Inside Barack & Michelle Obama’s $12M Martha’s Vineyard estate as they’re slammed for planning party with 500 guests
BARACK Obama will host his 60th birthday party this weekend in the $12million Martha’s Vineyard mansion he owns with his wife Michelle, as he is slammed for planning a bash with 500 guests.
The former president will welcome stars Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, and Steven Spielberg to the sprawling 29-acre estate, but his former Vice President Joe Biden is unable to attend.
The Obamas purchased the home on the Edgartown Great Pond in Massachusetts in December 2019, having previously rented it.
They have also rented other properties on Martha’s Vineyard.
The 6,900-square-foot home was previously owned by Celtics owner Wycliffe Grousbeck and his ex-wife Corinne Grousbeck, who built the house in 2001.
It boasts seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, as well as a vaulted ceiling living room, a chef’s kitchen, and a dining room with a wall of windows.
According to Realtor.com, the breakfast room sits inside the first floor of a 12-sided attachment to the main house.
The upper floor holds a 12-sided conference room.
Inside the master bedroom, there is a fireplace as well as a private sundeck.
OBAMA CRITICIZED
With private beach access, the Obamas also enjoy a screened porch, a garden, a stone patio, a pool with a hot tub, and an outdoor shower.
Obama celebrates his milestone birthday on Wednesday but will reportedly hold the party over the weekend.
Pearl Jam is expected to perform.
He has been criticized for inviting 475 guests and employing 200 staff to work the event despite the rising number of Covid cases nationwide.
Guests will reportedly have to have received a vaccine or show a negative Covid test.
It is unclear if they will be required to show proof of vaccination or testing to the outdoor event.
It is also unclear if masks will be required.
Obama is hosting the party as the Delta variant causes a surge in Covid cases across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control has revealed that the Delta variant now accounts for more than 80 percent of all new infections in the US.
It has sparked concern online that the party could be a "super spreader" event with one Twitter user commenting: "Will they be wearing masks while sipping their champagne?"
Another added: "Obama set to hold Covid Super Spreader Event."
One said: "The elite do not have to follow the rules they have set for us."
The party is also being held after a CDC report of nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts, sparked the recently updated CDC guidelines about Covid and masks.
The authors said the findings suggest that the CDC’s mask guidance should be expanded to include the entire country, even outside of hot spots.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, had told CNN on Sunday: "If you're talking about a small party like I might have at my house for six or eight people who are all fully vaccinated, I do not believe, at this point, we need to put masks on to be next to each other.
"But if there were 100 people, and, of course, how are you really going to be sure about people's vaccination status?"
A spokesperson for the Obamas said: "The guest list includes a large number of family members and friends to mark the occasion.
"The private event will be paid for with the family’s personal funds."
A White House official confirmed that President Biden will not be in attendance on Monday.
The official told The Hill that Biden is “unable to attend this weekend.”
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“He looks forward to catching up with former President Obama soon and properly welcoming him into the over-60 club,” they added.
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Biden is traveling to his holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Friday.
For his 50th birthday, Obama had welcomed Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Tom Hanks, and Chris Rock to a party in the White House.