Here’s a reminder: it’s been two weeks since embattled charity am FAR gave its annual gala in Cannes. And there’s still no word from them on how much money they made that night, or what the costs were. If I were the IRS or other authorities who monitor charities, I’d be curious.
If you’ve given money to amFAR, you should be curious.
Most charities announce their take for a gala that night at the event. amFAR has always trumpeted some number at the end of the evening.
But this year, there were few celebrities. Pierce Brosnan was the main draw. Stars stayed away from the event after amFAR had a year of upheaval. Much of their board was fired or quit. Kenneth Cole is gone. Harvey Weinstein, obviously. There was no Sharon Stone, no Leo, no Nicole Kidman. Cannes jury president Cate Blanchett didn’t even bother doing a photo op. Kristen Stewart did, then left.
amFAR pays its CEO Kevin Frost over $600,000 a year. They are top heavy with salaries. It’s their fiduciary duty to release the actual numbers from Cannes– and I do mean the actual numbers, not a fantasy.
What we do know: a mysterious Ukranian woman named Marina Acton spent $1.4 million on a Pierce Brosnan painting of Dylan. Someone else spent around that amount on a bunch of dresses.
The word from amFAR: “We’re still counting.” It takes a long time to roll all those 1 Euro coins for the bank!
