Andrea Bartzen: EXCLUSIVE Inside the World of Family Offices, Charity Galas & Social Climbing Gone Wrong

Summary

Podcast Summary

Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel

Episode: Andrea Bartzen: EXCLUSIVE Inside the World of Family Offices, Charity Galas & Social Climbing Gone Wrong
Date: May 16, 2026
Host: Rachel Uchitel
Guest: Andrea Bartzen

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth interview with Andrea Bartzen, a woman recently made infamous by a New York magazine article dubbing her "the fake Cartier." Andrea, accused of social climbing, party crashing, and fabricating an elite identity, tells her story publicly for the first time. Rachel Uchitel, drawing on her own experience with being defined by media narratives, provides Andrea with a platform to present her unfiltered side. The episode delves into Andrea's upbringing, her career, the controversial article, and the impact of rumors, culminating with reflections from a live event Rachel attended.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Andrea’s Background & Upbringing (03:11–09:16)

• Origin Story: Contrary to the NY Mag article, Andrea is from Chicago, not Ohio. Her family boasts deep Chicago roots and a legacy of integrity. Her great-grandfather ("Honest Pete") was a well-known politician who stood up to mobsters and championed the underdog (03:16).

• Early Exposure: Her upbringing instilled community-oriented values; her parents were the "it couple" in Chicago, yet their socializing always aimed to create change (05:00).

• Childhood Experiences: Andrea was taken to political and philanthropic events from infancy, reinforcing her comfort in elite circles (06:22).

• Family Ethos: Andrea emphasizes being raised in a genderless, empowering environment with strong emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving.

  "My father...trained my brothers and I since birth how to play business...Everything was play. He taught us to be very empowered, and he taught us critical thinking skills at a young age."
  — Andrea Bartzen (08:07)

2. Education, Career, and Creation of Global Passion Project (09:11–14:52)

• Academic Background: Studied marketing, advertising, science, and business—fields reflecting both creativity and analytical skills.

• Professional Trajectory: Worked in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and finance; later became a strategist behind major brand launches (Lipitor, Botox, Viagra) (21:45–22:47).

• Business Creation: Founded the Global Passion Project to bring together inheritors of wealth, entrepreneurs, and creatives, aiming to channel resources toward positive, world-changing projects (14:52).

  "I was in a unique position to help people that inherit money actually make a difference in the world. And I could be the channel for that."
  — Andrea Bartzen (14:52)

3. Understanding Family Offices and Elite Event Culture (15:26–18:33)

• Demystifying Family Offices: Andrea sought to make the insular world of family offices and impact finance less intimidating by curating business-focused events with elements of fun and luxury.

• Curated Events: These are not "parties," but summits that connect innovators, investors, and creatives in business and philanthropy.

  "What they have in common is they're part of creating a new earth...I curate the businesses that come in...and I infuse that."
  — Andrea Bartzen (17:44)

4. The "Fake Cartier" Controversy & Media Fallout (23:04–29:41)

• NY Magazine Article: One explosive feature painted Andrea as a fraud and party crasher, her boyfriend as a fake Rockefeller, and raised doubts about her credibility.

• Response to Accusations: Andrea says the article was driven by personal vendettas from a small group of women, motivated by jealousy and cattiness, and claims her side was not genuinely sought by the journalist.

  "I know every single person that was quoted in that article. Every single one of them has had a vendetta against me."
  — Andrea Bartzen (25:25)

• Narrative Control: Rachel reinforces how media can hijack someone’s narrative, connecting Andrea’s experience to her own.

5. Addressing Party-Crashing and Financial Allegations (32:21–44:26)

• Summer Shares & Living Situation: Andrea explains the NY lifestyle of renting shares in the Hamptons and elsewhere is normative, not an indicator of lack of wealth.

• Money & Business Model: Andrea details her revenue comes from investor relations, not charity events; most event attendees go free, with money coming from presenting businesses and sponsors (39:01–41:53).

• Party-Crashing Claims: Denies being a party crasher, noting she regularly buys tickets and is frequently invited late to events.

  "No, I'm not a party crasher...I've bought many, many charity tickets."
  — Andrea Bartzen (42:25)

6. Personal Relationships & Integrity (44:26–50:43)

• Boyfriend Controversy: Addresses rumors about her connection to "Matthew Rockefeller," claiming it's not her story to tell but she trusted his word and believes in his family connection.

• Self-Reflection: Admits to regretting trusting the woman she blames for orchestrating the negative press. Acknowledges she’s made mistakes, mainly in trusting the wrong people.

  "Have I made mistakes? Sure. Everyone does. I should have trusted my instincts and not gotten involved in the first place. That's my biggest regret."
  — Andrea Bartzen (51:21)

• Rejects the "Anna Delvey" Label: Calls the comparison inaccurate, citing her work ethic and business history (52:41).

7. Impact on Career, Accountability, and Legal Action (53:23–58:43)

• No Criminal Record: Asserts she is not under investigation; claims her record is clean.
• Media Critique: Criticizes NY Mag for poor sourcing and not researching the backgrounds of accusers.
• Legal Plans: Will pursue legal action against the publication and certain individuals (54:32).
• Accountability & Learning: Describes learning to better defend herself but rejects being "bitch-trained" (56:14–57:43).

8. Aftermath: Business, Future, and Reflections on the Live Event (60:12–76:13)

• Spiritual Outlook: Guided by her father's teachings to solve problems by "going bigger" and treating adversity as a cue for personal growth (59:24–60:12).

• Business Continues: Upcoming events remain scheduled in London and Saudi Arabia, with partners and sponsors still on board (61:46).

• Live Event Recap: Rachel attends Andrea's event post-interview, expecting drama but finding a well-attended, professional crowd. Andrea commands the room, addresses a heckler calmly, and receives open support from long-time friends and supporters (68:29–75:22).

• Final Reflections: Rachel encourages listeners not to adopt a "herd mentality" and to seek facts for themselves.

  "You have to make your own decisions...People need to think about why you have an opinion about somebody and have it be based on fact and experience as opposed to just reading something."
  — Rachel Uchitel (76:13)

• Andrea’s Closing Statement: Invites listeners to get to know her directly and describes herself as authentic, real, and fighting for what’s right, invoking her great-grandfather's legacy of integrity (64:27).

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “It’s not about your name. It’s like, what’s your integrity level? What’s your character? What do you do? What do you create?”
  — Andrea Bartzen (12:10)

• On media victimization:
  “Listen, you don't realize it until you're victimized by it.”
  — Andrea Bartzen (24:59)

• On the so-called party crashing:
  “No, I'm not a party crasher. That's like, that's a misnomer in itself...I was invited to every single event that there is.”
  — Andrea Bartzen (42:25)

• On comparison to Anna Delvey:
  “Oh, nothing could be further from the truth. You know, I. I worked. I've had a. Three different careers. I've worked really hard in to build up.”
  — Andrea Bartzen (52:41)

• On learning from adversity:
  “My father said to me at a young age...if you ever think that there's a problem you can't solve, it's only because you haven't gone big enough...It's your trigger that you need to go outside of your comfort zone.”
  — Andrea Bartzen (20:39)

• Rachel’s recap of the event:
  “I was really shocked that Andrea stood up for herself and held the room like she did...She was very thoughtful. She was very smart, and she held the room and she held her own.”
  — Rachel Uchitel (71:40)

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Segment Timestamps

• Andrea’s biography & upbringing: 03:11–09:16
• Education & early career: 09:11–14:52
• Explanation of events/family office scene: 15:26–18:33
• NY Magazine Article, media fallout, and defense: 23:04–29:41
• Party crashing and event funding claims: 32:21–44:26
• Boyfriend and identity controversy: 44:26–50:43
• Legal, accountability, and business impact: 53:23–58:43
• Spiritual outlook and business future: 59:24–64:27
• Live event recap by Rachel: 67:18–76:13

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Flow & Tone

• Andrea: Measured, candid, spiritual, at times defensive but also self-aware and intent on clearing misconceptions.
• Rachel: Probing but empathetic, skeptical yet open, facilitates Andrea’s story while relating her own experience with media narratives.
• Throughout, the conversation balances facts, emotional responses, personal growth, and broader commentary on media treatment of women.

