Documents released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday following a Freedom of Information request revealed a long list of expenses recorded during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s visits to the United States in 2025, including more than $13,000 for hair and makeup during one trip, a $500 “smoking fee,” $295 to repair an embassy door, and $125 for a traffic ticket.
The documents were provided to attorney Elad Mann of the Hatzlacha organization following a request filed under the Freedom of Information Law. They include billing tables, delegation lists, and schedules from the prime minister’s visits.
Some details were redacted on national security grounds. The PMO also clarified that in some cases, the process of reviewing the bills has not yet been completed.
During Netanyahu’s visit to Washington in February, one of the most prominent entries in the expense report was a $6,772 charge for a makeup artist, alongside $6,747 for a hairdresser, totaling $13,519.
That visit also included a $25,000 charge for the prime minister’s suite, $511.50 for food in the suite, and approximately $298 for laundry.
One of the smaller entries, however, stands out: $500 listed as a “smoking fee – conference room, press conference with the prime minister.”
The report also lists additional expenses for lighting and photography, transportation, work rooms, refreshments, and equipment the delegation used during the visit.
Over $6,000 spent for makeup artist and hairdresser
Charges for a makeup artist and hairdresser appeared again during a visit in April. This time, $3,036 was recorded for the makeup artist and another $3,036 for the hairdresser, for a combined total of $6,072.
The same report includes $1,228 for “printers + toners” and approximately $240 for a “whiteboard + corkboard.”
The largest charge during that visit was $51,661 for Washington’s Watergate Hotel, while the total itemized charges in the report came to approximately $128,900.
In the report covering Netanyahu’s July visit, a particularly large charge of $172,701.60 appears for the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington.
Among the many entries, however, is a far smaller one: $295 to a locksmith company, described as “repair of embassy entrance door – malfunction during prime minister’s visit.”
The documents also include purchases from Amazon, Costco, Target, and Staples, as well as expenses for refreshments, office equipment, vehicles, customs, and overtime.
The July visit’s expense report totaled approximately $373,700.
Another unusual entry appears among the expenses from Netanyahu’s trip to New York and Washington in late September: $125 under the description “traffic ticket – prime minister’s visit 09.25.”
During that trip, the prime minister’s suite at the Loews Regency in New York cost $5,999 per night, for a total of $41,993.
The PMO explained in the documents that the visit took place during the UN General Assembly, when demand for hotel rooms in New York is particularly high, and rooms are booked far in advance.
The schedule attached to the documents shows that the visit included, among other events, meetings with the presidents of Paraguay, Serbia, and Argentina; an address to the UN General Assembly; a meeting with the United Arab Emirates foreign minister; and an interview with Fox News.
Netanyahu later flew to Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump at the White House.
The highest nightly price for the prime minister’s suite among the documents released was recorded during an end-of-year visit to Florida: $10,000 per night, for a total of $50,000.
According to the table, a regular room for members of the delegation cost approximately $250 per night on average.
The official schedule shows that during the visit, Netanyahu met, among others, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Trump, and spoke by phone with Vice President JD Vance.
The visit later included interviews with Fox News and Newsmax, a meeting with Steve Wynn, dinner at Larry Ellison’s home, meetings with evangelicals and elected officials, and Netanyahu and his wife attending a New Year’s event at Mar-a-Lago.
The delegation list for the Florida visit includes dozens of names and positions from the PMO, the public diplomacy apparatus, foreign relations, and logistics, alongside additional officials whose details were redacted.
PMO: Figures do not necessarily represent final bills in every case
Despite the extensive detail, the PMO cautioned that the figures do not necessarily represent final bills in every case.
In its response to the Freedom of Information request, the office said that the prime minister’s overseas visits are not paid for directly by the PMO, but through the Foreign Ministry and its missions.
Before a visit, an estimated cost is transferred, but suppliers’ invoices and receipts are collected only after the trip ends.
According to the PMO, the process can take “many months,” and payment is transferred to the Foreign Ministry only after the expenses have been reviewed.
Among the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on hotels, flights, and logistics, it is the smaller entries in the documents that provide some of the most unusual glimpses into the expenses behind the prime minister’s trips: a makeup artist, a hairdresser, a smoking fee, a faulty door, and a single traffic ticket.
