Leonardo DiCaprio raised over $40 million to help save the planet at an auction in Saint-Tropez, France, on Wednesday night.
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“My Foundation is focused on protecting critically-endangered, iconic species”, DiCaprio wrote on Instagram Thursday (July 23).
“We’ve decimated our forests, wildlands, polluted and over-fished our rivers and oceans – all the key ecosystems that not only serve as a home to our planet’s biodiversity, but also make life here for us possible”, DiCaprio said.
He then auctioned off personal items including the Rolex Daytona off his wrist, plus artworks from his own collection by Andy Warhol and Bansky, that brought in $2 million total.
An estate home on DiCaprio’s Blackadore Caye (his private island in Belize) was bought by Tom Barrack, a private-equity real estate investor and founder of Colony Capital, for over $11 million. The items given by Leo raised more than $2 million. And as it turns out, partying in St. Tropez can yield some staggering results-beyond the next morning’s headache: The bash and auction raised more than $40 million for the foundation’s wildlife preservation efforts.
Movie producer Harvey Weinstein auctioned off the chance to be his personal guest for an entire year at coveted events such as the Academy Awards and Cannes Film Festival.
The night ended with an impromptu rendition of Tiny Dancer by John, as well as a performance by John Legend. That offer went for “just” $1.1 million. Collardi, CEO of Presenting Sponsor Julius Baer, the leading Swiss private banking group, Marion Cotillard, Phillipe Cousteau, Kate Hudson, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, and Caroline Scheufele, as well as guests Orlando Bloom, Adrien Brody, Naomi Campbell, Goldie Hawn, Heidi Klum, Petra Nemcova, Irina Shayk, Chris Tucker, and Chrissy Teigen, among many others.
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The foundation was started in 1998 and supports over 65 organizations.
