Haute 100 New York Update: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Wildlife Charity Auction Raises $39 Million at Christie’s

Leonardo DiCaprio joined forces with Christie’s on Monday night for the 11th Hour charity auction, which raised $38,827,000 million for the actor’s environmental and wildlife foundation. Thirty-three works by contemporary artists including Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, Banksy, Elizabeth Peyton, Takashi Murakami and Raymond Pettibon sold at record-breaking prices, nine for over one million dollars.

The star-studded event, which was attended by Tobey Maguire, Bradley Cooper, Salma Hayek and Mark Ruffalo, broke 13 world auction records for several artists including Longo and Mark Grotjahn. The auction also attracted attention from all over the world, with registrants from 32 countries.

Philanthropist Stewart Rahr purchased an oil portrait of DiCaprio painted by Peyton for a cool $1.1 million. “Leo’s a personal friend,” he told Reuters when asked why he bought the painting. “And the environment.”

For 15 years, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has been raising public awareness about critical environmental issues in order to protect our planet and create a sustainable future. Proceeds from the event will support innovative conservation projects that protect some of the last wild places on earth, plus the endangered species that inhabit them. According to Christie’s, an anonymous collector contributed $5 million to match the prices realized for three tiger paintings created by Longo, Murakami and Zeng Fanzhi. The gifts of many other generous donors totaled $500,000.

Check out some of the artwork up for auction below:

Photo credit: Christie’s