Every summer, one Hamptons party becomes the one everyone else gets measured against. For a decade, that party belonged to Sean “Diddy” Combs. Today, it belongs to Fanatics founder Michael Rubin. The two men, a generation apart, built almost the identical idea — an all-white dress code, an impossibly stacked guest list, and a house that becomes the center of the summer social calendar for one night. Here’s how the tradition passed from one host to the other.
The Original: Diddy’s White Party (1998–2009)
Diddy announced himself to the Hamptons in September 1998 with a Labor Day party at his newly purchased house on Hedges Banks Drive in East Hampton. It was, by every account, an instant legend. Paris Hilton later called him a “modern-day Gatsby” for pulling together a thousand-person guest list and somehow enforcing a strict head-to-toe white dress code on all of them.
The party became an annual fixture and, over the following decade, a genuine cultural institution — one the BBC once described as bringing together old-money Hamptons society and the rising stars of hip-hop. Guests over the years included Mariah Carey, Howard Stern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, and Martha Stewart, who told reporters she was struck by how good an entire party dressed in white actually looked.
The location moved as Diddy’s ambitions grew. What started in East Hampton eventually traveled to Bridgehampton’s “PlayStation 2 Estate” for a 2004 Independence Day edition, then to Nikki Beach in Saint-Tropez in 2006, and finally to Beverly Hills, where the last White Party was held in 2009. After that, as Combs spent less time in the Hamptons, the tradition quietly ended.
The new party: Michael Rubin’s White Party (2022–Present)
More than a decade later, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin picked the format back up — same name, same white dress code, same Hamptons setting, new host. Rubin’s version takes place at his oceanfront estate on Dune Road in Bridgehampton, an 8,000-square-foot home reportedly purchased for around $50 million.
Rubin’s party has become an Independence Day weekend fixture, complete with fireworks over the Atlantic and live performances from major recording artists — recent years have brought sets from Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, and Megan Thee Stallion. The guest list draws heavily from Rubin’s crossover world of sports, business, and entertainment: NBA and NFL stars, tech executives, and A-list musicians all show up on Dune Road, with attendees arriving by car, helicopter, and even private plane.
Same Name, Different Era
Set side by side, the two parties are strikingly similar in concept and almost identical in branding — down to the name itself. But they belong to different eras of Hamptons celebrity culture, hosted by men from very different industries: one a hip-hop mogul building a media empire, the other a sports-merchandising billionaire.