CAP D’ANTIBES, France (AP) &mdash Bill Clinton’s saxophone and Robert Pattinson’s lips have helped a star-studded charity event raise money to fight AIDS.
An alto sax signed and donated by the former U.S. president was one of the star lots at the Cinema Against AIDS benefit on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, selling for euro130,000 ($180,000). There was also keen bidding on two kisses from “Twilight” star Pattinson, which raised euro20,000 ($28,000) each. Sharon Stone hosted the 16th annual event late Thursday at the exclusive Hotel du Cap on the French Riviera. Annie Lennox entertained about 800 guests who included Paris Hilton, model Claudia Schiffer, director Terry Gilliam, rapper 50 Cent and scientist James Watson, one of the discoverers of DNA. Stone urged people to give generously despite the global economic slump. “Looking down at the price of my own shoes, we in this room cannot pretend that we have nothing to give,” she said. Like the Cannes Film Festival itself, the event was more muted than in recent years, with just a smattering of A-list stars. Last year’s auction raised a record $10 million. There was no immediate total for Thursday’s event. Guests had to pass through police checkpoints to get to the event, where they drank champagne in the hotel grounds overlooking the Mediterranean before dining on smoked salmon and roasted sea bass.
He noted that $30 trillion in wealth had disappeared around the world between September and March, “and a lot of it came out of some of your bank accounts.”