Billy McFarland: podcast appearances and interviews

William Zervakos McFarland is an American businessman and entrepreneur known for founding Magnises and Fyre Media. He established Magnises in 2013 using investor funding to create a card-based club targeted at millennials. McFarland also founded Fyre Media, which developed the Fyre mobile app for booking music talent. He co-founded the Fyre Festival in late 2016 with rapper Ja Rule as a luxury music festival meant to promote the Fyre app. The event in 2017 was canceled after attendees had already arrived because of issues related to security, food, logistics, understaffing, accommodations, and customs. McFarland faced legal action following the festival's failure; he was sued for 100 million dollars and subsequently arrested and charged with wire fraud. In March 2018, he pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. He served less than four years before being released in late March 2022. McFarland announced plans for a Fyre Festival II scheduled for May 2025, with ticket prices reaching up to 1.1 million dollars. However, investigations uncovered multiple irregularities, leading to the postponement of the event indefinitely.