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Conclusion

This episode explores Andrea Bartzen’s contested reputation and the broader impacts of "cancel culture" and media narratives. The discussion is layered, engaging, and challenges listeners to think critically about headlines versus reality, reputation-building, and the power of an individual’s story. Through a combination of interview and real-time event reporting, Andrea comes across as complex and multifaceted—inviting listeners to consider the humanity behind sensational headlines and the importance of independent judgment.

Transcript

[Andrea Bartson]

Life can feel overwhelming. But on my podcast, from the Heart with Rachel Brathan, we're in it together.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Every Friday brings you a new story.

[Andrea Bartson]

Listen to from the Heart with Rachel Braythen.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wherever you get your podcasts, I'm here

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

tonight because Andrea is near and dear to my heart. And there's a bit of an elephant in the room.

[Rachel Yukatel]

There are headlines, and then there are stories so outrageous, so layered, they almost feel impossible to believe. This week, one woman was branded by the tabloids as a fraud, a fake heiress, a social climber who infiltrated the elite circles of Palm beach, the Hamptons, and Manhattan. They called her the fake Cartier.

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, to me, it's not about your name. It's like, what's your integrity level? What's your character? What do you do? What do you create?

[Rachel Yukatel]

They said she crashed events. They said she fabricated connections. They said even the man by her side, presented as a Rockefeller, may not be who he claimed to be. Who is Matthew Wayne Tomaszco? But headlines only tell one side, because today, for the first time ever on a podcast, she speaks.

[Andrea Bartson]

There's a reality to it, and then there's what I can say.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Is Cartier part of your name, or was that just something you decided would be fun to put on a LinkedIn profile? Where did that come from? Her name is Andrea Bartson. She says she was born into influence, raised around politics, philanthropy, and power. She claims she built a life in pharmaceuticals, biotech, finance, and later created exclusive events connecting wealth, business, and philanthropy.

[Andrea Bartson]

We tend to accept reality as it is rather than how we want it to be. And we're at this vortex of. Of time, at this moment where we can all decide the reality that we want to create.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But then everything changed. One explosive article from New York magazine turned her into a villain overnight.

[Andrea Bartson]

I know every single person that was quoted in that article. Every single one of them has had a vendetta against me.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And this morning, we received an anonymous email warning us not to platform her. So who really is Andrea Barton? Is she the next Anna Delvey? Or is this a complete witch hunt and we are all in the wrong? I know what it feels like when the media decides who you are before you get to speak. That's why I wanted to hear from her directly. No filters, no headlines, no middleman, just Andrea. This is one of the wildest interviews we've ever done, and now you can decide for yourself. Andrea, thank you so much for joining me today on Misunderstood.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

How are you feeling?

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, I'm generally a positive person and a Happy person. So, you know, I connect to my spirituality. So I always feel like regardless of what happens in life, it's. There's for a. It's always for a bigger spiritual reason.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, well that's a good way to see things for sure. So I want people to get to know you and I want to get to know you a little bit because there's been this article that's come out, people are talking about it. I can imagine. Cuz I've been through something similar. Not exactly what you've been through, but the fact that people take a narrative and now there's a belief about you out there. I wanna get to know you a little bit. So I know you're from Ohio. Oh, you're not from Ohio. Okay, well where are you from?

[Andrea Bartson]

A lot of the facts are incorrect, starting with that. So I'm actually from Chicago.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

I was born in the city. I was a city kid. And my, my father's from Chicago actually goes, my family goes back generations in Chicago. My great grandfather actually was a famous politician during the time of Al Capone and he was nicknamed Honest Pete because he was the only honest politician during the time of mobsters. And he fought for people, so he fought for what's right that side of the family and Bart's inside the family, which I've heard the most stories from, had a no fear gene. So they fought for people no matter what and really stood by people. So he was actually very famous in the media and was nicknamed Honest Pete because he didn't care if they were mobsters or not. He was going to stand up for, for people.

[Rachel Yukatel]

I love that. Okay, and how long did you live in Chicago?

[Andrea Bartson]

I was born there and you know, I was there until I was about seven. And then we moved to Pennsylvania. Later we moved to Ohio.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. Were your parents still married or.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, they were married the whole time. My, my father passed away when I was 17.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Sorry.

[Andrea Bartson]

I moved back to Chicago after college, after Kent State went to college or went to. Back to Chicago then. But yeah, so I've lived, I grew up in the Midwest, you know, overall.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And do you have siblings?

[Andrea Bartson]

Pardon me?

[Rachel Yukatel]

Do you have siblings?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, so I have two brothers and a little sister.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Oh, nice.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Are you close with them?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, very close.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Let's talk about your early years in Chicago. What stands out to you?

[Andrea Bartson]

So my parents were very different from each other. You know, my father had, it was a big personality, big city guy, probably the biggest bachelor, one of the biggest bachelors in Chicago. You know, good looking, smart, successful. And very good person, always help people. So, and my mother was from Ohio. She was from a family, Irish Catholic family. And they met, they fell in love, and they were joined together because they were both wanted to make a difference in the world, and that's what united them. And they were both very spiritual, and they spent their life, every day of their life, very similar to me. Actually, now it's full circle because they went out and they had fun, and they were the it couple of Chicago. Like I said, my father was, you know, the it guy, and then they were the it couple. But they didn't just socialize to socialize. Everything that they did was about making a difference, and their businesses were making a difference, and their social was about making a difference. And if anyone wanted to hang out with them and do all of the fun things that they did, it was all for bringing together a community to make change in the world.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So this is how you learned this, and this is how you came into your life.

[Andrea Bartson]

It had nothing to do with, you know, as the article said, like, you know, getting into parties. I was actually born into that. So my father, who was a psychologist, spiritual psychologist, he didn't. He thought it was good to expose kids at a very early age to multiple stimuluses. And so as a baby, I never had a babysitter. So I was going to dinner parties and political conventions and hobnobbing since I was a baby. And so it's completely natural for me. And. And I, you know, felt very comfortable in that environment. In fact, was very young, I think two years old. I was actually on the COVID of Time Life magazine with my father. It was at a political event, and he was holding a mixed drink and he was talking to someone. And then I was turned the other way looking at someone else. And I had these big eyes, and I was very curious.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And what did you want to be when you were younger?

[Andrea Bartson]

What did I want to be? I wanted to be an architect, actually. So all I wanted to do was play with blocks and build and create. I was very creative and had a natural, like, you know, analytical side and a creative side. Just wanted to build things. And my father, who's very transformative, brilliant guy, he actually trained my brothers and I since birth how to play business. And we were playing business and I played bank. And he taught us.

[Rachel Yukatel]

When you say play business, do you mean like monopoly kind of thing? Like, what do you mean?

[Andrea Bartson]

Everything was play. So he taught us to be very empowered, and he taught us critical thinking skills at a young age. And he groomed Us basically to know how to think on our own, to make critical decisions, to know cause and effect. We learned chess at age 3. My brothers and I interacted in a way so that later in life I realized the brilliance even now is everything is play. It's fun. You want to get into media, learn media. You want to write a book, write a book. You want to create a movie, create a movie. Which is partly what I'll do now. I never anticipated doing it this early, but now that I have a story, I'll do that. But everything was seamless and easy for us. So, you know, we decided whatever we wanted to play. And it was talk about a genderless environment, you know, we. There was no gender involved in my family. Like, you know, I wanted to be the bank and my brother wanted to be the chef.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So amazing. So what did you study? What did you end up majoring in?

[Andrea Bartson]

So I majored in marketing. Marketing, Advertising, heavy science. My. I come from a medical family, so that was natural. My mother was a nurse. She had a home health care business. So I majored in both creative things and, and science kind of technical things. So, you know, business strategy was a natural thing for me. I love to create businesses and problem solve. Right. So it's a little bit of everything and you know, mix that together as my major.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Right. So let me ask you then about your. You talked about your family. People are up in arms a lot and calling you the fake Cartier. Is Cartier part of your name or was that just something you decided would be fun to put on a LinkedIn profile? Where did that come from?

