Hillary Clinton's Top Hamptons Moments

Hillary Clinton is currently polling to be the next President of the United States (NYTimes.com says she has an 88% chance of victory as of 5 p.m. Tuesday), and she’s a regular Hamptons visitor, so it’s a good bet the first Madam President will be making some appearances on the South Fork over the next 4–8 years of her presidency. In short order, the Hamptons will likely be the next presidential retreat, like Martha’s Vineyard is for Barack Obama and Crawford, Texas was for George W. Bush.

To celebrate this exciting fact, we’re looking back at some of Hillary’s most memorable Hamptons-related moments.

Bill and Hillary’s First Hamptons Rental
Way back in 2011, former President Bill Clinton and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rented real-estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld’s 12,000-square-foot Lily Pond Lane mansion for a week in the height of the summer season (August 22–28). Listed for about $200,000 per month at the time, the luxurious oceanfront home has 8 bedrooms, 4 fireplaces, library, private beach access and a pool. According to the Daily News, as part of the rental agreement, the Clintons agreed to take a picture with Hirschfeld. They rented the same home in summer 2012 as well, but opted for a different spot in 2013. Hirschfeld said he didn’t rent out his home in 2013, but many papers reported the Clintons did not return because of a security deposit issue—they weren’t pleased with how much money they got back.

Clintons Host Dinner in the Hamptons
Bill and Hillary hosted a special dinner at Bridgehampton’s Topping Rose House in August 2013 to raise money for their recently renamed Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The “very special dinner with President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton,” as the invite explained, costs $5,000 per person to attend, $25,000 to co-chair and $50,000 to be the top chair.

Hillary Pens “Hard Choices” in Sagaponack
In 2013, Bill and Hillary rented the $200,000-a-month, 6-bedroom home of Republican donor Michael Saperstein in Sagaponack. The New York Times reported that Hillary spent that time working on her memoir Hard Choices “from a sunny office with an ocean view” in Saperstein’s house, which had a private pathway to the beach.

Clintons Downsize to Amagansett
With Hillary’s presidential run looming and possible fears of appearing too elite, she and Bill tried Amagansett on for size in the summer of 2014. They rented a 7-bedroom estate overlooking Gardiner’s Bay, right next door to friend and supporter Harvey Weinstein.

Hillary Signs “Hard Choices” at BookHampton and Books & Books
During her 2014 stay in Amagansett, Hillary was gracious enough to sign copies of her memoir Hard Choices at two different small Hamptons book shops. Hundreds came out to get a signature and pose for a photo with the woman many were already suspecting would be our next Commander and Chief. First she signed at BookHampton, where she chatted with fans and was visited by notables including former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean and “Montauk” musician and Shelter Island resident Rufus Wainwright, who was joined by his husband Jörn Weisbrodt. A little over a week after, she signed at Books & Books in Westhampton Beach, which drew equal fanfare.

Hillary Eulogizes Tom Twomey in East Hampton
On November 22, 2014, Bill and Hillary made it out to East Hampton to attend the funeral of friend Tom Twomey at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. Hillary delivered a eulogy for Twomey, who is credited with helping win her Senate seat in 2000. The funeral was attended by many regular East Hampton folks, like fisherman Stuart Vorpahl, and an array of local politicians, including future East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, New York State Senator Kenneth LaValle, then Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst and then U.S. Representative Tim Bishop.

Hamptons Features Strongly in Hillary’s Redacted Emails
Among Hillary’s controversial redacted 2009 emails, released in 2015, from her tenure as U.S. secretary of state, were a number of exchanges about her vacations in the Hamptons. Many of the emails released were exchanges with longtime aide Huma Abedin about the Hamptons, but they were entirely, beyond the subject line, redacted. At the time, we guessed they probably had to do with her high praise of Dan’s Papers.  One fact they did reveal was that a 2009 interview Hillary gave to Lisa Ling for The Oprah Winfrey Show took place at a private Hamptons residence, but the name of the homeowner was redacted.

Hillary Hosts Campaign Fundraiser in Water Mill
In August of 2015, with her presidential candidacy official, Hillary held a big campaign fundraiser at the Water Mill home Selma and Artie Rabin. The event was well attended by the Hamptons rich and famous. At one point, Joy Behar tweeted a photo of herself with Hillary. The caption read: “With the next president.” Other notable guests included Senator Cory Booker, Representative Carolyn Maloney, designer Donna Karan and supermodel Christie Brinkley.