Between October 2008 and August 2009, a band of thieves broke into the homes of several young Hollywood stars, akin to Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Audrina Patridge, and Orlando Bloom, stealing greater than $3 million in money, jewelry, and high-end designer goods.
But these weren’t your typical robbers. They were teenagers from the San Fernando Valley. One thief, Alex Neiers, was even the star of a success reality show on E!
The press would ultimately call these burglars the ‘Bling Ring’ because of the flashy swag they stole from their victims, then sold online or wore casually around town.
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On this week’s episode of the Dirty Money Podcast, Entrepreneur editors Dan Bova and Jon Small rehash the bizarre story of the string of robberies that captivated not only Hollywood—but the world.
Along with this being a shocking story of greed and privilege, it is also about the starting of a latest kind of web celebrity: Individuals who rose to fame not because of their talent but because they were good at generating attention.
The Bling Ring got here of age in the early days of social media when no person truly realized its power and influence. They monitored the accounts of celebrities to seek out out whether or not they were home, using latest tools like google maps to determine methods to break it.
Later, the police would use these same tools to capture the suspects and convey them to justice.
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