Invites to a crush of political fund-raisers have started landing on the desks of New York’s wealthy donors, and many are already dreading the annual fleecing. First up: Bill Clinton and Carly Simon are hosting an event for Hillary on June 8—tickets are $1,000 apiece—with co-hosts like Jeffrey Sachs and Fred Hochberg. Then, from June 9 to 11, John Kerry—yep, he’s probably running again—is holding a “summer retreat” in Nantucket for wealthy backers (windsurfing, anyone?). Then comes Harvey Weinstein’s “very private” event for Barack Obama—$25,000 per couple!—at the Rainbow Room. “He always gets in early with future stars, just like he did with Hillary,” says a Weinstein friend. (Not to mention Gwyneth!) And finally, Hillary aides have asked big donors to “save the date” for a “Hamptons Weekend” August 10 to 13. Donor Robert Zimmerman says the events are as predictable as Shakespeare in the Park, except “the seats are way more expensive.”

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Greg Sargent
• Table of Contents: Jun 12, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!