The date - July 22, 2015. The venue - a private villa in St. Tropez. The event - 2nd Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Annual Gala. The cast - Leonardo DiCaprio, chairman of his own foundation, with his rich and famous friends. They all came decked out in their finest - Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez, Natasha Poly, Bono, Marian Cotillard, Jared Leto, Joan Collins, Robin Thicke among the many stars sighted.
And if the guest list was not outrageous enough, the list of items up for bid would simply wow you away. A private 1-hour concert with Elton John for the winning bidder and his 50 guests. A 61 Chevy Roadster, fully functional and signed by some Hollywood's top names. An Arctic expedition with Prince Albert, 4 days onboard the expedition boat 'Students on Ice'. Leo's Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro.
An original lifevest from the movie 'Titanic', signed by its director and the donor of the item, James Cameron. A Rolex from Leo's private collection, Rolex Daytona Cosmograph. And if it were not outrageous enough, a villa at Leo's new island, touted the most exclusive environmentally-friendly island.
All this generosity and star sightings earned the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation a hefty $ 25 million, reports Forbes.
Last month, the Foundation awarded $ 15 million worth of grants to more than 30 organizations with global conservation efforts. It includes Amazon Watch, Save the Elephants, Tree People, World Wildlife Fund, among the many.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation was started in 1998 by its namesake. Its main issues are protecting biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation and climate change. It gets its funds from partnerships and direct grant commitments. Since last year, Leo has been involving his high-power Hollywood colleagues and Royal friends to donate or to bid on items as a way to raise serious and outrageous amount of money.
For all his good works, the Leo has been awarded the title by the United Nations as their Messenger of Peace.
