entertained. An enviable existence, to be sure. In the United States, socialites are typically considered to be persons of the upper class or aristocracy (or married to them), and are often listed in the Social Register. This wealthy and worldly class formed around the 19th Century’s Gilded Age, when newspapers began to report on the activities of the rapidly-expanding affluent class and continued into the "jet set" sixties and seventies.

Indeed, when considering the socialites of old, the mind travels first and foremost to the beloved Brooke Astor , who passed away this past August. Chairing her third husband’s Vincent Astor Foundation after his death in 1959, Astor took charge of the dispersement of her late husband’s fortune, her favorite charity being the New York Public Library. Famously, Astor once quipped: "Money is like manure: it should be spread around." Astor was the socialite’s socialite.

The phrase "You can never be too rich or too thin" seems to be a religious tenet among today’s celebrities, and they have another legendary socialite, Nan Kempner, to thank for it. Although famous for being the ultimate party-girl and clotheshorse, Kempner never apologized for her superficiality. Perhaps she never needed to: over the course of thirty years, she helped raise over $75,000,000 for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

And perhaps the most adored of them all: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , the socialite whose grace and elegance every socialite wanted to possess, who transcended roles with ease from first lady and 20th Century style icon, to philanthropist and book editor.

Another sect of socialites was born of the "nouveau riche" that emerged in the 1980s, and many of these young ladies’ contributions to the world are overshadowed by "celebutante" Paris Hilton, the heiress to her grandfather, hotel magnate Conrad Hilton’s fortune (as well as her father Richard’s real estate fortune.) Paris epitomizes America’s newfound obsession with celebrities, who are famous simply for being rich and famous. The little charity work Paris has concerned herself with has been overshadowed by frequent reports of hard partying, traffic violations, sex videos and shameless self-promotion. After a highly-publicized stint in the slammer for drinking and driving, Paris has vowed to use her celebrity status for good and give up a life of frivolousness. However, even her recently postponed trip to Rwanda with the charity Playing for Good had an ulterior motive: Paris planned to film a new reality television show there, centered on her traipsing through the African jungle.

So, in the era of Paris Hilton and all her porno-video-controversy, reality-show-filming, chihuahua-toting glory, are any young socialites doing any good these days?

It depends on your definition of "doing good" and whether one is truly "doing good" if they benefit from the good that they do. For instance, Fabiola Beracasa—the socialite step-daughter of Randolph Hearst—co-hosted an after-hours party at Burberry’s flagship New York store this October to benefit New Yorkers for Children. Although Burberry donated 15% of the sales proceeds to the charity, which raises money for foster children, to the casual observer it was just another private shopping spree and cocktail party for New York’s well-to-do youth, and just another venue allowing them to get their photographs in the papers and on the Internet. "I think people are finding angles to exploit whatever they want to exploit much more through these benefits," Ms. Beracasa was quoted by the New York Observer. "But having that said, it’s still raising awareness for the cause, and that’s what matters." Ms. Beracasa may have a point: perhaps the best way these young women can raise awareness for a cause is to make sure their names and faces are associated with it. However, it is more than a little disheartening to Google women of wealth within the new guard of socialite who are to carry the honorable torch of social responsibility  such as  Tinsley Mortimer and Olivia Palermo and find nothing but party photos and gossip about their feud to become the "top" socialite (when organizers for a Darfur benefit asked Mortimer and Palermo to host the event, both agreed—then reneged on the deal when they each found out the other was going to be there.) Acts such as this feed the flames of dubiously popular web-sites such a Gawker.com

Others, like Annie Churchill, although not entirely swearing off the international party circuit, are taking things a step further. Churchill co-founded New Yorkers for a Green New York ("NYGNY") with Anthony Cummings, Billy Gilbane and Amanda Hearst, an environmental agency that promotes the construction of "green" buildings in New York City and teaching existing building owners to operate their holdings in more environmentally-sound ways. The agency will be introduced at a launch party in Chicago during the environmental summit this November.

And who is the most renowned Dominican socialite? Annette Reed de la Renta has always kept the arts dear to her heart and used her fame and fortune to support them. Married to the Dominican Republic’s most famous fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta, Annette serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum, the New York Public Library, the Morgan Library and the Engelhard Foundation. She also served on the board of directors of Rockefeller University for 25 years. Mrs. de la Renta has carried on the tradition of Brook Astor—she was even appointed Astor’s permanent guardian in the wake of the elder abuse scandal surrounding the 105-year-old woman—by keeping charity and support for the arts at the forefront of her agenda. Another socialite making a difference in the DR is Founder of the MIR Charities Lian Fanjul-Azqueta, who was joined by her daughter, Lyanne Azqueta, who assists running all of the MIR Charities.

Brothers Pepe and Alfie Fanjul own Casa de Campo and Florida Crystals sugar among other family ventures. Through her charity, the Mission International Rescue Foundation, Fanjul Azqueta holds yearly events to raise money to help abused, low-income, young women, many of whom resort to prostitution to survive. The "MIR" helps over 12,000 girls a year, providing medical care, AIDS education, an orphanage, and even job skills so they can have the necessary tools to take advantage of other opportunities. And just this October, the Rainieris of Punta Cana held a successful charity event in the form of a merengue concert to raise money for a one-room, 75-student school in Veron (a town in the region of Bavaro where the enormous hotel complex is located.)

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