London’s prosperous tribe of hedge fund managers trumped their New York rivals on Friday night after turning the annual ARK charity dinner into the richest ever single evening fund-raising event.<\/p>\n
The fabulous ball at Marlborough House, where 1,000 guests were serenaded by Sir Elton John, is believed to have raised well over \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a317.5m – outstripping the record $31.9m (\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a317.2m) pledged by US hedge fund members at their Robin Hood Foundation event last year.<\/p>\n
“I am simply overwhelmed by people’s generosity,” said Arki Busson, the chairman of the EIM hedge fund business and the founder of ARK.<\/p>\n
“Every year it just gets better for the thousands of children whose lives we can save and improve. Elton John is a superstar and a wonderful supporter.”<\/p>\n
There was frenzied bidding at the tables of leading hedge fund names including EIM, Louis Bacon, Paul Tudor Jones and Marshall Wace.<\/p>\n