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Exclusive | Meghan Markle jets into NY for high-powered Hamptons business summit ahead of launching new brand

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Exclusive | Meghan Markle jets into NY for high-powered Hamptons business summit ahead of launching new brand

Meghan Markle joined a host of high-powered women at a summit in the Hamptons Friday, sources tell Page Six.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, attended the G9 Ventures Summer Summit, hosted by power broker Amy Griffin.

She’s believed to have flown in from Santa Barbara, California, by private jet with her close friend, make-up guru Victoria Jackson — and sources say she will be picking up tips for her new lifestyle business, American Riviera Orchard, which has yet to officially launch.

Markle – seen with Prince Harry earlier this month – has flown to The Hamptons to join an all-women power summit. Getty Images for W+P

The annual event is held at the sprawling home Griffin shares with her husband, billionaire hedge funder John Griffin, a huge estate valued at over $13 million.

The line-up of guests expected at the event included another Markle BFF, designer Misha Nonoo, as well as Missy Robbins, the chef behind Williamsburg hotspots Lillia and Misi, make-up icon Bobbi Brown and entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima, whom we’re told hosted a lunchtime interview with Griffin.

Amy Griffin is flanked by Reese Witherspoon, Sara Blakeley at a previous G9 Ventures Summit. @sarablakely/Instagram

Weight Watchers CEO Sima Sistani was on the guestlist, joined by investor Kirsten Greene.

Lady Goop herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, was believed to be there, alongside A-lister Reese Witherspoon, who heads up the billion-dollar brand Hello Sunshine, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely.

Griffin helps guide early-stage startups and has coached brands including Goop, Athletic Greens, and Bumble.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon join guests at a G9 summit.

Markle, who’s reps didn’t return a Page Six request for comment, ran her own blog, The Tig, before meeting Prince Harry.

She will no doubt be networking and soaking up all the tips she can get in prepartion for her new venture at the summit.

She recently finished filming her new lifestyle show for Netflix in Montecito, which does not yet have a launch date.

As Page Six previously revealed, the mom-of-two wants to follow in the footsteps of Martha Stewart, by offering followers a mix of food and lifestyle advice.

She can certainly look toward Griffin, 48 — the Wall Street Journal reported among her inner circle she is known for her use of “soft power,” making introductions, chasing down founders at conferences and offering mentorship.

Witherspoon wtih Mariska Hartigay at G9. @reesewitherspoon/Instagram

“Amy is more than an investor. She becomes your friend and your champion,” Spanx CEO Blakely said, “For founders, that can be even more important than the money.”

Griffin, whose family owns the Southern regional convenience store chain Toot’n Totum, worked in marketing after graudating from the University of Virginia and started angel investing in 2014. She launched G9 three years later.

Make-up guru Victoria Jackson, a close friend of Markle, is believed to have flown her over in her jet. Getty Images for RH
Entrepeneur Jamie Kern Lima at G9 Ventures Summit. @sarablakely/Instagram
The G9 Ventures summit is brimmming with good advice from sucessful female brand owners, according to sources @g9_ventures/Instagram

“There was a moment where I was sitting at a fundraiser thinking, ‘Wait, I can put money into something, see it grow, and use my skill set and help a founder?’” she told the WSJ.

“And people had said to me, ‘Why aren’t you doing this full time? You already help people by buying their products and then sending it to everyone.’”

She confirmed G9’s funds are separate from her husband’s fortunes from his hedge fund, Blue Ridge Capital, which closed in 2017.

G9 does not lead investment rounds but contributes smaller amounts, from tens of thousands of dollars on the low end up to several million, the WSJ reported.

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