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May 29, 2008

Wealthy Financiers Give Less as Wall Street Struggles

The $56.5-million raised at the Robin Hood Foundation’s annual charity auction this week might seem like a windfall, but it is 21 percent less than the event raised last year and further proof that problems on Wall Street are cramping the giving style of many wealthy financiers, The New York Times reports.

The 2007 auction raised $71-million and reflected the rosy outlook on Wall Street at the time. But the bidding this year for luxury items — such as a walk down the red carpet at the Golden Globe award show — was much more subdued than in previous years and was concentrated among a significantly smaller group of bidders.

“I was worried about the climate going into it,” said Barry Sternlicht, a co-chairman of the event and chairman and chief executive of the Starwood Capital Group. “This is a New York-based kind of recession, and it’s not a good year for the hedge-fund industry. But we were blown away by the response,” said Mr. Sternlicht.

Between 65,000 to 85,000 jobs have been cut on Wall Street, and more layoffs are expected throughout the year, the newspaper says.

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