[Andrea Bartson]

So my great grandmother is Mary Cartier. She was married to Peter Barson, the famous politician. So you know, I didn't. It's actually we grew up more with the stories of my great grandfather and that side of the family that was the Jewish side of the family that was very strong. And you know, they actually going all the way back on the Bartiz side. They fought against the Bolsheviks and the Russian revolution. So that's really the strong sort of part of my family on that side. The strong personality. They were comedians and big personalities. And my, my great grandmother, you know, we didn't hear as much about her. So, you know, and I was named after her. Actually my middle name is Mary. So I brought that into, you know, incorporating it as a way to respect her and also because I relate to her just as much as I relate to the Bartson side.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. You know, so just to clarify, Cartier wasn't your birth given middle name, but you're now explaining why you gave yourself that later in life.

[Andrea Bartson]

Exactly. And honestly, it was very passively. It's not like I go around, you know, talking about it.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So it was more of a clickbait

[Andrea Bartson]

when I introduced myself. Everyone knows me as Andrea Bartson, you know, and in fact, no one even knew that was part of my name until this article came out, so. Ah, got it. Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. Do you think that it opened doors for you at all or you think people really didn't know that?

[Andrea Bartson]

They really didn't know that. And, you know, because of where I'm from, you know, I've always, regardless, I've always taken pride in building my own credibility. That's super important to me. Okay. So it doesn't really matter to me what my last name is or anyone else's last name for that matter.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

Okay.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Have you ever been married? Like, have you taken someone else's name?

[Andrea Bartson]

A couple times.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So, you know, to me it's not about your name. It's like, what's your integrity level? What's your character? What do you do? What do you create?

[Rachel Yukatel]

So explain to me what you do now or what your job, you know, what your job is, what you've been doing.

[Andrea Bartson]

So I basically created a company that is an authentic representation of my life because I realized before I did this that because I have such a broad span of interests and talents or skills, I would keep them all separate. So. And I realized that the people that I knew actually, that I. This is actually good reason, I usually kept them separate. Right. Because people don't necessarily mix with each other.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Right.

[Andrea Bartson]

That's true. So I kept my credible side of my life over here, which was my business life. I'm in pharmaceuticals and I'm in biotech and finance, very serious professions that I've spent my whole life building and building credibility and for, quite frankly, in a more masculine dominated world. So as a woman, you have to work three times as hard to, you know, build that credibility. And I did, and I'm proud of that. But then on the other side, because I'm also, and I think this comes through the Cartier side, like, I, I love elegance, I love luxury, I love beauty. So I would allow those outlets through different channels of my life that were more social. Like, I love to go to art galleries and I love to travel, I love an international world. But even my friend groups were separate.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

So I kept my friends completely separate. But I realized that the right thing to do for humanity, and at this time, we're going Through a huge transformation in the world right now. And people don't, not necessarily everyone, people don't realize it necessarily. But from a spiritual perspective, we're separating from a third dimensional world to a fifth dimensional world. And part of that from a monetary standpoint is there's this great wealth transfer that's happening right now. So wealth is being transferred through generations, specifically to women and next gens, next generations. So the difference of what's happening now that from any other time in history is that the people that are going to inherit the wealth actually care about making a difference in the world more than any other time.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

And power is shifting.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So is this why you started Global Passion Project?

[Andrea Bartson]

That's why I started Global Passion Project. Okay. Because I realized that I was in a unique position to help people that inherit money actually make a difference in the world. And I could be the channel for that. But it's not as simple as simply inheriting wealth or investing in impact different businesses. Because most of the wealth that's being transferred is transferred to people that never had to necessarily have a job. They didn't necessarily have to learn the skills or of working hard, building their services.

[Rachel Yukatel]

This whole family office type of thing I think is intimidating to people. They don't really understand it.

[Andrea Bartson]

Exactly.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And there's a lot of questions around it and it sounds very intimidating and off putting cause people don't know a lot about it. But you essentially were throwing parties for people in that industry, right? Is that how you would say it?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So I basically wanted to take out the intimidation factor, right? That's exactly right. Because I'm friends with both groups. Right, okay. And I realized that these, neither one of these groups would never ever meet each other in a million years. My credible people sort of think of these other jet set people as, you know, kind of superficial. And the superficial people are maybe intimidated by the people that are building businesses. But I thought I could really do a service because I had to learn it because I didn't receive my inheritances. I was supposed to receive three or four different inheritances from both sides of my family. And I used to be mad at my parents actually because I was like, why are you guys the night guys? You know, my cousins are getting, you know, like huge houses just inherited. Like I, I, you know, inherited the heiress attitude without the heir. And my mother would get mad at me because she's like, you're such a princess. And I'm like, that's right. I am like, why didn't you get my heir? But I Learned. And I'm grateful. I'm grateful I had to work hard and learn skills because now that's what I can offer the world. I can teach the people that I jet set all over the world with, and I can help them this. Help them understand and learn and accelerate their learning so that they feel as though they have purpose and mission and they can make a difference. Life is not about partying.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So this is interesting because it sounds. I mean, it sounds great. And I can see that you're having these authentic parties leading up to this article. How many parties would you say you had thrown for your foundation?

[Andrea Bartson]

And actually, it's not a party at all, really. I just add in the fun element so that it takes out the intimidation.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Is it like a summit? What?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So there's a lot of psychology baked into it. Okay. So essentially it's a business event.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Where I curate everything. So I curate the businesses that come in. All the businesses are making a difference either in health care or clean energy, or they're all the businesses. What they have in common is they're part of creating a new earth. So what I realized in the disconnect between philanthropy and impact investing is that philanthropists look for the solutions, but the solutions are rarely in philanthropy. The solutions are actually usually in business. And there are incredible amount of businesses right now that are literally transforming the world right now. And people don't even realize that that's happening. So what I do is I create a business event. I have top thought leaders come in from every category, and I infuse that

[Rachel Yukatel]

you've created relationships with over time.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yes, over 25 years. Yeah, 25 years. I am friends with these people and I've met these people. So I bring in top thought leaders from longevity, from science, AI and then I also bring in the artistic part of my life. So I'm friends with filmmakers, I'm friends with musicians, chefs. Celebrity chefs. So I feel as though it's important to honor the creators as much as it is to honor the entrepreneurs, because it's going to be a combination of talent that brings us into a new world.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So leading up to this success that you're having now, I mean, you had to start out somewhere. So after college, you did what, what did you do to start getting into the events business?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, no, that. The event thing is just a new thing. Oh, God. And that's just part of my business.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

That's not really. That's just one element of it.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

But after call, after college, you know, I went into, you know, Mostly advertising initially and all pharmaceuticals initially, because in different parts of that. So I combined even early on, my analytical skills with the creative part of what I've been able to do. And a lot of it was linked to problem solving. So it goes all the way back to the skills that my father taught us initially. And my brothers and I were taught a very important lesson, two very important lessons very early on. Even when we were 2 and 3 years old, we were actually not allowed to go to my parents and have a problem. Weren't allowed to complain. Rule number one, no complaints. We couldn't come to him about a problem unless we also already figured out the solution. So it's very powerful thing. I've seen my nieces and nephews do this, and they would go up to my brother and say, dad, you know, this is a problem I'm having. I think this is the solution. I already did it. What do you think? Do you agree?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yes.

[Andrea Bartson]

Power out of out of day one. And so that was one lesson. The other lesson was, and this actually is full circle right now, is my father said to me at a young age, andrea, there's never a problem that you cannot solve in life. Don't forget that. And he said, it's okay. If you ever think that there's a problem you can't solve, it's only because you haven't gone big enough. And it's your trigger that you need to go outside of your comfort zone. You need to be bigger than you already are, because there's a solution that the world needs that's outside of your comfort zone. So, wow. It's forcing me to be out of my comfort zone.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Yes, I can see.

[Andrea Bartson]

I was always behind the brand. I strategically created some of the largest brands in the world. I was behind the scenes. I'm fundamentally shy, or I used to be when I was younger. So it's very comfortable for me to create big brands like Lipitor and Botox and Viagra. I was sort of the mastermind behind the curtain. And I love to create and love to create sort of big brands and big experiences.

[Rachel Yukatel]

What do you mean, the mastermind behind the curtain? Like, doing the advertising like you spoke about it.

[Andrea Bartson]

So I was a strategist behind the scenes. I would direct different groups, you know, writers and creatives and artists and strategists.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And were you the contracted to do this or you worked for these companies? Both.

[Andrea Bartson]

Both. You know, early on, you know, you take on positions, you know, and you climb your way up through the ladder in New York City. Yeah, you know, and then later in life, you know, you take on bigger and bigger positions. You're paid more.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Sure.

