A Bat Mitzvah Like No Other

It was a bat mitzvah like no other. The guests for the coming of age celebration for 13-year old Elizabeth Brooks had no idea what was in store for them until the night began with a soprano sax player who turned out to be Kenny G. The night was just getting started. He was followed by former Eagle Don Henley, then Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. The night was only half-way thru. Out came Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, then a guy by the name of Curtis James Jackson III – better known as rapper 50 Cent.

Why would the stars of Aerosmith and a former criminal tough guy who survived being shot nine times at point blank range ever agree to appear at a bat mitzvah? How about an offer of $2-million dollars for a 45-minute performance?

Guests at the Long Island bat mitzvah had been given gift bags with about $1000 in personal electronics including digital cameras and the managers for 50 Cent were so concerned about his image, they tried to stop guests from taking pictures. They didn’t and pictures did leak out onto the internet along with comments questioning his gangsta lifestyle.

Total bill for the night was $10-million. Who paid it? The father of the 13-year old – defense contractor David Brook, the CEO of a Long Island company that supplied the U-S military with body armor. Two years later, Brooks was indicted for insider trading, tax evasion and embezzlement of the $10-million he used to pay for his daughter’s once in a lifetime event.

That lavish bat mitzvah happened on this date in 2005.