New York Times- Even in charity, the titans of hedge funds and private equity do nothing small.<\/p>\n
At the 2007 Robin Hood benefit this week, two people paid $400,000 each to sing a song with Aerosmith. A package that includes dinner for 10 with Mario Batali fetched $1.3 million. An all-expenses-paid trip to the Olympics in China that includes hanging out with the \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cToday\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d host Matt Lauer and meeting a member of the United States women\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s soccer team went for $2.2 million.<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cIt was an evening of excess,\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d said a hedge fund manager who asked not to be identified. \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cCelebrity excess, charity excess. The scale of everything was just amazing.\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d<\/p>\n
The markets have been kind, and the tycoons of modern finance were harnessing their competitive spirit toward giving money rather than getting it.<\/p>\n
The event raised $71 million, up 32 percent from a year ago, in what was a display of gilded age excess.<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cIt was overwhelming,\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d said Glenn Dubin, co-founder of Highbridge Capital and a founding board member of Robin Hood. \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cThere was a feeling of social responsibility and philanthropy in the room that was palpable.\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d In an era where 25 money managers can accumulate $14 billion in one year and private jets fail to inspire awe, Wednesday night\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s results aptly conjured up a bit of amazement.<\/p>\n
Superlatives peppered the descriptions of the evening\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s events, from the wealth represented in the room, the contents of the packages being auctioned or the wealth being donated.<\/p>\n