[Andrea Bartson]

Bigger salaries, you take on assignments. And for me, because I'd love to do brand launches, I would focus on the largest brand launch for that agency, and I would, you know, orchestrate that and lead that, and then I would go off to another brand launch. So.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So let's talk about March of this year. An article came out in New York magazine called the fake Cartier and the fake Rockefeller. How do you think you got to the point where this article was being written about you from the life you were, what you would say, authentically living? What happened?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, unfortunately, and I think this is partly coming from the Midwest, you believe the best in everyone. And so I think as a Midwesterner coming to New York, one of the things you have to be most careful of is being taken advantage of or being naive. So I think I was naive in a few situations related to women and became friends at one time or acquaintances with the women that wrote the article.

[Rachel Yukatel]

You mean the women that were interviewed or wrote the article.

[Andrea Bartson]

No, there were women that orchestrated that article, that found each other, knew each other.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So I know you believe that. But if I'm genuinely asking, because people will ask this question, you know, I researched that writer I saw who follows her. There was an article written in the New York Times about me, and I was interviewed for it. So I know, you know, the upstanding journalism that I will say this group of people that I worked with has, and they are friends with this writer I've been in journalism. I can't believe that a journalist would take any sort of payment or anything like that from somebody to tell a story. That's just my personal opinion. Now. It's hard to believe.

[Andrea Bartson]

Listen, you don't realize it until you're victimized by it.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, what I have been victimized about is the media hijacking my narrative. And that's why I wanted to have you here.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yes.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Because the media can put any angle and spin on the story, and that doesn't mean it's true. I will verify that. So let me ask you a question. Did Jen the writer reach out to you and try to get a quote from you?

[Andrea Bartson]

Not until the very end.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. And she just showed it to you,

[Andrea Bartson]

and it was all. And the questions that were asked were very defamatory.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Not even close to being accurate. So I could tell how the narrative was being spun.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So she was posing it to you. I'm guessing that she was asking you a Question about something you were accused of.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

And.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, so it wasn't like telling me your story.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. And it was at the end. The other thing is. Well, there's a couple of things related to that, because now I've dug into it, obviously, is first of all, that that column is a. Is a gossip column, part of it. So, you know, it's people. It sounds like intelligentsia. It sounds like it's intelligent. It's a gossip part of the magazine, number one. Number two, I'm not the only victim. There's a journalist that I work with has identified over 15 people that have been attacked by that particular magazine, by that particular column. Again, all normal citizens that actually sued the magazine. They all sued. So I'm not the only person that has experienced this. I know you've experienced different things that are similar. So that's the first thing. The other thing is, I know every single person that was quoted in that article, every single one of them has. Has had a vendetta against me in the last 15 years. And I know who they are, but a vendetta?

[Rachel Yukatel]

Why do you think?

[Andrea Bartson]

Different reasons a lot. Most of it's jealousy or cattiness.

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[Rachel Yukatel]

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[Rachel Yukatel]

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[Rachel Yukatel]

Would you say that any of the stories that came out in the article had a ring of truth? And you could say, oh, I see what they're talking about, but the reality was this. Like, could you. Or were they complete lies?

[Andrea Bartson]

Some of them were just completely bogus. Altogether bogus. And there were other things that were spun. You know, there might have been a kernel of truth to it, but they were spun in a way that was not true. And there was one girl in particular that was driving this article, okay? And it was for malicious intent. Malicious intent, but malicious.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Why? Like, if you're doing things to help people out and you're minding your own business, why would it trigger somebody enough that they want to ruin your life and call you a fraud and a fake if they didn't feel, or the group of people that were being quoted didn't feel that there was truth to it?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, it's really sad, actually. And this goes back to the principle of women supporting women. And I think it's a tragedy in today's day and age that women, some women do not support women. And they might compete. If they can't compete, they'll slander. They can't slander. They'll sabotage. They can't sabotage. They go to extreme methods to tear other women down. And that's what happened. So specifically, without naming any names, there's one particular woman that was part of. Had the potential of being a part of my journey in the very beginning when I started this part of my business. I had my own consulting business for 10 years and actually had thrown events for 10 years. But this particular concept is unique and I've been researching it and studying it for five years, all during COVID and Post. So it's not an overnight thing. And like I said, it's a amalgamation of my own life. But there's this one particular woman that she was in the philanthropy, not even in the philanthropy world. She was an influencer, goes to galas, does videos, gets into galas for free. Totally different world in a local, local setting, Hampton's in Palm Beach. And she. She's been asking, was asking me for a number of years, like, oh, we should do something together. It's like, no, I think we're different. Different people, different places. And then there was a moment where I was like, okay, maybe I should give her a chance. Let's see what she can do. And did rent from her for the summer because I wanted to keep an eye on her run ad agencies, directed 200 people at a time. You know, you give people a chance, you see what work they want to do, what skills that they have. You watch them just see, saying you're going to want to do something and doing something are completely different things.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right.

[Andrea Bartson]

And that's exactly what I saw. I saw that she didn't really. She didn't have the same work ethic. Not only did she not have the same experience, it's fine. I don't fault anybody for that. Yeah, but she didn't have a work ethic. She partied until 2, 3 o' clock in the morning, slept until 1. But, you know, no harmful, no fault. I thought, okay, she doesn't want to do this, that's fine.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But when you say rented from her, was this in the Hamptons? And it was a summer thing?

[Andrea Bartson]

Like, yeah, just a summer thing.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, so that's what I want to be careful about. Because I read in the article that you rented from somebody and people were like, oh, she doesn't have any money and that's why she's renting from somebody. But if you're not from New York, you're not gonna understand this.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, you don't know that you could

[Rachel Yukatel]

live in New York City.

[Andrea Bartson]

There's summer shares. Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And there's a summer share and you can rent and people room with people. I'm not talking about rooming, like in the same room. I'm saying rooming in a house. And that is completely normal. So. Yeah, so when I read that, that was a question I had, you know, did you not have a home anywhere else and were you living in the same house?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yes, I live in New York. I've lived in New York 25 years.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, I've rented in New York or I've had homes in New York for 25 years. I came because I moved in with my. Actually, we should probably go into that. Okay, tell me why I came to New York. And I mean, that's a different topic, but.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, you came to New York because of a guy, right?

[Andrea Bartson]

What?

[Rachel Yukatel]

Did you come to New York because you were getting engaged to somebody? Yeah. So tell me the story. Go Ahead.

[Andrea Bartson]

Okay. So.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So yeah.

[Andrea Bartson]

So I guess this is. This is going to be choppy though. Okay. It's okay. Okay. Okay.

[Rachel Yukatel]

It's like if we're having a conversation, you know.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

You kind of go back.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. I moved to New York 25 years ago from Chicago. And I moved to New York because I said I was imported into New York by my ex. Fiance, Todd. And he was a very nice guy. Lives in Long island, grew up in Long island. And you know, we've been in New York three decades, so he was very connected, much similar to my parents. You know, we just sort of fell into this like kind of city environment. And it was during the dot com days and, you know, New York City was on fire. You're probably in New York then too. Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Which part of New York did you live in?

[Andrea Bartson]

Upper east side. We were Upper east side. And we went to all of the top banking events and we went to entrepreneurial events. And his mother was on the board of a philanthrop. New York Presbyterian Hospital. I was on the junior board. Todd and I had our own galas every year. So we came in. I came in at the top of the top.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Was this in your 20s? Like, how old were you at the start?

[Andrea Bartson]

I was in my 20s. Yeah. So, yeah. So I basically we were, you know, living together immediately. He was also very connected, just like I was in Chicago.

[Rachel Yukatel]

How come that didn't work out? The relationship?

[Andrea Bartson]

How did it work? We were together for seven years, but it just.

[Rachel Yukatel]

You didn't get married? You just went your separate ways or what happened?

[Andrea Bartson]

But what I was gonna say is just like kind of setting up how I met everyone.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Yeah.

[Andrea Bartson]

And why I knew so many people from.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But why? I'm just curious, why did that relationship end?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, I ended it just because, you know, I'm very sort of. I can see sort of how things will turn out and I can't lie to myself. So I knew that while it was an amazing relationship and I'm so thankful for the time that we spent together. And also I also knew it wasn't gonna last forever.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, that's fair.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, good.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Good.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Forcing.

[Andrea Bartson]

And I didn't wanna get married knowing that it was only gonna last, you know, a certain amount of time. But, you know, I genuinely tried to. To make it work and we had a great life together.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So you've always had apartments in Manhattan?

[Andrea Bartson]

Oh, yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And you've just rented elsewhere, living in other places.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Because there was accusations that you were renting an apartment in London or Staying in an apartment in London or you had an apartment in Miami that you were renting out? And like, how. Why do you think that there are so many accusations that you are saying are not true?

[Andrea Bartson]

I think just people don't understand, you know, New York lifestyle. You know, I've lived in New York 25 years, so, you know.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And you still have your apartment there.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But you're a snowbird, correct?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. Okay, so I'll rent for two months at a time and I'll go to Florida for two months and I'll. I'll rent in the Hamptons for two months. I rented in London for a couple months before COVID Why do you think

[Rachel Yukatel]

there's the storyline that you don't have money and you're trying to crash parties and you're living off of people and you're not invited and you don't have these homes? Why do you think there's that narrative?

[Andrea Bartson]

Like I said, it's going back to a false narrative of someone that's trying to do character assassination of me.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But what about all your friends that know you and know they know they know.

[Andrea Bartson]

My friends know that I've lived in New York. I mean, I have friends from 25 years ago.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And have they stepped up and commented about this?

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, yeah, my friends support me. You know, I know people they just weren't targeting. They're not gonna go out in the public and be in a, you know, mudsling campaign, you know, But.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, no, but I mean, if a journalist is asking people that are your enemies, I would think they would also ask people that are your friends.

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, you would think. But no, that was not the case. Got it. So what happened related to that journalist, for instance, and going back to the purpose of the story is that first of all, there's one person that seeded the idea for that article. She knew. Exactly. Anyone that I had an altercation with in the last 15 years found those people. Those are the only people quoted in the magazine article. That's it. And now just 100% on top of that, she had access to my own personal friendless that was stolen from my event in the Hamptons. And that journalist had access to 500 people that I know and contacted them in a six month period. And my friends told me about that. That's why I knew this was circulating. So slander was actually circulating as a result of this journalist. And there is not one single person out of 500 people that had one thing negative to say. And in fact, they had positive things to say. But the positive things were not printed.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

And in fact, I had one person in particular say, Andrea, this is really strange. I had numbers of people calling me and say, this is really weird. This feels like a witch hunt. And they asked us what we thought of you and your boyfriend. And we're just like, we love you guys. You know, you're always giving back. You're providing value. You have great parties, they're free.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Let me ask a question. How do you make money doing this?

[Andrea Bartson]

It's a typical investor relations model. Very standard for people that don't know, but I make it much more interesting and I actually put a lot more value and work into it.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But explain the model because a lot of people listening don't know.

[Andrea Bartson]

We choose the companies, the categories of people that want to present to their present their company. And they pay, they sponsor to speak. I curate the audience, which is a combination of my life. Yep. Investors, finance people, and I incorporate social people.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And you get a percentage of whatever.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So I combine my friends, my, you know, some of my wealthier friends with my investors.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And sometimes that I kept separate, sometimes do these events not make money and you have to.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's really, I mean, the events are not the dominant part of my business.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's. It's really a way to educate people and to bring people into a community. And it's a higher level purpose.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

So it's bringing people into the concept.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But when you say that's not the main part of your business, what is? Like, how are you? Where are you really?

[Andrea Bartson]

So if there's different levels.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Different levels of the business. So one on a tangible side of the business. It's really just to find companies that we believe in that we feel like are changing the world.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

So I feel like our country doesn't necessarily support innovation in the way that it should. And I feel like communities need to support businesses, especially emerging and entrepreneurial businesses. So it's a forum for communities that actually know what the future is.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Right.

[Andrea Bartson]

So that's fundamentally it. But then there's a higher level purpose of educating women, like I said, educating next gens so that they feel comfortable and they're not intimidated by how do you, how do you invest? How do you create businesses?

[Rachel Yukatel]

I respect the whole business model. I'm just curious and I think people that are listening would say all that sounds great, but you would have to go from event to events, to clear money to make a living. I mean, I would think it's somewhat hard.

[Andrea Bartson]

Do I have to go to events to do that.

[Rachel Yukatel]

No, no, no. I'm saying it sounds like you're making money event to event, but so I think people are just wondering, where's the income coming from? You know, there were accusations in that article that you weren't paying, you know, the foundations that were supposed to get money.

[Andrea Bartson]

Oh, it's not a charity event. That's a totally missed over there.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So can you explain just so that people understand that? Yeah, I think that's a question.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So I think, you know, maybe people, you know, it had a charity feel to it. Right. Because we had all the fun dynamics of a charity. We have musicians, we have. We have filmmakers, we have artists, all these things. So it feels as fun as a charity is.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Right.

[Andrea Bartson]

But it's a business event.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. So you're collecting the money from it. Who cares? It is what it is.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. So we don't. And for most of the people that come, it's free. So, you know, corporates can buy tables or there's other ways that they can be involved. But for most of the people they come, it's free.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

And what I do for charities is I allow them to speak and present for free. They don't have to speak.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, so would you say it is an accurate statement that you have ever crashed a party?

[Andrea Bartson]

No, no, I'm not a party crasher. That's like, that's a misnomer in itself. Like I said, when I came into New York, I was invited to every single event that there is. And they're not really parties. I spend most of my time actually going to business events.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, but what would you say to these people that even as recently said that you crashed their wedding in communities? Yeah.

[Andrea Bartson]

I mean, again, it's like a narrative that someone's trying to create. The two events referenced in that article, for instance, one of those events, one of my friends bought a table. There was someone that hadn't showed up. They hadn't gone to the event. They sold 14 tickets. It was at the end of the event, they said, hey, Andrea, someone didn't show up. Why don't you stop by? That happens all the time if you know that you're in New York.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Sure, it's very common, I get that.

[Andrea Bartson]

But that couldn't have been the wedding party crashing kind of thing. That's. And I bought like a lot of tickets for charity. So like I said, my fiance and I, we held a thousand person charity at the beginning of. When I moved to New York for seven years, we did that and we actually raised capital. We Helped build the cancer wing in New York Presbyterian Hospital. So we raised a ton of money for cancer research to build the cancer wing.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, so. But what was referenced in the article. You didn't crash somebody's wedding?

[Andrea Bartson]

No, no, I was invited in towards the end of the event. Those were a couple events. Other than that, I've bought many, many charity tickets.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But you know how, like, a wedding is not an event. It's kind of.

[Andrea Bartson]

No, no. And that. That, quite frankly, I mean, it's not

[Rachel Yukatel]

an event where it's like, oh, someone didn't show. Just show up.

[Andrea Bartson]

No, no, that someone actually told me to meet them there.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Got it.

[Andrea Bartson]

That there was. So I think it was a setup, quite honestly.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Interesting. Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

I've never crossed a wedding in my life. I mean, it's like, not what I'm interested in doing. I don't. Why would I. I don't know anyone there. I could care less.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, who is Matthew Wayne Tomaszco?

[Andrea Bartson]

Matthew is someone I met a year ago and we dated for a year.

[Rachel Yukatel]

When you met him, was that his name? Was that his last name?

[Andrea Bartson]

No.

[Rachel Yukatel]

You knew him as Matthew Rockefeller? Yes. So there have been reports that he's not a Rockefeller and that he was a former actor and musician. Did you know that?

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, I think everyone has an opportunity to tell their own family story, and I don't think it's as black and white as that.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

And it's not.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, I'm not asking you to speak for him. I'm just asking you what you knew. Did you think he was a Rockefeller? Did you think he was a. Yeah,

[Andrea Bartson]

listen, I met him randomly online on Facebook. You know, I saw him as his name. I, you know, took him for his word for it. And like I said.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Did he tell you he was a magician? What? Did he tell you he was a magician?

[Andrea Bartson]

No, he was. That was 20 years ago.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, got it.

