Inside Jeff Bezos' Secret Retreat

“What happens when Jeff Bezos rents out an entire resort for 91 handpicked guests—and Leonardo DiCaprio shows up?”On this jaw-dropping episode of The Ben and Skin Show, Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray pull back the curtain on one of the most exclusive gatherings in the world. From Amazon’s humble beginnings as an online bookstore to Bezos’ ultra-private, invite-only retreats, the crew explores the surreal lifestyle of the mega-rich and the bizarre mix of guests—from literary icons to Hollywood royalty.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've been in Skin Show ninety seven point one. The

(00:02):
Eagle coming up here in fifteen minutes. We'll get back
into the cowboys. Do they have too many good defensive tackles?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Now?

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Also be listening for your chance to win bad Omens
tickets at some point during the show. Right now, it's
time for this.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Track, another edition of things All right, Do you guys
know how Amazon got its start? No?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
No, do you know, Christina, No, I really don't. They
sold They sold books online.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Books. They were an online bookseller kindle. Uh you know.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
I think they actually sold actual books, but they probably
sold downloadable stuff too. I remember this vaguely, but that's
what they were. They sold books online. So then they
became the absolute juggernaut that they were and they sold
everything online, and Jeff Bezos became mega richman. Well, I
heard this crazy story from a friend of a friend, okay,

(00:58):
And basically when they first got up and go in
and Bezos's first wife was from the literary world, okay,
and they suddenly were mega rich. So they started doing
these retreats where they would go and they would rent
out a whole resort and they would invite all sorts
of influential people, but a lot of them were from

(01:20):
the literary world. So hey, this famous author that wrote this,
Tony Morrison, right, And they would get all these people
together on this resort and there was no you couldn't
take pictures and do social media. It was almost like
a fight club thing. And they get together for three
or four days and they just exchange ideas, creative people

(01:40):
getting together and exchanging ideas and talking about the future
of the world. Well then you know, Amazon or Bezos
got a divorce and the member we've talked about her before,
Ben you mentioned the lady that he married was the
news anchor lady from LA Yeah, it looks like a
sex butt looks like but yes, yes. And so then

(02:02):
the people that got invited to these resorts became more
Hollywood type people. There's still people from the literary world,
still people, and then there's people from Hollywood. Okay, and
Amazon's become a Hollywood thing.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
So then when the pandemic hit, it stopped happening, and
then quietly they got it going again. And so I
went online to kind of research this and I found
some articles about it. But the story that the person
told me that their friend told them because their friend
went to the last one four weeks ago. And what
Bezos does is he rents out an entire resort and

(02:41):
there's only ninety one people that are there. Okay, I
don't know why they got that number. I'm assuming it's
some weird Illuminati stuff. And then that you can bring
your kids, Okay, so you can bring your family, and
apparently everything there is free. So for example, at the resort,
of your kids wandered into the gift shop, they could

(03:03):
just take stuff with them because it's all paid for it.
It's all free. And there's activities like pickleball. And then
they have TED talks. So the person that told the
person I knew about it. They went and there is
a speech that was there from a guy that has
created a thing that removes plastic from the ocean. All right,
he's a scientist and an inventor, and so far they've

(03:24):
removed forty percent of the plastic from the ocean. And
so as he's given this TED talk, you might have
rock Star sitting next to literary Giant sitting next to
Leonardo DiCaprio.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
So I was told at the.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Last one, Leonardo DiCaprio was there and you're all supposed
to wear name tags and he wasn't wearing his, but
you would know like no one's yeah, okay, So imagine
you get there and you don't really know who's going
to be there, but you're there for three or four days,
and while you're there, there's cocktail hour. Like imagine if

(04:02):
you were just like some scientists that got invited to
this and you're suddenly sitting at a table with Leonardo
DiCaprio having drinks. I finally made it, and the whole
ideas in their mind, they want to put people together
and exchange ideas and all.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
This stuff so they could just be us on this planet.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, right, as we get rid of all the people
that aren't worth anything, what are the ninety one of
us gonna do? But I was just thinking about what
a weird deal that is. And so the person that
knew the person, their hotel room is next to Nicole Kidman's.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Oh, and she's been going through a divorce, right, So
I imagine Keith Urban's not there, No, he's hanging out
with Blake Shelton.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
But doesn't this open up this really wild, interesting portal
into the unique lives of rich and influential people. I mean,
think about going to a weekend resort and the person
that went to this is not some big star, but
they somehow got roped into it.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah. So they're the kind of.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Person that wouldn't know what to do with Leonardo DiCaprio,
Like if you were I don't know, Like, let's say
green Day got invited. Yeah, right, the lead singer of
green Day knows how to talk to famous people. Yes, right, yeah,
But if you're not a crazy famous person, but you're
in this very small group, that's a strange thing to

(05:24):
be involved in. Do you invite Leonardo DiCaprio to go
play pickleball with you at five o'clock on a Friday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
I mean, he probably would appreciate just the normalcy of it.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
Betta, tell you got something off the air about him? Oh,
tell us now off the air in time for it.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
It would go against Jeordia. He would appreciate some normalcy. Well,
if you were a nineteen year old woman, Oh.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, absolutely, it does feel like a place where crimes
are committed. I'm just saying from the outside looking in. Yeah,
it does feel like a scluded turn it into a
diddy party.

Speaker 4 (06:04):
It's just it's just somebody that's so rich that they
can afford to buy a resort and take everyone they
love or anyone they want to hang out with with them.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
That's what it sounds like.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
And also the idea of, Hey, I want to reward
this scientist for getting plastic out of the ocean. I'll
put him next door to Nicole Kidman at my private
resort party where I pay for everything.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Because I'm so stupid rich.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
I'm gonna rent out I don't know, New Mexico, and
I'm gonna have Leonardo DiCaprio and a scientist there, and
they're gonna play pickleball because that's what I want them
to do for a four day weekend. That's insane. And
it all started by selling books online.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
How wild is crazy? All right? There you have it.

Speaker 4 (06:46):
There's things Skin is tracking coming up next. And around
the sports. Do the Cowboys now have too many good
defensive tackles? We'll discuss next.