Day on the set of Bond 22 auctioned at charity dinner

16-May-2007 • Quantum Of Solace

ARK, the London-based charity headed by financier Arpad Busson, said it raised 26.6 million pounds ($52.56 million) at a fundraising dinner and will invest $8 million in an AIDS-fighting partnership with former U.S. President Bill Clinton - reports Bloomberg.

In a statement, ARK, or Absolute Return for Kids, said the Friday dinner at Marlborough House in London -- which raised 8.1 million pounds more than last year -- drew 1,200 guests who watched singer Prince perform and heard Clinton and Madonna speak. The auction prizes included dinner with Soviet ex- President Mikhail Gorbachev and a day on the next James Bond film set with actor Daniel Craig.

The dinner was sponsored by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News; Merrill Lynch & Co.; UBS AG; BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd.; and two anonymous donors, the statement said.

Through the Clinton-ARK Initiative for Mozambique, faster care will be provided to HIV/AIDS patients in the African country, where 1.8 million people are infected with the illness and there are only about 500 doctors, the release said.

``Working with ARK, we can provide life-saving medicine to children with AIDS, while also training people to diagnose, treat and care for them and follow up with their treatment,'' Clinton said in the release.