[Andrea Bartson]

That was like a year. I mean, that's a job that he had 20 years ago. Okay, it's not really relevant.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Fine. But he told you he was a Rockefeller?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, that's his. Was his name. That's the name that he goes by. And. And like I said, I have many friends that are. Actually, maybe I didn't say this, but many friends that are like next gens and from big families. So one of the reasons why I have a lot of friends in those categories is. And they trust me, is because I honestly don't care. I don't care what someone is.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But if somebody's walking in and they. Everyone assumes yeah, that he's part of the family, because that's the name he's given himself, you could say. Well, wait a minute, that affects my credibility because now everybody thinks you're someone that you're not. Are you still dating this guy?

[Andrea Bartson]

No. Is that part of the reason? It's not so black and white? Like I said, he is part of that family and I believe that he is. There's two sides of the family. It's not my story to tell.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, do you feel like he misled you at all?

[Andrea Bartson]

No. Well, no. I mean, I think that, you know, our initial attraction to each other had nothing to do with names at all. First of all, like I said, I don't. I don't care what somebody's last name is or isn't to me.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But you believed him to be Rockefeller?

[Andrea Bartson]

No, I believed it, sure. And it doesn't matter to me either.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Did he bring to the table what you guys tried to create together?

[Andrea Bartson]

What the initial attraction was, is he was highly trained since birth, just like I was. So I had a very unique upbringing, like I said, from my father. And I was taught high level skills at a very young age. Not just going around, but, you know, learning chess, learning mind over matter, learning how to play at life and how to be a high level functioning human being at a very young age. And because of that very unique upbringing, there are very few people that truly understand me.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So you feel like he was brought up that same way?

[Andrea Bartson]

I felt like he understood me out of the gate and I understood him out of the gate. And it has nothing to do with names. I think it has more to do with bloodlines.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

And I truly believe in understanding and learning science, that everyone actually should learn their bloodline. They should know who they are, who they're from, what their family stories are. Because something that is not widely known, that's very interesting, is that we think in this world of technology that, for instance, encryption and blockchain holds a lot of information. Right? Most people don't know. And I just learned this recently. Your blood, your DNA, contains all the information, all the heritage, all the history of everyone that came before you at the beginning of time. So your skills, not an accident.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Got it?

[Andrea Bartson]

Like your belief systems, not an accident. I truly believe that.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So if you find out, just to go back to him for one second, that he was never part of the Rockefeller family, will that change how you feel? Will you believe he was a fake or a fake?

[Andrea Bartson]

This was an innate thing. That's. I said it had nothing to do with his name or anything else. I just saw that commonality.

[Rachel Yukatel]

I got it. But I've seen a post he made where it was, like, at Rockefeller center, and he clearly was trying to say that he was part of it when reports are that he. From his family. He has never been part of that family.

[Andrea Bartson]

It is related to that family. You know, he. Like I said, it's not my story to tell, but he is related to that family. I had him do a genealogy chart, and, you know, he is related. Those are his. That's his family.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So you guys are not working together now. You're not engaged or were you ever engaged?

[Andrea Bartson]

We were never engaged. That's wrong, too.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And you guys broke up because of this article or this came out?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, it didn't help. It didn't help? No. Yeah, that really, more than anything, broke us up.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But it didn't have to do with you thinking he was a fraud.

[Andrea Bartson]

No, I mean, it's his choice to use whatever name he wants in life. It's not my responsibility. It's not my choice.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Well, but if you were to have married him and you wanted to take his last name, it would have been Tomaszco.

[Andrea Bartson]

Not, you know what. We hadn't even gotten to that point. You know, we weren't engaged. So, you know, I mean, that's a whole different question.

[Rachel Yukatel]

All right, so let me ask you a question. Do you think you've misrepresented yourself at all? Do you think that this is completely crazy? Because there is something to saying, listen, I get it. I understand where people are coming from because of this, this and this. And I want to address that and say, I'm taking my responsibility here. Or maybe you don't think, you know, maybe you think this is a complete witch hunt. So which is it? Do you think there's any part of it that there's. That you've misrepresented yourself ever, that you could have affect, you know, touched people in the wrong way, that they got that impression?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. I mean, listen, I regret that I met this person that is driving this. I regret that our interaction, you know, I always do things from the perspective of trying to do the right thing in every moment with every person. You know, have I made mistakes? Sure. Everyone does. I should have trusted my instincts and not gotten involved in the first place. That's my biggest regret. And, you know, listen, I tried to do the right thing. I just. We weren't. This girl was not a match for what I was creating. She didn't understand. Also the spiritual part of what I was doing. She was very much interested in. In my life, the tangible part. All the part of my life that I worked really hard for. I think she thought she could just shortcut it and she thought, oh, I have a list. Andrea has a life. Let's just match it up. Life doesn't work like that. So. But could I have handled it better in hindsight? Maybe, you know, I don't know.

[Rachel Yukatel]

What do you mean?

[Andrea Bartson]

It's not an easy situation.

[Rachel Yukatel]

No, it's not. But what are you saying? Or what would you say to the people that are now calling you the modern day Anna Delvey?

[Andrea Bartson]

Oh, nothing could be further from the truth. You know, I. I worked. I've had a. Three different careers. I've worked really hard in to build up.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Are you aware that they're in talks about doing a documentary about.

[Andrea Bartson]

About what?

[Rachel Yukatel]

Are you aware that they're in talks about doing a documentary about you and the story?

[Andrea Bartson]

Well, I've talked to four documentary people myself. I will own my own narrative.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's not. It's my life.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So you will pick a production house to work with that you can share your side.

[Andrea Bartson]

I'll write my own book. I'll do my own narrative. I always thought that I would write a book, but I didn't think I would do it this soon. But now's the time.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay. Are you currently under any legal investigation?

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, yeah, there's gonna be some legal activity. Absolutely.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But, I mean, has anyone brought a case against you yet? Oh, no, no.

[Andrea Bartson]

I have a totally clean record, but.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, that's what I was gonna ask. So, like, I read some of these.

[Andrea Bartson]

I don't even have a traffic ticket.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Right. That's what I said.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's all made up. Yes, Actually, a lot of the women that are quoted. And this is what I have a problem with, with not only New York Magazine, but in general. They did zero research on the people that. That were quoted in this article and their backgrounds. Their backgrounds? I know each of them individually. Their backgrounds are horrific. Are you the one that said that I was homeless? Actually has been evicted, I think, over five times, up to 10 times. So what this is really a story about is them trying to project their darkness onto me. I don't. I don't accept that. That's not who I am.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Are you thinking of maybe taking legal action against New York Magazine?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yes, and the people that are participating in it. Got it.

[Rachel Yukatel]

What is the biggest misconception about you right now?

[Andrea Bartson]

I don't know. Because, you know, if people don't Know me and they believe this article. All of it's a misconception.

[Rachel Yukatel]

But you realize that if people don't know you when they read it, they're gonna think, yeah. Would you think that person is a fraud?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Like, listen. But you know, even from that perspective, like, if I read that article and I didn't know me, or if it wasn't about me, I would think, wow, this is really one sided and this person really hates somebody. This whoever's writing this article or whoever's behind this really hates this person. Because why is it you have to ask yourself the critical thinking. I learned critical thinking when I was 2. Why would anyone write a 19 page article on someone that has a startup business for a year and a half? So has this doesn't make any sense.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Has this affected your credibility since this came out? Have people stopped wanting to work with you?

[Andrea Bartson]

I think people that don't have critical thinking skills or common sense or maybe don't know that that's a gossip section of the magazine, which I actually didn't know either. Maybe they think, oh, there's drama there. Oh, this is scary, that kind of thing. Listen, I get it, why people sort of respond that way, but I've never been a high drama person. I'm very low drama. I spend all of my time creating businesses, doing what's good for humanity. I have no time for drama.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So what does accountability look like to you?

[Andrea Bartson]

Accountability? What?

[Rachel Yukatel]

What does it look like to you? Because a lot of people will read it and say, well, she's not taking any responsibility, but maybe accountability to you is suing people.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah. You know what I learned? I have to. I was. My accountability is coming from the Midwest. I can be naive in a New York atmosphere. As one of my friends told me when I first moved to New York. She goes, andrea, she goes, you're amazing. You're nice, you're smart, you're this, you're that. She goes, you have one flaw. I go, what is it? She goes, you're a terrible. I go, you're right. And she said this to me, when

[Rachel Yukatel]

you get mad, you can be. You can.

