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Drake is the latest celebrity to be called out for the financial and environmental cost of private jet-setting…
Multiple wealthy celebrities have come under fire recently, after a social media page publishing their needlessly-short private jet flights has gone viral on Twitter. Last week, nepotism baby and $30 million homeowner Kylie Jenner faced criticism over a 17-minute flight that her $70 million jet – dubbed ‘Kylie Air’ – took from California to Camarillo (a distance of only 300 kilometres).
Jenner’s flight habits join the likes of fellow celebrities Mark Wahlberg, Floyd Mayweather, and even ostensibly ‘relatable millionaires’ (if that’s even a thing) like Oprah Winfrey – all of whom have this year come under fire for private jet commutes which often don’t exceed an hour in the air. The source of these findings comes courtesy of Twitter account Celebrity Jets, who’s latest posts take aim at rapper and $25 million gambler, Drake.
Drake’s Jet Landed in Hamilton, Ontario, CA. Apx. flt. time 14 Mins. pic.twitter.com/DeN1Wxh2MD
— Celebrity Jets (@CelebJets) July 22, 2022
In a Tweet posted this week, Celebrity Jets published Drake’s private flight from Hamilton to Toronto, in his home country of Canada, which took a reported 14 minutes, cost nearly $4,000 in fuel and emitted four tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The sheer millions being spent for the time it takes ‘regular folk’ to merely walk to the bus stop has rightfully caused a stir. The glamourisation of wealth in a time when petrol (and lettuce and even goddamn toilet paper) prices soar is deservedly being called out by fans who need to check their budget before ordering smashed avo on toast.
The height of this fiscal unrelatability was exemplified by Jenner herself, who last week posted an Instagram picture of her jet alongside boyfriend Travis Scott’s, asking which one she should choose. Granted, the reality TV star has never been known for frugality (her family is worth an estimated $2 billion), but the answer to her question, given her minute-long commutes, is straightforward to anyone who’s winced during an Uber surcharge: the bus.
Extravagant financial costs aside, responses to the Celebrity Jets posts have also focussed on the travellers’ environmental toll. Flying private pollutes 10 times more than commercial aircrafts, 50 times more than trains, and, for a four-hour trip, emits the same level of CO2 that an average person generates in a whole year.
I’m hearing that Kylie Jenner has turned the AC off in her bombardier bd-700 to honour the victims of climate change. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JL4EfeTw79
— Gary McQuiggin (@ggaaarrryyyy) July 18, 2022
No one likes economy (I once took a Qantas flight in which my seat buddy was barefoot), but when parts of the world are recording their highest-ever temperatures, braving stinky feet is a sacrifice we have to make.
This all arises at a time when the world’s richest man, who this year challenged Vladimir Putin to a fist fight, has complained about being the centre of attention. I don’t know about you, but if I was worth $364 billion, I’d be playing video games with my butler, not taking to Twitter to have a first-world sook about the deserved attention my fortune generates.
The amount of attention on me has gone supernova, which super sucks. Unfortunately, even trivial articles about me generate a lot of clicks :(
Will try my best to be heads down focused on doing useful things for civilization.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
In any case, I’m off to BP to top-up my petrol tank, which, despite costing an arm and a leg (and every other limb), hasn’t been full since Putin got his diplomatic kickers in a twist.
