I CAN’T help but feel some trepidation before the bill arrives during my lunch with Jay Shetty. It’s not that he’s stitched me up with the venue, I chose the place. Nor have we been gluttons – he’s a former Hindu monk with a small, vegan-from-LA appetite and I’m a writer on a very limited budget. It’s just that, from what I’ve heard, breaking bread with this particular monk-turned-social-media-guru-turned-multimillionaire life coach to the stars, doesn’t always come cheap.
Specifically, it can cost £1 032,70 (R21 686,70) plus a transaction fee. At least, that’s the price of the top-tier “Ultimate Dinner with Jay Shetty VIP Package” at his upcoming London Palladium shows – themselves part of a 33-date world speaking tour to accompany his latest book, 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It and Let It Go.
For that amount you can enjoy not just an “intimate special group dinner . . . curated by Jay himself ”, but also an “exclusive meet and greet and individual photo opportunity”, plus there’s a “pre-show meditation” and assorted other treats, including an autographed book, “swag bag”, and commemorative lanyard. At the time of writing, tickets were still available.
I mention this over lunch. Jay (35) takes a long sip of ginger tea and nods with gratitude.
“So,” he begins, “first of all I’d say that a lot of that is decided by teams trying to make things work. Tours are very not-profitable ventures at this scale. I don’t think if my motive was financial I’d be going on tour.
