Tim Dillon on Meghan Markle's Business Ventures and Perceived Deception

Meghan Markle's "Prestige" Product Pricing

• 💡 Meghan Markle's brand, "As Ever," offers products like raspberry spread for $14, significantly higher than comparable items like Smucker's at $3.47.
• 💰 Similarly, her herbal lemon ginger tea is priced at $12, while Yogi tea costs $4.46, and her shortbread cookie mix is $14 compared to a high-end mix at $7.99.
• 🍯 Wildflower honey with honeycomb is sold for $28 by As Ever, versus $11 on Amazon, and her crepe mix is $14 compared to $5 from New Hope Mills.

The Strategy Behind the Pricing

• 🧠 Dillon suggests Markle's strategy is brilliant, understanding that people associate spending more with higher quality, even if it's not objectively true.
• 🎭 She appears to view people as "animals" or "pigs in the mud" and believes she is elevating them with her products.
• 👑 The use of royal imagery, like the crown on her stationery, is noted as odd given her stated desire to leave royal life.

Critique of Markle's "Founder" Narrative

• 🎙️ Markle's new podcast, "Confessions of a Female Founder," is discussed, with the premise that starting a business while married to a prince and being famous is a unique struggle.
• 📦 A clip highlights her focus on packaging details like biodegradable packing peanuts and box sizes, which Dillon finds out of touch with everyday concerns.
• 🗣️ The podcast also touches on her own struggles, such as staff quitting due to her alleged tirades and feeling unsafe.

Comparison to Other Wealthy Figures

• 📈 Dillon compares Markle's entrepreneurial endeavors to those of other wealthy women who start charities or businesses, questioning if this truly makes them "founders."
• 🎯 He notes a shift from her earlier focus on "unwinding systems of oppression" to emulating figures like Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop brand.
• 🍳 Even her inaugural recipe demonstration, a one-pot pasta, is pointed out as being a well-known Martha Stewart recipe, suggesting a lack of originality.

America's Tolerance for "Hustlers"

• 🤔 The discussion concludes that America has a short memory and is tolerant of individuals who reinvent themselves, rooting for the "hustler" or even the "criminal."
• 🌊 Markle is seen as embracing this role, riding her wave of fame and influence.