THE Billionaire Boys Club was a real-life investment and social group formed in Southern California in the 1980s.
It gained notoriety due to its connection to criminal activities — including the murders of José and Kitty Menendez.
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What was the Billionaire Boys Club?
The original Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) was founded by Joe Hunt, a charismatic young man who recruited wealthy young men from prominent families in the Los Angeles area.
The group’s supposed goal was to make quick fortunes through various investment schemes.
However, their activities took a dark turn when Hunt was arrested and later convicted for the 1984 murder of Ron Levin, an investor in the group.
Film adaptation
In 1987, NBC aired a two-part TV movie titled Billionaire Boys Club based on these events.
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It dramatized the story of the BBC, with Judd Nelson portraying Joe Hunt and the disgraced actor Kevin Spacey taking on the role of Ron Levin.
The adaptation brought widespread attention to the case.
Connection to the Menendez murders
The BBC is portrayed in Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
In the series, Erik Menendez is shown mentioning the BBC film as an inspiration for killing his parents — suggests that the brothers may have drawn ideas from the movie when planning their own crime.
NBC’s TV movie about the BBC is bought up in the first episode of Monsters.
When Erik goes to his psychiatrist Dr Oziel to talk about what he and his brother had done, he mentions the film.
Dr Oziel seems to respond with surprise at the fact anyone would decide to kill their parents after watching a movie.
However, it’s crucial to note that the accuracy of this connection is disputed.
‘No way Lyle and Erik saw it’
Robert Rand, an experienced journalist who has extensivley covered the Menendez case, pointed out several inaccuracies in the Netflix series.
He explained that when NBC aired the miniseries in late July 1989, the brothers were attending a tennis camp in Florida.
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He told Newsweek: “I spoke with the director of the camp, who told me that everyone had to be in their rooms with lights out by 9 pm.
“The movie ran from 9 to 11 pm on the NBC network nationally.
“In other words, there was no way Lyle and Erik could have seen that movie because they were at their tennis camp.”
He added: “I think the general public doesn’t really know the difference between a fictionalized scripted series and a documentary, and that’s problematic because people see different scenes play out with the real-life characters and believe it actually happened.”
So while the Billionaire Boys Club was a real group that inspired a film adaptation, its direct connection to the Menendez brothers’ crimes remains disputed.
As is the case with many aspects of true crime adaptations, fans shouldn’t take such portrayals too seriously and should view them with a critical eye.