[Andrea Bartson]

She said to me, you're a terrible bitch. She goes, I'm gonna bitch train you, okay? I was like, oh, okay, maybe I need to be bitch trained. I go, tell me what that is. And she tried to bitch train me. And she told me all the things that, you know, that she thought and went inside of my brain. I was like, oh my God, I'm so horrified. But I was Wanted to hear and was horrified at the same time. And at the end I was like, cece, I'm sorry, I can't do this. I can't be a bitch. I'm sorry. So I've allowed people into my life that I, in hindsight, shouldn't have allowed. I should have trusted my instincts. And I'm not a good bitch. But I've learned I have to stick up for myself. I have to make a stand and stand up for myself.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And so, but again, to get back to my question, has this affected people working with you?

[Andrea Bartson]

Oh, yeah, it's affecting my business. That's why I have to sue. Right.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And you have to clear your name or whatever.

[Andrea Bartson]

I think I fought away. I didn't build my life for 25 years. And I've worked hard, play hard and work hard. And advertising. Anyone that's been in advertising, you work 12 hour days, you can work 16 hour days, you can work weekends. You put your heart and soul into work. And I put my heart and soul into work because every single day I knew I was saving a patient. I didn't put that kind of heart and soul into my work and my social. To have someone decide that they're jealous of me and try to burn my life to the ground, it's not acceptable.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So, and I just want to clarify for people that are listening, you're viewpoint is nothing in this article is true.

[Andrea Bartson]

I have nothing. What?

[Rachel Yukatel]

Nothing in this article is true.

[Andrea Bartson]

Oh, I mean, there's little bits of truth, but like I said, how it's characterized is. It couldn't be any more wrong.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Okay.

[Andrea Bartson]

You know, have I gone to the end of a few parties at the end? Sure. I don't know a New Yorker friend that hasn't done that.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Yeah.

[Andrea Bartson]

Do we do share houses? Absolutely. For a couple months. We all do that. Do, do we rent in Florida? Yeah. It's a normal lifestyle, honestly.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Got it. So let's go back to what we talked about with your father for, for a minute to kind of end here. What is your solution? What did I. What, what is your solution? What would you. If your father were here and you were bringing this problem to him and

[Andrea Bartson]

you know, I look at everything as a spiritual. Spiritual meaning. And you know, this means that Andrea, you're. And my father would say to me, andrea, you have to get out of your comfort zone. It's time to take a bigger role. There's a spiritual mission, there's a spiritual reason for why we're here. It's time for you to Tell your story. It's a time for you to take the lead and to be courageous and to allow people to go into this new world. We're going into a fifth dimension and actually that connects full circle as well. So I was brought up in a fifth dimensional family.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Explain what that means.

[Andrea Bartson]

So what that means actually. And I had to learn actually how to live in a third dimensional world because the physical world was not normal for me. Not comfortable. My fault. My family was about collaboration, sharing, love, everything. We shared everything in love. In my family it was not about money at all actually. It was about a higher purpose. It was about giving to humanity at all times, in all ways. So my father would pick up homeless people, take them to dinner, he would give people rides. That was my normal. My normal was finding ways to give to the community on an individual and collective basis as much as you possibly could. And the global passion projects is all about that as well as a shared platform. It's actually a platform for giving and sharing. So if people want to share their resources, they want to share their companies, they want to share their philanthropies, share their talents, whatever they want to share, it's a shared platform. And in their new world, in the fifth dimensional world, it's actually less. This is the irony. Wealth is being transferred, but it's not about wealth at all. It's about sharing and giving back. Because if everyone in this world shares and gives back, we actually don't even need wealth when we're in a collective community and collective economy.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So do you have any events coming up or summit meetings coming up?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, so I have an event coming up, a number of them planned. It's global for a reason. So I'm going to be in London in June, going to be in Saudi Arabia in November.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So these events are already in the motion and in motion, pre planned and nobody's backed out.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's all pre planned. So I have partners and sponsors that are already a part of it and you know, we're just gonna get bigger and better.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And do you have people that are standing by you, that are going to

[Andrea Bartson]

these things with you that are absolutely

[Rachel Yukatel]

making sure that you get through the day, not thinking about this and yeah, okay, yeah.

[Andrea Bartson]

Great friends and great communities, Great communities of people.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, so anything else that's that you want in the future that is going to be next for you? Like where will we see you next? I mean, will we be seeing you on a documentary or, or are you going to be starting a new business? Like what, what does the future look like for you?

[Andrea Bartson]

No, I'm going to keep my business. I mean, it's my life. It's a true representation of my life. And it's always meant to be a platform that leads to bigger and better things. So I've always had filmmakers as part of my platform, for instance. So I will have film and books and art and all of those things as part of my life as well.

[Rachel Yukatel]

So, you know, going forward, because of this article, that this will be a question on your quote, unquote resume or in anything that happens in the future.

[Andrea Bartson]

It's your own company.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Yeah, unfortunately. And so you will have to, you know, understand how to navigate now with this stain, you know, out there, and whether or not you decide to take legal action or whatever, I mean, people will be watching. So I thank you for coming here and talking to us because I think it clarifies some things. I think people may have some more questions that you get asked. You know, do people. Can people reach out to you on your Instagram? Like, how could people find you?

[Andrea Bartson]

Yeah, they can find me on my Instagram. They can go on globalpassionprojects.com if they want to be a part of the movement. You know, we, you know, we live in, you know, I live in a world of positivity, you know, and problem solving. So if people want to be a part of that kind of world and they want to build a positive world, it's meant to be a shared platform. It's not meant to be just about me. It's meant to be about people that have the same mission and purpose as I do and collect people together so that we could do that together.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And if you were in the same room as those people that accused you of anything, what would you say to them?

[Andrea Bartson]

In the same room of people that don't, like, sort of believe this stuff, say, get to know me. I'm very authentic. I'm very real. I'm not pretentious. I'm not superficial. I'm actually the opposite of that. Can I go into a room and can I talk? Do I have the skills to talk to the President of the United States or the CEO of a bank and anyone? Absolutely. I feel very comfortable. I'm confident. I can literally go into any room and talk to anyone. But at the end of the day, I'm real. I'm honest. I'm authentic. I'm like my great grandfather. I'm honest Pete, honest Peter Bartson. And I will fight for what's right, and I will fight against mobster characters. Like that were in that article. And I have no fear. And it doesn't really take much to get that from me because I will tell you everything that's true and everything that's not true.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Amazing. Andrea, thank you so much for joining us today, and I wish you the best of luck.

[Andrea Bartson]

Thank you.

[Rachel Yukatel]

I will tell you that I took it a step further once our show ended. She was waiting for her Uber and she was telling me, you know, I assumed her credibility would be completely gone after this. And I asked her when her neck event was. Oddly enough, she was having an event in Palm beach at a restaurant called Beach A, which is a very well known, high end, you know, restaurant on the island in Palm beach the following night, which was this Tuesday. And I said I would go and. Because I really wanted to be there and see what the hell people are talking about, what was going on. So I will give you guys a little piece of, like, info about this little t. So she was ordering this Uber, and, you know, I'm running late for an appointment, which I had to cancel because she stayed for an extra hour because her Uber never came. I got her an Uber. She wasn't clear about where she was staying. She changed the location of where she was staying. I got her the Uber so she could get out of here, which, listen, it was a little weird. I've never had to organize a car for. For a person coming to be interviewed. And the location she had me send her to was different than the location she told me she was staying at. So I end up spending 80 bucks or whatever to get her out of my house, which was. I mean, I'm not trying to be rude, but it was a little bit awkward. She had overstayed her welcome for a little bit and I had missed my appointment, which, okay, it's fine, but I just thought it was a little strange she couldn't get her own Uber together and that she was staying essentially at the Hilton when, you know, people claim that she's from the Cartier family. Okay, neither here nor there. So I decide to go to this event on Tuesday. I go with my friend Ellie, and the event started at.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

So we.

