Can you see yourself fooling other people to earn a fortune?
| Net Worth: | $-5 million |
| Age: | 28 years old |
| Born: | December 11, 1991 |
| Country of Origin: | New York, NY, United States |
| Height: | n/a |
| Source of Wealth: | n/a |
| Last Updated: | 2020 |
William “Billy” McFarland is an American fraudster and a former entrepreneur who defrauded his investors of $27.4 million. The money came from marketing and selling tickets to festivals and other events.
As of 2020, Billy McFarland’s net worth is about $-5 million. He was sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of fraud in November of 2018.
An Early Life Look of Billy McFarland
Billy McFarland was born on December 11, 1991, and he was raised in the Short Hills area of Millburn, New Jersey. His parents are both real estate developers.
By the age of 13, he was already looking at the business industry after founding an online outsourcing startup that would match clients with web designers.
In 2010, he graduated from the Pingry School. He decided to attend Bucknell University to study computer engineering. However, he dropped out during his freshman year.
Career
After dropping out of college in his freshman year, he decided to put up a business and founded the online advertising platform Spling, where he became the CEO.
August 2013 marked his first successful business when he seeded payments company Magnises. He used $1.5 million as funds, which aims to make an exclusive black card that contains social perks.
Magnises operated on a West Village townhouse and the members would then be invited to attend cocktail parties, art shows, lectures, and dinners. The membership costs $250 and it was meant to provide discounted access to exclusive events.
However, it was revealed that the company was not delivering on its promises and the members complained that they did not receive their tickets on time, the trips were canceled, and it takes a lot of time to get their refund.
While all of this is happening, McFarland was already doing his next venture which is Fyre Festival. It was a music festival that would happen in the Bahamas for two weekends by the end of April and May 2017. McFarland and Ja Rule organized the festival.
The tickets for the musical festival costs $1,200 and up so a lot of people are expecting an extravagant festival. Popular supermodels even promoted the festival like Hailey Baldwin, Bella Hadid, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Emily Ratajkowski.
However, the festival became a big joke after the guests complained about almost everything. They waited at the airport for many hours and they even have to collect their luggage from a shipping container.
Instead of a luxurious dinner, they were given 2 pieces of bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. In May 2017, both Ja Rule and McFarland were sued for a class-action lawsuit amounting to $100 million. In March of 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty for the two counts of wire fraud and he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Career Highlights:
- Magnises (Company, 2013)
- Defrauded investors of more than $27.4 million
- Founded Fyre Festival (2017)
Favorite Quotes from Billy McFarland
“The remorse I feel is crushing. I lived every day with the weight of knowing that I destroyed the lives of my friends and family.” – Billy McFarland
“The Exumas didn’t have a great infrastructure – there wasn’t a great way to get guests in here – we were a little bit ambitious. There wasn’t water or sewage. It was almost like we tried building a city out of nothing and it took almost all of our resources to make this happen, and everything we had, to make this festival go on.” – Billy McFarland
“We’re going to take every measure to make this right for everybody now, and make this right for everybody next year, on a large scale.” – Billy McFarland
“I am incredibly sorry for my collective actions and will right the wrongs I have delivered to my family, friends, partners, associates and, you, the general public.” – Billy McFarland
“I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me every step of the way. Your love keeps me focused. Your hope keeps me motivated. Earning your forgiveness will fuel the rest of my days.” – Billy McFarland
Lessons You Can Takeaway from Billy McFarland’s Failure
Billy McFarland failed miserably on almost all his business ventures. You can see from his history and how Billy McFarland net worth is in debt, but we can still derive a few valuable lessons from these incidents.
There is No Shortcut to Success
All the fraud he has done over the years are examples of trying to take a shortcut to success. You cannot achieve success overnight and you cannot fool other people to make money.
Success is earned and it would take years and a lot of hard work to get to the top. He took the easy way out, but he didn’t leave a way out for himself during the predicament.
Deliver What You Promised
If you are a business owner, you need to deliver what you promised because it affects the credibility of your company. If you promised discounts, the consumers need to get the discounts that you mentioned when they avail of your products.
As for McFarland’s issue with Magnises, he failed to deliver his promises to the members, which is one of the reasons why he was sent in jail.
Face your Mistakes
Although McFarland made a lot of mistakes and tricked a lot of people, he still pleaded guilty and tried to find a way to resolve the problem. You need to own up to your mistakes and find a way to make it right.
Conclusion
Billy McFarland’s net worth of $-5 million is the result of tricking a lot of people. His net worth should be more than that because other issues were not yet settled.
