‘Will pay anything’: Millionaire CEO’s ‘tone deaf’ request amid Los Angeles fires angers

As residents scramble to flee the area and save their lives, Keith Wasserman, who is the co-founder of real estate investment firm Gelt Venture Partners, said that he would “pay any amount” for emergency services to save his multi-million dollar hillside home.

“Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades?” he asked.

“Need to act fast here. All neighbours houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you.”

Wasserman faced fierce backlash from people he described as “trolls” for the request and later confirmed he and his family had already fled, but he was concerned for his home.

“Incredible nerve,” wrote commenter Sam Vance.

“His family is evacuated and he’s trying to hire private firefighters to risk their lives to save a home he most certainly has insured. Incredibly tone deaf.”

“If you find yourself tweeting for private firefighters to protect your property, you should probably question what you have become as a human being,” another replied.

“So you’re suggesting that potentially lifesaving resources (even if ‘private’) should be diverted to save your house because you’re rich while tens of thousands of people try to evacuate?” one asked.

A thousand buildings have already been destroyed in the blaze and five people have been confirmed dead.

Evacuation orders were in place for about 100,000 people across the area and more than three million people were without power as of Wednesday afternoon.

The iconic Hollywood Boulevard, home to several iconic landmarks including the Walk of Fame and Hollywood Bowl, has also been pushed into a mass evacuation.

Dramatic images are emerging from the heavily-populated city inundated by flames, showing a Bank of America completely engulfed among other prominent building

Mr Wasserman’s post raked in more than 900,000 views and he later clapped back at his critics by calling them “trolls”.

“Mama, I’m going viral!” he wrote, before eventually deleting his tweet.

Back in 2019, private firefighting companies began offering “on-call” wildfire protection to wealthy Californians as the number and intensity of fires increased, the New York Post reported.

For $3,000 a day, locals could hire private firefighters to protect their homes from the devastating wildfires that ravaged the state five years ago. 

While the majority of private crews worked for insurance companies like Chubb, USAA and Safeco that offer mitigation services to their customers, some dealt directly with homeowners or neighbourhood associations.

While the practice is not new, it can be problematic due to the issue of income inequality.

The latest fire in the Hollywood Hills was reported to have started in the vicinity of Runyon Canyon, ABC7 reported, just north of Hollywood Boulevard, before rapidly spreading to about 20 acres.

Three fires in total are now burning in Los Angeles County with 0 per cent containment, officials said, warning that the worst was yet to come as the Santa Ana winds pushed from the east.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed the Woodley Fire in the San Fernando Valley has been controlled at around 30 acres.

The Lidia Fire is at an estimated 80 to 100 acres but 30 per cent contained.

“Thankfully, forward progress has been stopped,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said via NBC.

“We’re doing the very best we can. But no, we don’t have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this.”

Multiple celebrities have lost their homes and are being evacuated, with actors Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s $10 million home being destroyed.

Paris Hilton has also reportedly lost her beachfront home in Malibu.

Scary Movie star Anna Faris’ home was also destroyed by the fires, with Fergie’s home surrounded by flames.

Actor Billy Crystal has also made a statement after losing his $14.8 million home of nearly five decades.

His six-bedroom home was built in 1936 and spread over a lot of 0.40 acres.

The fires have also taken the home of Silence of the Lambs star Anthony Hopkins. He purchased the colonial four-bedroom $9.6 million home in the Pacific Palisades area back in 2021.