Here at LUSSO, we’re going to take a moment to celebrate the good that others do. The more cynical of you might want to flick forward a couple of pages and find out where your next exclusive beach break is coming from. But you’d be missing out not just on the kindness that man can show unto man, but possibly also on your next exclusive beach break.

When you start to look at the mega-donations that take place these days, its important to remember that its ego that makes the world go round – money’s only there to quantify egos successes. And when someone like Christie’s hosts a Green Auction, it’s always going to raise a ton of money because it’s a perfect trifecta of ego-opportunity.

First, you get to give money away in the company of your peers. Giving money away is always a good thing. But doing it at auction is even more fun than earning it in the first place. Because normally, you have to earn large sums of money in private rooms (we at LUSSO believe they’re called offices) where even if you did shout out One million pounds…no! One million, one hundred thou! there’d be no one to hear you. But when you give it away at a charity auction, everyone sees how generous you are/how much you have to give away. 

Bidding anonymously is possible, of course. And some see discretion as essential. Because that way, when you phone round friends to ask if they’d like to join you for a days sailing with Susan and David Rockefeller, you’re not just letting them know you spent more money than anyone else to win the bid, but that you’re such a decent person, you did it anonymously. If you’ve checked with the PAs first to make sure your friends can’t make the dates, soon you will have told everyone that needs to know just how generous and discreet you are.  

The other great ego boost is that Christie’s Green Auction, although coincidentally named after the colour of cash, is in fact raising money for the planet. The proceeds from the auction will go to three internationally renowned charities: Oceana, Conservation International, NRDC and Central Park Conservancy. Thus, Christie’s has given its fabulous Rolodex a twirl and come up with some of the most fabulous charity auction prizes available this year. 

Some of the auction lots are simply wonderful, even if you might be able to pick up your phone and ask your PA to book them for you anyway: there’s a private stay at a Mustique villa, 3 nights in Lapa Rios ecolodge in Costa Rica, or kipping on a beach waiting for some whales to swim past. Of course, if you’re a client of Christie’s, there’s a good chance you already own one of these lodges yourself, or perhaps a small neighbouring country. And have your own pod of whales, on call.

But the real fun packages are where you get unbuyable access. There is the day sailing with the Rockefellers. You can have a character named after you in Luanne Rices next novel (her last featured three distraught sisters and topped the New York Times bestsellers list, so you might want to check exactly which character you’re going to be named after). You can fence with an Olympic silver medallist or hang out with Lily Tomlin or go falconing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But I think, best of all is that you can have your own personal fragrance designed for you by leading perfumier Givaudan. 

Christie’s Green Auction has a high-profile launch on March 29th, a fashion show in collaboration with fashions own eco-charity, Runway to Green. This is a fundraising model that brings together todays best designers, including  Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga, Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Manolo Blahnik and Stella McCartney. There will be hosting an exclusive fashion show, with specially commissioned pieces available exclusively through the online partner Net-a-Porter. Silent, online auction takes place from March 17th to April 17th.