Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft may not have had the best NFL season—but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the league's most prominent owners, a status he proved by hosting a star-studded July Fourth bash at his $43 million Hamptons estate over the weekend.
Kraft, 84, is understood to have gathered a host of A-listers—including Jerry Seinfeld, Mike Tyson, Jon Bon Jovi, and Sylvester Stallone—to his home in Bridgehampton, which he purchased back in 2021, according to records.
The seven-bedroom, waterfront estate sits on a street that is aptly known as Billionaires Row and boasts stunning views out over the water—although it seems that Kraft and his guests had some much more interesting entertainment in the form of singer Elton John, who performed at the celebrity soiree, per People.
According to the outlet, John, 78, arrived at the dwelling in a golf cart that was decorated with white flowers and proceeded to put on quite the impressive performance—which even featured a drone display of his face.
Page Six reported that the crooner played some of his greatest hits during the hourlong set on a bright red piano that had been specially shipped in from the West Coast.
In a touching nod to his longtime friendship with Kraft, John reportedly dedicated his hit "Don't Let the Sun Go Down" to the NFL owner and his wife.
Aerial images taken by local photographer Marianne Barnett and shared on Instagram show John sporting a yellow ensemble while sitting at a piano that was set up on a large stage inside a huge see-through tent at the back of the property.
Meanwhile, an enormous American flag illuminated in bright spotlights can be seen stationed at the entrance to the opulent home—while the events tent was lit up in a purple-blue shade.
The majority of the party appears to have taken place in the enormous tent, which took up much of Kraft's backyard, backing right up to the beach.
In her accompanying caption, Barnett noted that it was not just Kraft and his A-list attendees who had the chance to enjoy John's sultry tunes, explaining that the music could easily be heard by those in the local area.
"Elton John performing at a private home and private party on the beach," she wrote. "Yet, for a few lucky people, including me, we listened and watched him play his big red piano from the beach."
It is not the first time that John has put on a special show for Kraft—having also performed at the billionaire businessman's 2022 wedding to Dana Blumberg.
Kraft, who wed his spouse in New York, has owned his Hamptons escape for close to five years now, having purchased it in an off-market deal back in April 2021, after traveling to the popular enclave with Blumberg to look at multiple abodes, according to the New York Post.
"He flew down for a day with a young woman wearing a monster-sized diamond ring. They looked at multiple houses and bought this one," a source told the outlet shortly after the home's sale went through.
"He preferred a house on Surfside in Bridgehampton, where he rented last year, but none were available."
Still, Kraft's ownership of the picturesque property has not bee without its controversies.
In 2023, he went to war with local authorities over plans to install an elevator inside the home, claiming at the time that he was "mobility impaired."
The plans sparked upset with locals, who claimed that Kraft was attempting to use the Americans With Disabilities Act in an attempt to get around local planning regulations—pointing to images of Kraft playing tennis with Blumberg just a few months before his application for an elevator was put in.
"If you Google ‘Robert Kraft tennis’ and you see recent photos of him playing tennis and you get this feeling they are just willing to do anything to win," one local said.
The majority of frustration seemed to have been sparked by Kraft's desire to put the elevator on the exterior of his home, rather than building it inside the property, with his team blaming the sky-high price of putting the amenity in the home as the reason for that decision.
According to Kraft's team, the estimated cost of an exterior elevator to the NFL owner—who is worth an estimated $11 billion—was $1.6 million, while building it inside the home was going to cost $2.47 million.Charlie Lankston is the executive editor at Realtor.com. She previously worked at DailyMail.com as the associate editor covering news, celebrities, travel, lifestyle, and the British royals. In 2019, she was part of the DailyMailTV team that won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. Charlie earned a B.A. in English literature and theatre studies from the University of Warwick and an M.A. in newspaper journalism from City University in London. Originally from London, she has been based in New York City for 10 years.
