Phillips de Pury & Company has a long history of involvement with Charity Auctions, Fundraisers and Benefits, working with a range of institutions from prestigious museums, schools and educational trusts to a variety of not-for-profit organizations.

Our Chairman, Simon de Pury has conducted many Charity Auctions throughout his career and continually supports the efforts of organizations he has worked with. Here, we sit down with Simon and ask him a few questions about his experience conducting Charity Auctions.

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN CONDUCTING CHARITY AUCTIONS?

SIMON de PURY: I’ve been conducting Charity Auctions for 40 years! I've conducted over a 1,000 auctions and have raised approximately $250 million.

AND IN WHAT COUNTRIES?

SdP: To name a few - Russia, France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Israel, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Lebanon, USA, Denmark and the list goes on. And I've conducted auctions in many languages including English, French, German, Italian and Swiss German!

COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF CELEBRITIES YOU’VE WORKED WITH?

SdP: Some of the most memorable personalities I’ve worked with have been Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Naomi Campbell, Petra Nemcova, Denise Rich, Maxim Vengerov, Phil Collins,Tracey Emin, Robert Wilson, Kimora Lee, Marina Abramovic and many more, of course!

WHAT WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM YOU’VE EVER SOLD AT A CHARITY AUCTION?

SdP: The most expensive works I’ve sold were a fabulous Richard Prince painting which fetched $1 million at the Guggenheim Gala in November 2011, as well as a photography book, Sumo by Helmut New- ton, published byTaschen, which I sold for DM 650K at the Mentor Gala in Berlin, which broke the record for the most expensive 20th century book ever sold at auction.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST AUDIENCE YOU’VE EVER WORKED IN FRONT OF?

SdP: I conducted a Charity Auction for a full house at the Royal Albert Hall -- 5,250 people! Also, the British Red Cross Gala at the Zurich Opera house was a packed house -- 1,100 people.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR STRATEGY OR PHILOSOPHY BEHIND TAKING CHARITY AUCTIONS?

SdP: Same as with any commercial auction: raising the maximum amount of money on behalf of the vendor or the charity while giving everyone a good time!We should never forget how incredibly privileged we are and should therefore give to the causes and institutions we believe in and to those that are not as privileged as we are. One of my ways of doing so is using my skills and experience as an auctioneer.

Date	Location	Charity	Venue
10 Nov 2012	New York	The Hermitage Museum Foundation Annual Gala and Benefit Auction	Phillips de Pury & Company
15 Oct 2012	Paris	Palais de Tokyo	Palais de Tokyo
4 Oct 2012	London	Peace One Day	Phillips de Pury, Howick Place
22 Sep 2012	Dallas	The Goss Michael Foundation	Goss-Michael Foundation
21 Sep 2012	Washington	Mentor Foundation	Four Seasons Hotel, Washington
18 Jun 2012	London	Elton John Aids Foundation, Leukemia & Lymphoma Research and Sky Rainforest Rescue	Phillips de Pury, Howick Place
24 May 2012	London	WWF	Hyde Park
24 May 2012	Cannes	amfAR	Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc
23 May 2012	London	Jewish Care	Phillips de Pury, Howick Place
22 May 2012	London	The Journalism Foundation	Phillips de Pury, Howick Place
11 Feb 2012	Moscow	The Naked Heart Foundation	Barbikha Luxury Village Concert Hall
2 Feb 2012	Geneva	Smiling Children Gala	Geneva Country Club
28 Dec 2011	Aspen	Aspen Art Museum	Aspen Art Museum
16 Nov 2011	London	BFAMI. British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel	Phillips de Pury & Company
7 Nov 2011	New York	Guggenheim Museum	Phillips de Pury & Company
5 Nov 2011	New York	Happy Hearts Fund (Petra Nemcova)	Metropolitan Pavilion
4 Nov 2011	New York	Swiss Institute	Swiss Institute
3 Nov 2011	London	The Venice in Peril Fund	Phillips de Pury & Company
2 Nov 2011	New York	Children's Museum of the Arts (CMA)	Phillips de Pury & Company
17 Oct 2011	New York	Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research (Angel Ball, Denise Rich)	Cipriani
14 Oct 2011	London	Arts for Human Rights (Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation)	Phillips de Pury & Company
4 Oct 2011	London	Bottletop	Phillips de Pury & Company
29 Sep 2011	Berlin	The Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation (Robert Wilson)	Studio Elmgreen & Dragset
24 Sep 2011	Dallas	Staying Alive Foundation / MTV / Kenny Goss and George Michael Foundation	The Goss-Michael Foundation
23 Sep 2011	Milano	amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research	La Permanente
17 Sep 2011	Basel	Fondation Beyeler	Fondation Beyeler
3 Sep 2011	Geneva	WWF (50th Anniversary)	Baitiment des Forces Motrices
12 Aug 2011	East Hampton	Guild Hall	Guild Hall Museum
11 Aug 2011	Monte Carlo	Tel Aviv Museum of Art	Monte Carlo Beach Club
30 Jul 2011	Watermill	The Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation (Robert Wilson)	The Watermill Centre
23 Jun 2011	London	Harrow School	Phillips de Pury & Company
12 Jun 2011	Zürich	The Kunsthalle Zürich Foundation (Maja Hoffmann)	Breuer Lake House, Feldmeilen
19 May 2011	Cannes	amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research	Hôtel du Cap Eden Roc au Cap d’Antibes
18 May 2011	Cannes	Cinema for Peace	Hotel Carlton
16 May 2011	Cannes	Japanese Red Cross (Fashion for Relief by Naomi Campbell)	Forville Market
10 Feb 2011	London	See Change Foundation, Kathryn Greig (Premiere of movie: Wasteland with Vik Muniz)	Phillips de Pury & Company
29 Jan 2011	St. Moritz	Human Rights Watch	The Dracula Club