[Rachel Yukatel]

I saw the invite and the invite said it was $150 per person and it was to support her mission, which we talk about in the interview. The Global shit. What's it called? Global. The Global Passion Project, which is her foundation. So it wasn't for a charity. I want to be clear about that. It was for her foundation and people, I guess, were paying. She invited me and A guest. So we show up. I started to make a video when we got out of the car. Because when we got out of the car at bj, there was no one there. I could see inside. Not one person was there. So I make a little video, I turn it off. I walk into BJ and I ask if she's having a party. And they say, oh, yes, it's in the back. So we walked through the back and I turned and looked at Ellie. And I'm like, I'm shocked. Cause when we looked at the back, it was completely filled with about 60 people. And it's probably as many as it could hold. And they were having a cocktail party. So we walked back there. I saw some familiar faces of people who are wealth managers, real people. Like these are real people. You know, you think if you're dealing with frauds and fraudsters and liars, that they're like surrounded by those people. But there were some real people there. Okay? The one thing I will say is just as we got there, the food ran out.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I know they had food.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Cause I saw the tray, There was one tray and it was gone. I read that in her article that there was never enough food, but there was an open bar and there was another company, Odyssey, that has drinks, health drinks or something that was a sponsored booth that they were offering food, drinks. Excuse me. So anyway, as soon as we get there, we talk to a few people, we get our drinks and the event starts. Andrea gets up and I've got to tell you, she was very poised. She's very good at the microphone and she knows what she's talking about. She was introducing the event. It's like a biohacking, biotech, I don't know, event. And I was still looking around to be like, wow, how did she get all these people here? Maybe they haven't read the article. So as she's talking about what the interview is about, this woman gets up and she says, what about addressing the issue of the article and how you're frauding everybody, defrauding everybody, or you're lying to everybody? Now, I will stop for one second because this now came out the next day. The woman started posting like she really wanted attention from it. So it made it to page six. It is the headline. It is the top line story on page six right now, which is insane. And it talks about her heckling. Now this was pretty embarrassing for the heckler because no one supported her. And you would have thought that people would have been like, yeah, yeah, we wanna hear about that. No one in the room wanted to hear about it. They were there very clearly to support Andrea. I wanna say that because it was a shock to me too, but I watched it happen. The woman took her seat, and Andrea very calmly, you know, addressed it and

[Andrea Bartson]

said, not about women taking down on the women. Cause that's really what that was about. So thank you for being here. Thank you for being collaborative.

[Rachel Yukatel]

This is not the place for this. This is not women supporting women. And you're crashing this party because I never invited you. So the woman takes a seat. Eventually, Andrea finishes her speech. She starts with the first guest speaker, and as the guest speaker is happening, Andrea is very calmly filming the guest speaker. And somehow the other people get ushered out and they left. I really actually wanted to talk to her because I wanted to, like, get the inside scoop. Now I'm gonna fast forward this story, and I will just let you know that they had four speakers that were all credible. Really good. I have to say. I even learned something from it. I know my friend who I went with learned something from it. And we met some really interesting people. I got a lot of business cards from people that I wanted to follow up with. So it was not a waste of my time where I very much expected it to be. And I was really shocked that Andrea stood up for herself and held the room like she did. She also held a Q and A. I think I'm a pretty good interviewer. She held a Q and A with two. Like a professional athlete and a former Navy SEAL who was a top public speaker. And she was asking them questions that I was really shocked that she wasn't just, you know, a mess, which I kind of expected her to be. She was very thoughtful. She was very smart, and she held the room and she held her own.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

And.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And she introduced me, which was a little bit uncomfortable. And I just said, you know, there are things going on behind the scenes. And Andrea is doing her. Her first interview on my show this weekend. If you're here to support her, please watch Misunderstood on Saturday. And after I got off the stage, a man got up. Two men ended up getting up and addressed what was happening. Hey, y'.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

All.

[Andrea Bartson]

Poodle and Maddie here from reality.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Gays, grab your favorite thong because for we're heading to the villa for the new season of Love island usa.

[Andrea Bartson]

I can't wait to watch Ariana babysit these shiny, oiled up adults who I'm pretty sure aren't there for the right reasons.

[Rachel Yukatel]

From the home wrecking bombshells to the absolute wreckage of movie night.

[Andrea Bartson]

Pull Up a Dave in and join us every Wednesday for all the Love Island USA drama.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Find reality gays, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

I'm here tonight because Andrea is near and dear to my heart. And there's a bit of an elephant in the room where on social media there have been rumors and people have been casting aspersions on Andrea and talking about her and trying to knock her down. I know Andrea for 10 years, and I been living here for, like, whatever, 30, 40 years, and I've only known her to be a person of integrity, a person who's always furthering good causes, and she's always put on events where people who have something to say and something to contribute get together and discuss ways to make life better for all of us.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yes.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

And whatever the whole social media thing is, whether casting aspersions on her or. Or knocking her down, whatever there, you know, as we know, there are people that live by knocking other people down. And I here tonight not just to support Andrea, but because anything that Andrea has ever invited me to, anything that Andrea has ever told me, it's a worthwhile cause for me has always been something that meant something to me. And when I showed up, I learned something from it. I gleaned something from it, and it became important in my life. And so I'm here to thank her for being who she's always been for the whatever, 10, 15 years that I've known her. And I only know her to be a person of integrity, of truthfulness. And regardless what anybody says on social media, she's my friend. And I was always. I will always stand up for her. And thank you for. For inviting me. It's my privilege to be here,

[Rachel Yukatel]

you

[Andrea Bartson]

know, for teaching me what real friendship is. And all of you guys, you know, you really find out who your friends are in the foxhole, as they say, right? Celebrating life, celebrating friendship. We love you, Andrew.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

We love you, Andre. Really.

[Rachel Yukatel]

With that being said, and to cut this down, there was a couple women that knew me a little bit. They walked over to me and they were, like, thinking I was going to gossip or myself and Ellie were going to gossip. And they said, what? I can't believe anybody's here. And I asked them if they had paid, and they said no. So again, here are some other girls who weren't allowed to be at the event who just came in, were drinking her alcohol or whoever had paid for it, and we're talking badly about her. And I asked point blank, again, this was not to take a side, but just to understand where they were coming from. I said, do you. Have you ever met her?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

No.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Has she personally taken something from you? No. Well, did you have a nice time tonight?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Did you get some drinks?

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

Yeah.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Okay, so what's your problem? You read an article and you're talking so badly about her that she's a fraud. But you can't have this herd mentality. You have to make your own decisions.

[Andrea's Supporter/Friend]

You.

[Rachel Yukatel]

You're here, you're now her guest. So you can ask her point blank, or you could be part of it and, like, enjoy the fact that you're here doing the same thing that she's accused of, because you didn't pay to get in here and you're at a party. So I just want to make that clear. Like, I like to. To ask people questions because I think they should. People need to think about why you have an opinion about somebody and have it be based on fact and experience as opposed to just reading something. Because it's happened to me. It happened to me for years. It still happens. People read things about me from the past, from the present, and they just make a decision without coming to me and getting to know me. And I'm not saying that she's not the fake Cartier. I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying, do your research and get the answers for yourself. So with that being said, you know, listen, I don't know what to say. I don't know if I was conned by the con. I don't know at the end of the day how this is gonna play out. I definitely think that there is a chance that there will be a documentary about whether or not this is the next Anna Delvey, and maybe she is. But I will tell you, I did have a good night, and I did feel like her event was pulled together in a very professional way. There was no money that anybody had spent. Anyone I spoke to said that they were invited and they had not paid the $150. So someone paid BJ, and I'm sure it was a sponsor. And, yes, journalists can call BJ and find out. Journalists can call Odyssey and find out who paid for them to be there if it wasn't a donation. But it's kind of like if they're doing that, why? What's the witch hunt about? Has there been charities she's stolen from?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Maybe.

[Rachel Yukatel]

And if that's the case there, I'm assuming there will be some legal ramifications. So we'll see that. That if it gets played out or not, we'll see if she chooses to sue these women that are saying the defamatory things if they're not true truths. We'll see if she tries to sue New York magazine for not doing the proper research. But you can't hide from the truth, right? You can't make up facts that don't exist and pose it as truth if you don't have the evidence. And you can't say that this is all a witch hunt without also providing evidence that it's a witch hunt, right? So it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Thank you so much for listening to Misunderstood. I'm your host, Rachel Yukatel. Please be sure to subscribe to the show and give us a five star rating and review. You can support the show by joining

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

our [e-mail] misunderstood with Rachel Ukatel.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Do you have ideas for the show or want to reach out?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Email [e-mail] that's spelled M I S S. Understood.

[Rachel Yukatel]

Thank you so much and I'll see you next time.