Billion dollar bash: Donors party for charity

Judging by the seating plan, it could either be the best dinner party ever or a complete car crash. Ted Turner, the media mogul turned philanthropist, is opposite Devon soul singer Joss Stone; fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and Milla Jovovich, the Ukrainian film star, are vying for the table's most outrageous outfit; and Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet, is a side plate away from Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens.

This bizarre collection of the rich and famous made up one table at Tuesday night's Fortune Forum "summit", an annual charity gathering that brings together billionaires, supermodels and pop stars. On the invitation the organisers promised not just champagne and rack of lamb, but also "a deep humanitarian experience".

The setting was the Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, London, and the star turn was Turner, who was to be interviewed by Carol Vorderman about his $1bn (£711m) donation to United Nations causes.

There was certainly enough money in the room to do some good. Saudi Prince al-Walid Bin Saud al-Saud, whose fortune is estimated at $17bn, rubbed shoulders with Vincent Tchenguiz, an Iranian property tycoon worth an estimated £200m. Richard Desmond, the publisher of the Daily Express, who has an estimated wealth of £1.9bn, was next to the Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova. Concern at the battering their fortunes may have taken in the financial crisis was shrugged off. Haji-Ioannou, for example, breezed in late and admitted that his wealth, estimated at £812m last year, has been halved by the credit crunch. "Who cares?" he said. "Its only a way of keeping the score."

Despite the wealth in the room, little money was raised on the night and instead the organisers launched a campaign to persuade the Treasury to provide a 50% tax break for donations to the UN millennium development goals.

"Tonight is about galvanising awareness for the tax scheme and convening some of the most powerful philanthropists, billionaires, celebrity activists and major NGOs," said Renu Mehta, the socialite and fashion heiress who organised the event. A video endorsement from Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, who also supports the tax break idea, popped up on a pair of flat screens.

The only glitch came after word got out about the tax idea, and a group of protesters from the Tax Justice Network and War on Want gathered outside the hotel and shouted "Make poverty history! Tax the rich!" as the guests arrived.

Former Rolling Stones member Bill Wyman had been brought along by his wife, Suzanne, a keen philanthropist. He was one of several guests who seemed puzzled about the event's purpose: "I'm coming in in the dark and I'm just going to see what happens."

With philanthropic donations from the American rich far outstripping those from their British counterparts, it was natural that Ted Turner should top the bill. "I've given a billion and a half away," Turner told the Guardian before taking to the stage. How did it feel? "I enjoyed it. Better than just sitting on it."

He went on to advise the millionaires and billionaires in the room, many losing money in the economic crisis, to "give while you still have something to give".

But by the time the bottles of claret had been drained and Stone had taken to the stage, fears about the financial crisis were put to one side and the mere idea of philanthropy seemed as good a reason as any for a party.