(CNN) A fuschia Bentley drives down a twisty desert road toward the entrance of the Neon Carnival, an after-party held each year during Coachella. Paris Hilton has arrived. Her hair is in pigtails, twisted in part with white flowers, and she’s wearing a sparkly pink romper that matches her platform boots. She greets fans on a red carpet, heads to a packed dance floor and eventually finds her way to the go-karts.
Hilton attends the invite-only party in person each year, but this particular scene played out last month in Paris World, Hilton’s virtual experience on popular gaming platform Roblox, where she joined as an avatar. Nearly 400,000 Roblox users visited her virtual Neon Carnival that mid-April weekend, about 40 times the number of people who went in real life this year, according to Hilton. (The digital event was sponsored by Levi’s and designed in part by Brent Bolthouse, the founder of the original Neon Carnival).
It’s a concept Hilton has seen success with before. On New Year’s Eve, she DJed a live set in the same virtual world, playing as her avatar. In Paris World, users can also buy virtual clothing, book a jet ski ride or pay to gain access to a VIP section of a club.
“I’ve always been an undercover nerd, so I’ve been obsessed with anything to do with technology and the future,” Hilton told CNN Business in an interview last month. “Now my new nickname is ‘The Queen of the Metaverse,'” she added, referring to a sobriquet she has used on the red carpet and in a number of her social media posts, which, according to her company 11:11 Media, first emerged in the NFT space on Twitter.
Hilton has long been a trendsetter. She arguably became an influencer before the term even existed after her reality TV show, “The Simple Life,” debuted in 2003. But Hilton, the great-granddaugther of hotel mogul Conrad Hilton, has also been working to redefine her public image as a successful businesswoman and to cement her status as an innovator.
Recently, she’s embraced two buzzy but speculative trends in tech: the metaverse, a vision for an immersive virtual world that still does not exist; and non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs, which refer to pieces of digital content linked to the blockchain, the digital ledger system underpinning various cryptocurrencies.
Hilton has invested in multiple tech companies, including backing digital avatar startup Genies and animation app immi, which allows some NFT owners to bring the characters in their digital artwork to life. She also bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, a pricey and highly sought after collection that’s attracted celebrity buyers. Hilton has also created her own NFT artwork. One of her latest NFT pieces, called the “Iconic Crypto Queen” and created in collaboration with popular NFT artist Blake Kathryn, sold for $1.111 million — a nod to 11:11 Media, Hilton’s new company named after her favorite time of day.
While the future of both the metaverse and NFTs remains unclear, arguably all the more so for the latter after a crypto market crash this month, some say there is real potential for celebrities who embrace virtual gatherings and products. “For celebrities, like brands, this is another way for them to engage with their fans and audiences,” said Michael Inouye, a principal analyst at ABI Research. “This could be through virtual events, concerts, shows and more. They could sell virtual merchandise so fans could show their fandom both in their real and virtual lives.”
Her bet on these digital products and services is just one piece of Hilton’s growing empire. Last fall, Hilton brought all of her initiatives under 11:11 Media. The company includes her 19 product lines, such as fragrances, clothing and makeup, which have surpassed over $4 billion in all-time revenue, according to the company. It also includes her production company Slivington Manor Entertainment — which is behind TV projects including “Cooking with Paris” and “Paris Hilton in Love” — and her podcast company London Audio.
“We are growing quickly and want to find the talent of people who are interested in this space,” said Hilton. To that end, Hilton is partnering with ZipRecruiter, an online platform for job seekers, to add more employees to her roster. 11:11 Media is soon launching a sweepstakes for someone to win a mentorship program with her in Los Angeles to learn many of the aspects of running her business.
“Mentorship is also something that’s really important for me. My mentor was my grandfather,” she said of the late Barron Hilton, the business magnate who was the former president, chairman and CEO of Hilton Hotels Corporation. “It’s just all the advice he gave me and the support has really stuck with me throughout my career. I want to be able to do that for someone else.”
Full article: cnn.com
