A fuschia Bentley drives down a twisty desert road toward the entrance of the Neon Carnival, an after-party held each year during Coachella. Paris Hilton has arrived.
Her hair is in pigtails, twisted in part with white flowers, and she's wearing a sparkly pink romper that matches her platform boots.
Hilton attends the invite-only party in person each year, but this particular scene played out last month in Paris World, Hilton's virtual experience on popular gaming platform Roblox, where she joined as an avatar.
Nearly 400,000 Roblox users visited her virtual Neon Carnival that mid-April weekend, about 40 times the number of people who went in real life this year, according to Hilton.
It's a concept Hilton has seen success with before. On New Year's Eve, she DJed a live set in the same virtual world, playing as her avatar. In Paris World, users can also buy virtual clothing,
Hilton has long been a trendsetter. She arguably became an influencer before the term even existed after her reality TV show, "The Simple Life," debuted in 2003.
Hilton has invested in multiple tech companies, including backing digital avatar startup Genies and animation app immi, which allows some NFT owners to bring the characters in their digital artwork to life.
She also bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, a pricey and highly sought after collection that's attracted celebrity buyers. Hilton has also created her own NFT artwork.
One of her latest NFT pieces, called the "Iconic Crypto Queen" and created in collaboration with popular NFT artist Blake Kathryn, sold for $1.111 million -- a nod to 11:11 Media, Hilton's new company named after her favorite time of day.
Her bet on these digital products and services is just one piece of Hilton's growing empire. Last fall, Hilton brought all of her initiatives under 11:11 Media.
The company includes her 19 product lines, such as fragrances, clothing and makeup, which have surpassed over $4 billion in all-time revenue, according to the company.
In 2019, Hilton emerged as one of the earliest celebrity promoters of NFTs. She was approached by a friend who was raising money for recovery efforts related to Australia's wildfires at the time.
Hilton said she continues to look for new ways to innovate on and offline, grow her NFT collection and help others grow their own brands.