Burning Man is a festival that celebrates community, radical self-expression and self-reliance. In recent years, however, the annual event that takes place in the isolated Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada has begun to attract a wealthier clientele of C-suit executives, political elites and entrepreneurs. Amongst the noted “Burners” are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Grover Norquist has said that attending Burning Man has long been on his bucket list. He went last year.
The elite come to Burning Man to hobnob, network and of course have fun. Eric Schmidt signed the deal to become CEO of Google at the festival. At the premiere of the TV show Silicon Valley, Elon Musk said that the shows creator didn’t understand the tech world because he hadn’t attended Burning Man. “I really feel like Mike Judge has never been to Burning Man, which is Silicon Valley,” he told a re/code reporter.
Burning Man has changed to accommodate this new clientele. According to The New York Times, tech entrepreneurs come in with air-conditioned yurts with beds, private chefs, and private jets that take them to and from the event. Tickets to Burning Man cost between $390 and $800, but according to the Times certain techies end up paying $25,000 each for their accommodations. Female models flown in from New York get to attend for free on the techies’ bill.
“There are three main groups that we find are interested in our services,” says Ryan Geist, the CEO of Burner Air, an airline that flies between San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, Reno, Nevada and Burning Man’s very own airport. “The first, are burners that have been countless numbers of time, they’ve sat in traffic year-after-year…We also have wealthy people-- billionaires, CEOs and celebrities…the third group are international attendees.” A round-trip flight from San Francisco to the festival costs around $2,199. Geist plans on running over 100 flights to and from the weeklong festival which begins August 30.
“Burning Man has an ethos of radical inclusion,” says Geist. “It seems against the ethos to be exclusive of anyone,” even the elite. “What we’re seeing is a renaissance amongst the leaders of our nation and around the globe right now, and they’re attracted to the mentality and mantra that is emanated by Burning Man.”
The high-rolling ways of the tech elite might have rubbed off on government officials. The Bureau of Land Management in Nevada has requested a $1 million housing facility at this year’s festival for VIP visitors and its staff. It has requested a separate compound with flushing toilets, washers and dryers and even 24-hour access to ice cream. Burning Man is refusing to comply and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., -Nev.) has criticized the demands. Former BLM director Bob Abbey who now works for Burning Man as a consultant hinted to the Reno-Gazette Journal that the federal agency is misusing its power to approve permits by making these demands.
Deputy Director Steve Ellis said Monday Nevada's BLM will review its request for special housing and other amenities at this year's Burning Man event.
