Billy McFarland Sells Fyre Festival Brand on eBay for a Fraction of His $26 Million USD Debt
Following a “low-ball” sale, McFarland hints at what’s next.
Summary
- The brand’s IP, trademarks, and social media accounts were sold on eBay for $245,300 USD — covering less than 1% of outstanding debt
- The week-long auction became eBay’s most-watched non-charity listing, drawing 175 bids from 42 bidders
- Following the sale, McFarland teased a new tech venture focused on monetizing digital attention and viewership
Update: Billy McFarland, the controversial founder behind the infamous Fyre Festival, has sold off the last remaining assets of the brand on eBay for $245,300 USD. The package — which included intellectual property, trademarks, SMS and email lists, and social media accounts — drew 175 bids from 42 bidders during a week-long auction that became eBay’s most-watched non-charity listing.
Despite the attention, the final number was far from celebratory. The sale covers less than 1% of the $26 million USD McFarland still owes in court-ordered restitution. He livestreamed the final moments of the auction and called the result “so low,” expressing disappointment as the numbers locked in.
Still, in a statement posted to Instagram, McFarland struck a more optimistic tone:
“I would like to congratulate the winning bidder in the FYRE Festival IP auction on eBay. I look forward to working with them to begin the process to finalize the sale. FYRE Festival is just one chapter of my story, and I’m excited to move onto my next one.”
The buyer’s identity has not yet been disclosed, though McFarland reportedly laughed upon seeing the name — a fitting endnote for a brand whose legacy includes unfulfilled villas, cold cheese sandwiches, and viral chaos.
McFarland also used the moment to tease his next venture: a tech platform “designed to capture and power the value behind every view online.” It’s a concept rooted in his belief that “attention is currency,” and that even digital notoriety holds financial weight.
For someone whose name became synonymous with overpromising and underdelivering, McFarland’s latest chapter seems poised to, once again, test the limits of hype in the digital age. Check out McFarland’s official statement below.
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Original Story: Name your price — Billy McFarland‘s Fyre Fest brand is officially up for auction on eBay.
The founder took to social media to announce that his previous deal to sell the IP has fallen through, causing him to put Fyre back on the market. “Whoever owns the Fyre brand will have an attention engine to launch festivals, do merch collabs, do insane pop-ups, run livestreams, or build a media brand,” McFarland said in a video.
The auction kicked off with a starting bid of one cent and is currently priced at a whopping $200,100 USD. As per the listing, the winning bidder will acquire the brand name, its festival domains, artist and talent relationships and more:
Brand Name
Registered Trademarks & Intellectual Property
Official Social Media Accounts (including verified Instagram)
Comprehensive Marketing Assets (photos, videos, graphic templates, ad archives)
FYRE Festival Domains
Caribbean Festival Location Option (with full support from elected island leadership)
Behind-the-Scenes Content & Documentary Footage
Email & SMS Lists
Artist & Talent Relationships
Extensive Media Coverage Archive
Access to Core Team (optional)
Earlier this June, McFarland announced a new Fyre event in Honduras after cancelling Fyre Fest 2. The upcoming “Fyre Coral View Pop-Up in Utila” will supposedly take place on September 3 to September 10 in the small, undeveloped island of Utila.
Check out McFarland’s announcement below.
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