Meghan Markle was joined by friends old and new as she attended a business summit in the Hamptons on Saturday.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, was photographed alongside two of her longtime friends, makeup artist and entrepreneur Bobbi Brown and designer Misha Nonoo at the G9 Ventures Summer Summit hosted by powerhouse broker Amy Griffin.
But it wasn’t just old friends who supported Meghan at the event; the mother-of-two posed with billionaire Spanx founder Sara Blakely and millionaire IT Cosmetics co-founder Jamie Kern Lima.
According Page sixMeghan had flown to the millionaire enclave from Santa Barbara on a private jet with businessman Jamie, who was keen to praise the duchess on his Instagram account after the event.
Sharing a sweet photo of Meghan sitting next to her and holding her arm, she wrote on her Stories: “I love this photo because it captures the essence of friendship. Thank you Meg for being such a caring and understanding friend…”
American entrepreneur, investor and media personality Jamie Kern Lima (pictured right) poses with Meghan Markle (pictured left) and Spanx founder Sara Blakely (pictured center)
“In this photo, for holding my arm so lovingly as I was about to go on stage and speak, and in real life, for the generosity with which you show up for your friends,” Jamie concluded.
The former American television news anchor founded her own skincare makeup brand, IT Cosmetics, after suffering for years from hereditary rosacea and no products offering the makeup results she was looking for.
On her Instagram, the 47-year-old American businesswoman shared another photo with Meghan, this time alongside billionaire Spanx founder Sara Blakely.
She started her company in 2000 with just $5,000. By 2012, Spanx was reporting profit margins of 20 percent on annual sales of nearly $250 million.
Sara, who came up with the idea to create Spanx when she was forced to wear pantyhose while working as a door-to-door saleswoman in Florida, became the youngest single-handed woman to join the Forbes World Billionaires List that year.
In 2021, news hit the web that Spanx was valued at $1.2 billion, and the founder celebrated by gifting all of her 500+ employees first-class airline tickets and $10,000 in spending money.
Weeks after news of the valuation was announced, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon invested in a shapewear brand.
When she worked as a saleswoman, Sara liked the way the top of her pantyhose kept her panty lines from showing while making her stomach look more toned, but she didn’t want the seam of her foot to show when she wore open-toed shoes.
Jamie shared a sweet photo of Meghan sitting next to her and holding her arm and wrote on her Stories: “I love this photo because it captures the essence of friendship. Thank you Meg for being such a caring and understanding friend…”
The Duchess of Sussex, who was seen alongside designer Misha Nonoo and cosmetics boss Bobbi Brown, wore a vest and trousers combination by St. Agni.
The 25-year-old then decided to cut the ends of her stockings for a party, thus creating the first Spanx prototype.
Blakely previously recalled how she went to hosiery factories and tirelessly begged them to produce her product, despite having no financial backers.
She decided to invest $5,000 of her own money into Spanx, which at the time was her entire life savings. Since she couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer to write a patent for her, she did it on her own with the help of a patent law textbook from Barnes & Noble.
But it was worth it in the end, as after the first year the company made $4 million in sales and an impressive $10 million the following year.
It is unclear when or how Meghan became friends with Sara and Jamie, however Jamie is said to live in the Montecito, California area, where the Duchess lives with her husband, Prince Harry, and their two children.
Meanwhile, the Duchess previously sent a Clevr gift basket to Sara, who shared a glimpse of the present on her Instagram account and credited Meghan, according to Yahoo.
Prince Harry’s wife confirmed in December 2020 that she had invested an undisclosed sum in Clevr Blends, a wellness coffee company that has a range of organic, gluten-free ‘SuperLattes’ in powder form.
Following Saturday’s event, sources told Page Six that Meghan was there to pick up tips on her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
Meghan’s brand soft-launched earlier this year with an official Instagram page and website in the works.
The publication reported that the annual event was held at Griffin’s $13 million (£10 million) home, which she shares with her husband, billionaire hedge fund manager John Griffin.
Other stars in attendance included Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and actress Laura Dern.
Meghan’s brand soft-launched earlier this year with the creation of an official Instagram page and website.
You will no doubt use the event to help your brand by gaining tips for your new branding.
Surrounding herself with people like Griffin will help her do just that, who according to Wall Street Journal She is known for her use of “soft power.”
This includes making introductions, finding founders, and offering mentorship.
She started investing as an angel investor in 2014 and launched G9 three years later. She told the WSJ: “There was a point where I was sitting at a fundraiser thinking, ‘Wait, I can invest money into something, watch it grow and use my skills and help a founder? ‘.
“And people were like, ‘Why don’t you do this full time? You’re already helping people by buying their products and then shipping them all over the world.'”
The G9 does not make large investments, but it does contribute smaller amounts, from tens of thousands of dollars to several million, according to the WSJ.
Meghan shared her company’s logo in a 10-second video while wearing a black party dress.
The clip then showed her wearing a simple white outfit while arranging flowers and cooking in a kitchen.
In April, Meghan sent 50 jars of her strawberry jam to celebrity friends and influencers across the United States.
Award-winning actress and comedy writer Mindy Kaling and actress Tracee Ellis Ross, daughter of Diana Ross, revealed on social media that they had been gifted bottles.
Each jar was labeled with the Californian American Riviera Orchard brand and numbered up to 50. The jars were secured with a lid and a muslin cloth.
Meghan’s brand will reportedly include “edible oils and fats,” jellies, jams and spreads made from legumes, garlic and sesame, as well as nut and fruit butters.
