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The name Tony Toutouni may not be familiar to the majority of people, but you wouldn't bet against that being the case for long. Along with Dan Bilzerian, he is widely proclaimed as one of the so-called Kings of Instagram, with hundreds of thousands of people following him. Toutouni lives a loud, expensive lifestyle and isn't shy of boasting about it.
Tony is a businessman first and foremost and a highly successful one too. The 42-year old entrepreneur bought his first Hollywood nightclub when he was just nineteen and has both made and spent a fortune since. His love of women, expensive cars and extravagance has led many to question whether he's living a life many can only dream of - or if he's just another rich wannabe.
Whether you love them, hate them or are simply unaware of them, it's undeniable that Tony Toutouni and Dan Bilzerian are fascinating examples of how modern society worships wealth and influence. Would it be fair to say that Toutouni is fast becoming the Instagrammer most likely to topple Bilzerian as King? Let us look at the facts and see how the two measure up...
12. He Loves To Collect Supercars
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Both Toutouni and Bilzerian are obsessed with high-performance cars and own collections that would be the pride of most petrol heads. Toutouni loves Porsche and Ferrari models in particular, and owns a number of super cars and vintage vehicles. Perhaps inevitably, Toutouni has always found ways to make money from cars. Before he bought his first nightclub, he warmed as a car stereo salesman before becoming sick of the job and allegedly walking out of work, flipping his boss the bird as he went. Now somewhat wealthier, he still makes money from his hobby - he owns several car dealerships to add to his portfolio.
11. The Pair Share Famous Friends
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Like bees around a honeypot - or flies around something less attractive, depending on your viewpoint - celebrities are always attracted to people with bags of cash and lots of influence. Unsurprisingly, Toutouni has a phonebook that reads like Forbes magazine and is never short of a famous face or two to hang out with. He has posted selfies on Instagram and Twitter, with his arm draped around celebrities like Floyd Mayweather, Flavor Flav and Snoop Dogg, amongst others. He shares this in common with Bilzerian, who has a similar A-List presence on his social media accounts.
10. He Has An Entourage Of Beautiful Women
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While it may not be a shock to discover that a heterosexual, healthy male enjoys the company of women, the uninitiated should approach Toutouni's accounts heeding the warning that feminism does not reside here. Just as Bilzerian fills his Instagram account with pictures of bikini-clad models, so too does Tony, though some of his posts are far more extreme and may be extremely upsetting to some.
9. His Instagram Is Insanely Popular
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Bilzerian and Toutouni are not called the "Kings of Instagram" for nothing. They have both found themselves hugely popular on the site due to society's curiosity and fascination with how the wealthy live their lives. While how much of their ostentation is just playing up to stereotypes is debatable, it has made them heroes to an amazingly high number of followers. At the last count, Bilzerian had 8 million followers while Tony has around 750,000. Toutouni claims that his Instagram popularity is growing quickly, however and he is determined to catch The Blitz before much longer.
8. He Claims To Be An Inspiration
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While there remains doubts about how Bilzerian acquired his fortune - he claims it's through poker winnings, many say it's all trust fund wealth - it's certain that Toutouni is a self-made man. Having built up a business from scratch and turned it into a multi-interest empire, he faces down detractors by claiming to be the embodiment of the American Dream. He recently posted a picture of himself next to a Rolls Royce, writing, "Those who won't have this life will stare at this pic and call this motivation, yet those who will one day have this life will get up and do something about it now".
7. He Loves Private Jets, Too
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While Dan Bilzerian frequently posts pictures of himself next to, or boarding private jets, it's often unsure whether he actually owns them or merely loans them from rich friends. Toutouni has a fondness for jets, too, but has a lot more disposable wealth at the tip of his fingers. He has built up an enviable collection of private planes and helicopters, claiming that he needs to have a complete fleet at the ready for his many business meetings across the globe. We're sure that the fact that they look great in a selfie also helps a little...
6. He's Surprisingly Altruistic
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Anybody who gives money to charity can't be a total sleazeball, right? If the total that they give amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars, then that person must either have an altruistic streak as wide as the Amazon - or they are protecting themselves from accusations of distasteful uber-capitalism and arrogance. While Bilzerian has given money to friends to kickstart their careers, Toutouni has also proved generous in his own, inimitable fashion - he has been known to pay for expensive boob-jobs for female friends and claims to regularly deliver truckloads of toys to underprivileged children's homes at Christmas.
5. His Wealth Is Immense
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Through his nightclubs, restaurants, bars and car dealerships, Toutouni has amassed a staggering fortune. While Dan Bilzerian has to get by on a paltry $100 million, his Iranian-born counterpart has a net worth that is estimated to be a bare minimum of $750 million. Usually, however, he is referred to as a billionaire, though the precise figure for his fortune seems to fluctuate from month to month. Either way, it's certain that Tony isn't short of a dollar or two - his Instagram is filled with pictures of models scrabbling for banknotes on his floor, or a magnificently ludicrous image of Tony sleeping next to a 'woman' made from money.
4. He Fronts A Social Media Movement
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Since Instagram became a 'thing' in the first place, the rich and famous have posted pictures of their unimaginable, money-soaked lifestyles. The certain element of posting pictures of everything in excess was designed specifically to amuse, titivate or aggravate, and were initially referred to as 'The Rich Kids of Instagram' before the far catchier term 'Kings/Queens of Instagram was applied. Tony Toutouni and Dan Bilzerian are clearly both at the forefront of this.
3. He Courts Controversy...
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It should surprise nobody reading this article to learn that Tony Toutouni's antics don't amuse everybody. While many idolize him or simply think of him as reasonably harmless, his treatment of women in his photos have led to a huge backlash from feminist groups who have, not unreasonably, labelled him as "misogynistic" and "disgusting". Toutouni himself admits to receiving criticism on a daily basis: "Sure I get hate on Instagram,' he has said. 'I have feminists who hate me with a passion and church people who want to cure me because I have 'issues".
2. ...But He Just Doesn't Seem To Care
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Flipping the bird: as retorts go, it's one step above flinging your faeces at your detractor, like a grumpy lab chimp who's trying to give up smoking. However, it's a gesture synonymous with Tony Toutouni, to the extent that the Playboy billionaire has insured his middle finger to the tune of £7M. Bruce Wayne never got up to such shenanigans. It doesn't matter how much hate is poured on Tony's head, like Bilzerian, he simply doesn't seem to care. He is quoted as unapologetically saying, "What man in this world can't say this isn't the lifestyle they want to live? It's a lifestyle that every man wants to live and I enjoy living it."
1. Tony And Dan Are BBF's
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Kings of Instagram, Bro Icons...call them what you want, but both Tony Toutouni and Dan Bilzerian are phenomenally successful as both businessmen and cultural icons. The two are so alike in many respects that it wouldn't surprise you if they lived together in a tower made from dollar bills. While they aren't roommates, the two are close friends. Toutouni plays down any notion of having a frenemy rivalry with Bilzerian and claims that the only reason he has an Instagram account in the first place is because he saw how successful his buddy's account was and wanted to join in on the fun.
Sources: telegraph.co.uk, businessinsider.com, chron.com, dailymail.co.uk, insurancenewsnet.com
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