The stars stepped out en masse to celebrate The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation’s 2nd annual St. Tropez Gala on Wednesday, July 22, but none shined brighter than Kate Hudson.
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Two private concerts with Elton John were sold for $3m, a home on DiCaprio’s Belize island, Blackadore Caye, sold for $11m, and two arctic expeditions with Prince Albert II of Monaco sold for $1.6m.
DiCaprio, 40, serves on the board of several environmental organizations.
The Oscar-nominated actor, 40, took the stage at the start of the event to thank his guests, and to stress the importance of his foundation’s work.
DiCaprio himself auctioned off his Rolex Daytona Cosmograph watch and artwork by Andy Warhol and Banksy.
The actor added, “By focusing on protecting these critically endangered iconic species, it’s nearly like setting up a worldwide network of Noah’s arks”.
But first DiCaprio kicked off bidding at the Riviera auction with an impassioned plea, telling guests their support would help protect “the tiger, rhino, shark, and mountain gorilla”, and that, “We’ve decimated our forests, wild lands, polluted and over fished our rivers and oceans …” The items given by Leo raised more than $2 million. It included a trip to the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Met Gala and the White House Correspondents Dinner, along with a visit to a Weinstein Co. movie set. Prince Albert promised to accompany the victor on each experience. Mr. Blavatnik spent over $2 Million on the night in he auction.
DJ Cassidy spun tunes deep into the night when the dancing began.
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Through grantmaking, public campaigns and media initiatives LDF, a component fund of the California Community Foundation, brings attention and needed funding to three areas: protecting biodiversity, ocean & forest conservation, and climate change.
