Nominate a Rising Star for the Hamptons 40 Under 40

Social Life Magazine has covered Hamptons money, style and influence for more than two decades. Now we’re naming the next generation. Nominations are open for our first Hamptons 40 Under 40: five honorees in each of eight fields, announced in our Memorial Day 2027 issue.

Why a Hamptons 40 Under 40?

Every generation of New York winners has come east to collect. The Wall Street fortunes of the 1980s built Southampton’s newer estates. The hedge fund fortunes of the 2000s filled Sagaponack. Each wave brought new names to the polo fields, the benefit committees and the best tables on a Saturday night.

The next wave is forming now, and it looks different. Some of it is being built in AI companies selling to Wall Street, landlords and brands. Some of it is in family businesses rebuilt for a new era, medical practices, restaurants, galleries and the professional firms that serve them all. Many of these people are not yet household names, even on the East End. This list is how we intend to find them first.

We started the search in New York’s AI Gold Rush, the prequel to this list, and in The Under-40s Already Running New York’s AI Economy. AI is one road onto the list. It is not the only one.

The eight categories

The Hamptons 40 Under 40 will name five honorees in each of eight fields. Together they reflect the industries that have always fueled East End life, and the new ones joining them.

If a nominee spans two fields, tell us which one fits best. If they don’t fit any, nominate them anyway and explain why. Exceptional people rarely fit neatly into categories.

Who should be nominated?

We’re looking for people under 40 who have built something real. A strong nomination usually shows four things:

• Results you can verify. Revenue, growth, clients, funding, awards, press, exhibitions or work people can see. Numbers help.
• A New York or Hamptons connection. Living, working, building or spending meaningful time here.
• Momentum. We care more about where someone is going than where they started.
• A story worth telling. Every honoree will be featured, so we’re looking for people with something to say, not just impressive résumés.

Age matters for one reason: the research says most people do their biggest work later. A study by economists from the Census Bureau, MIT and Northwestern found that founders of the fastest-growing US startups average 45 years old. The people on this list are doing at 30-something what most people do in their mid-forties.

How the honorees are chosen

Social Life Magazine’s editors choose the honorees. Here is how the process works:

1. Nominations open now and close on March 31, 2027.
2. Editors review every nomination and research the strongest candidates, including checking the results nominators share.
3. We may contact nominees in the spring to confirm details and request an interview or photo.
4. The list is announced in Social Life Magazine’s Memorial Day 2027 issue and on sociallifemagazine.com.

There is no fee to nominate anyone or to be named an honoree, and no purchase of any kind is required. Nominations are judged on their merits.

What honorees receive

Every honoree will be featured in Social Life Magazine. The Memorial Day issue kicks off our summer season of print issues, distributed through high-end boutiques from Westhampton to Montauk, and every honoree will also be profiled online at sociallifemagazine.com, where the list will live permanently.

For many honorees, it will be their first serious introduction to the East End’s most influential audience: the people who buy the houses, sponsor the events and make the introductions that change careers.

How to nominate

Email your nomination to [email protected] with the subject line “Hamptons 40 Under 40.” Please include:

• The nominee’s name, age and city
• Their category (AI and technology, finance, real estate, fashion, medicine, law, hospitality or the arts)
• Their company or field, with a link to their website or LinkedIn
• Two or three sentences on why they belong on the list
• Any results you can share: revenue, growth, clients, funding, awards or press
• Your name and how you know them

Self-nominations are welcome. So are nominations of people who would never nominate themselves, often the most interesting ones.

If you’re running a New York business that’s making more money because of AI, we especially want to hear from you. Our reporting in The Old-School New York Business That Quietly Got Rich on AI is where many of these stories begin.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau: Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship