Ferrari Raises Funds for Haiti

It was a beautiful summer’s night (even though it’s March). Ferrari could not have picked a better evening to throw their gala event auctioning the first Ferrari 458 Italia to arrive in the U.S.—for the benefit of Haitian relief efforts.

None other than Piero Ferrari, deputy chairman, Amedeo Felisa, worldwide CEO of the company, and Marco Mattiacci, the newly appointed North America CEO, hosted the party. Ferrari has raised a total $601,000 for relief efforts in Haiti by the CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board) and the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Five hundred guests and Ferrari fans descended on Fleur de Lys in Beverly Hills, including John Mayer, The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner, Patrick Dempsey, Aaron Eckhart, Community and Soup funnyman Joel McHale, Malin Akerman, Molly Simms, and Katie Cassidy. They all had the opportunity to bid on Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso’s original racing suit (which raised $31,000) and on two experiences as a Scuderia Ferrari team member at the Canadian Gran Prix in Montreal next June (which went for $20,000 and $21,000, respectively). The Wall Street Journal’s automotive journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Dan Neil conducted the auction of the Ferrari 458 Italia, which went for $530,000.

Grammy Award-winner John Mayer donated his time to perform, entertaining the crowd with a number of his best-known songs, and Hollywood power player (and Ferrari aficionado and Haute Living cover subject) Michael Bay was recognized for his long-standing friendship with the company.

During the stellar night, it was announced that the Department of Orthopedics and Hand Surgery of the University of Modena, longtime friend to Ferrari, will make its knowledge and resources available to help CMMB in Haiti. In particular, a team of hand and microsurgery specialists, whose studies have been financed by Ferrari, will be an asset to the Haitian medical community, in cooperation with CMMB’s extensive health care network in the country.

Check the Haute Living events page for more photos from the party.