Schwarzenegger auctions art, gifts from celebrities to fund climate campaign
Vienna, Jan 19 (EFE).- Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday in the Austrian town of Kitzbuehel held an auction to raise funds for his campaign against climate change, putting up for sale artwork ranging from a painting done by his friend and fellow actor Sylvester Stallone and a drum signed by musician Phil Collins.
A total of 21 items, marked at 270,000 euros ($292,000), were to be auctioned during the second edition of the exclusive “Charity Dinner for Climate Action” at which Schwarzenegger, accompanied by his girlfriend Heather Milligan, welcomed some 170 invited guests.
Among those on the guest list were skiing champion Lindsey Vonn, who won Spain’s Princess of Asturias Sports Award in 2019, and numerous celebrities and otherwise famous figures, especially in Austria and Germany.
“Your generous contributions will support our efforts to end pollution and protect our environment,” said the actor and former California governor at the presentation of the auction catalog.
Among the items on the auction block – all of which were donated or created and given to Schwarzenegger – were soccer jerseys signed by Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger and German international Michael Ballack; a ski signed by Vonn and a replica of the leather jacket Schwarzenegger wore in his film “Terminator 2.”
Also up for auction were a platinum ring with a set diamond made using compressed carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere and signed by the actor, a piece that on which bidding was to start at 10,000 euros.
Among the more expensive pieces in the catalog is a painting by Stallone, valued at a minimum of 20,000 euros, an invitation to a private party at Schwarzenegger’s home for 40,000 euros and a Audemars Piguet watch for 50,000 euros.
The money collected in the auction will go to the “Climate Initiative” launched by Schwarzenegger, which has held the Austrian World Summit in Vienna each year since 2017, an initiative to fight against climate change that has been joined by experts, politicians and activists.
The actor’s project seeks not only to raise awareness about climate change but also to confront it by finding “workable solutions from all over the world and connecting these ideas to available technical and financial resources,” the initiative says on its Web page.
“Together, we can start to build a real movement on the basis of optimism and hope,” the actor said in his presentation message for the charity dinner.
At the 2020 edition of the charity dinner, a total of 900,000 euros ($973,000) was collected.
In addition, a replica of the world championship boxing belt signed by Vladimir Klitschko, the brother of Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko is in the auction catalog along with boxing gloves signed by the two former athletes.
All the money collected from the sale of the boxing belt and gloves will go to humanitarian projects in Ukraine.
EFE
–/bp
