A Los Angeles-based real estate investor’s viral, personal request amid the city’s deadly wildfires led to scores of criticism on Thursday.
Keith Wasserman, co-founder of real estate investment firm Gelt Venture Partners, took to X to apparently request “access to private firefighters” to “protect our home.” The fires have led to evacuation orders impacting 100,000-plus people and scorched tens of thousands of acres of land in the area.
“Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you,” wrote Wasserman, whose firm estimates the value of its current portfolio at $1.59 billion.
The post, which has since been deleted along with Wasserman’s account, was immediately met with backlash.
“The disconnect is jaw dropping. Just wow,” wrote one user in a post with over 126,000 likes.
“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?” another person wrote.
“are there even private firefighters like in the country lmao i been thinking bout that dudes tweet all day,” read another post.
HuffPost has reached out to Gelt for comment.
Several users pointed to Wasserman’s post history, as well, after he took to X to call on President-elect Donald Trump to cut property taxes last year and declared that “real estate ballers don’t pay any taxes” in 2021.
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Private firefighting services have been the subject of controversy in the past, as was the case when Kim Kardashian and Ye (formerly Kanye West) used them to seek protection of their $60 million mansion during a 2018 fire that burned nearly 97,000 acres of land in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Insurance companies have also offered wealthy policyholders private firefighters to protect their homes, per a 2018 NBC News report.
According to The Associated Press, this week, the fire in the Pacific Palisades became the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.