During an auction to raise money for Keep a Child Alive, Keys took off two 18-carat gold bracelets and put them up for bid. Once someone agreed to buy the items for $14,000, a light bulb seemed to switch in her brain, reports the Associated Press. “Wait a minute, I have an idea. I was just thinking, since I have two that we could sell one to you for $14,000, and one to you for $14,000,” she said, pointing at two different people. “Isn’t that a great idea?”
Altogether, Keys raised $401,500 through auctions at her Black Ball event, which celebrates Keep a Child Alive, her 8-year-old organization aiding HIV/AIDS victims in Africa and India. Celebrities at the Black Ball event included Serena Williams, David Arquette, Queen Latifah, Tyra Banks, Clive Davis and Keys’ husband, rapper-producer Swizz Beatz. A dinner party with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts went for $25,000 and a trip to Paris Fashion Week to see shows by Givenchy sold for $15,000. The top bid was a lifetime membership to all Donald Trump golf properties, selling at $180,000.
