BradPitt

The response to the earthquake tragedy in Haiti was almost immediate, and just days afterward, millions of dollars have been raised, a lot of it through small donations of $5 or $10 transmitted through the humble text message. But there's another kind of giving that has emerged too: Single donations in much larger amounts, from the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Olivia Wilde, Tiger Woods, Madonna. Hopefully the list will grow and grow.

Why is it so gratifying though to hear about celebrities making donations? Perhaps because by doing so, they're doing something we've already done, something that thousands of ordinary people are doing. A crisis reminds us that we're all vulnerable, we're all responsible for helping. And that's what it is going to take to bury the dead, take care of the living, and rebuild Haiti.

So when George Clooney asks for your donation tonight, during the Hope for Haiti telethon he is hosting on MTV, you won't just be saying "yes" to an incredibly magnetic movie star, you'll be joining a community of people wanting to help. It's as simple as that. Celebrities undeniably bring some glamour and sparkle to the task of fundraising, and that's okay. It is after all a difficult and serious business. We're lucky to have them.

Check out the gallery below for a look at the amounts donated so far.

For the second year in a row, Jay-Z and Beyonce (right) have topped a different kind of chart; the Hollywod's Top-Earning Couples list from Forbes. Last year, the mono-household-named celebs earned a combined $162 million, but this year, they earned just $122 million. It's a recession after all.

Or is that really the reason? According to Forbes, when the couple won last year, "about half" came from "each star," whereas this year, Beyonce brought home $87 million (well over half of $162 million), compared with just $35 million from Jay-Z. Far be it from us to call $35 million under-earning, and far be it from Beyonce as well -- the couple famously never discusses their relationship with the press.

Other top earning couples include Harrison Ford and Callista Flockhart, who made bank ($65 million) with Indiana Jones and Brothers & Sisters, respectively, Brangelina, who pulled in $55 million from their film endeavors while raising six kids (and gave a whole lot of it to charity, for example, $333,000 to SOS Children's Villages -- thanks guys), and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who made $48 million. All out-earned Britain's first couple, David and Victoria Beckham, who made just $46 million.

Come on, Posh and Becks. Jay-Z made almost that much on his own.


[via Forbes]

In addition to caring for their own six children, Brad and Angelina Jolie-Pitt just donated $333,000 to SOS Children's Villages, including $100,000 for two in Florida and Illinois (according to the Sydney Morning Herald). Merry Christmas!

SOS Villages operates 500 villages in 132 countries, taking in children who have been orphaned or abandoned. SOS Villages are currently raising over 80,000 children. Each SOS Home has a "mother" and up to 16 children in it -- Angelina recently visited one such home in Chad, and she must have liked what she saw. Other celebrity supporters include the Dalai Llama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Johnny Cash, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. Visit sos-usa.org to follow suit.

Having personally visited a Ritz-Carlton owned SOS Village home in Jamaica, I can see what the fuss is all about. I met some happy, chatty kids who might not otherwise have had much of a chance at survival. Click through the gallery for a peek inside an SOS Home.

Celebrities have inspired some pretty interesting art over the years. We've seen a golden yogini Kate Moss, a birthing Britney and countless Marilyn Monroe images but the latest celeb-inspired piece is pretty unique. Phantom-Financial has announced the December unveiling of the sculpture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, "Brangelina Forever" by artist Daniel Edwards, just minutes from Brad Pitt's own birthplace in the Oklahoma City area. The sculpture is part of the 4,000 sq. ft., $500,000 house named "The Brangelina", by the Los Angeles artist known as Xvala.

"Brangelina Forever" is a life-size casting of Brad and Angelina in an embrace. It will be installed in the ceiling of the master bedroom. A press release states that the statues contain crushed glass from wine glasses from which they drank while reportedly celebrating the anniversary of their first meeting on the set of 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith.' "The Brangelina" is a house which is stenciled with words that represent both Pitt and Jolie including quotes and references to some of Jolie's tattoos. The house will be sold and any potential owner must promise to extend 'honorary ownership' of their home to Pitt and Jolie and to accommodate them every time they come to town to visit Pitt's grandmother. The Brangelina will be on public view starting Wednesday December 16th at 11 a.m. in the Thornbrooke neighborhood of Edmond.

The statue and the house are part of the documentary "Domestic Bliss: The Daniel Edwards/XVALA Project" by Oklahoma filmmaker Dave Smith scheduled to premiere at The New York Academy of Art. A trailer is after the jump.

Those new aviator shades Brad Pitt's been sporting lately are by his favorite designer Tom Ford, naturally. The decadent designer's Pablo model is actually two pairs of sunglasses in one. One set of lenses fits right into the metal frame and the other set sits in plastic inserts. The Pablo is an evolution of an earlier Ford design as worn by Daniel Craig; these are much better proportioned and actually a fine fit for both men and women. The sunglass history buffs at Eyegoodies, where the Pablo can be purchased for $450 a pair, note the influence of an old (1970's) Ted Lapidus aviator with the plastic inserts in, and the Porsche Design Aviators from the 1980's with the plastic inserts out. The Pablo comes in three colors: gold / light havana (pictured above), gunmetal / dark havana, and gold /black.

[via JustLuxe]

My colleague Tom Johansmeyer mentioned the other day that the Art Basel exhibit in Switzerland was bracing for a slump but the art affair has had a boost from a celebrity buyer. Brad Pitt caused a stir when he showed up to check out the exhibits and spent $1 million on a new artwork to add to his collection. He bought Neo Rauch's 9-foot rainbow-coloured racetrack painting Etappe which shows a driver behind a red, Formula One-style race-car. Pitt was in good company, he was seen with billionaire art collector Eli Broad. In fact, the Daily Mail reports that Broad encouraged Pitt to buy the painting telling him that if he didn't buy it than Broad and his wite Edythe would. Also seen at the exhibition were Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his girlfriend Daria Zhukova, designer Karl Lagerfeld and model Naomi Campbell.

Back in February we reported that British outerwear company Belstaff was offering a collection of leather jackets worn by Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Now they're offering a jacket sported by the actor in his latest flick, Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Belstaff created the "S-ICON" jacket (above) for Pitt's Nazi-fighting character Lieutenant Aldo Raine.

Made from Belstaff's signature waxed cotton known for its protection from the elements, it's finished with a sheepskin shawl collar and leather detailing. It's now available at belstaff.com for $1,720. Belstaff, founded in 1924, was a favorite of Steve McQueen, and has also outfitted Will Smith in I Am Legend, Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and War of the Worlds, and Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code.

There are only six Steve McQueen lots in Antiquorum's Important Collectors' Wristwatches auction in New York on June 11, but they include the famed King of Cool's two favorite timepieces and as such the sale represents an extremely important occasion for any enthusiast. As we've noted in the past, McQueen's rugged sportiness, authentic masculinity and innate good taste have inspired countless fashion designers, not to mention scores of other actors who followed in his wake. His watches are style icons in and of themselves.

Foremost is his Heuer "Monaco" chronograph, which he wore during the filming of the classic 1971 racing movie Le Mans (above). The Monaco was originally launched by Heuer in 1969 in honor of the Monaco Grand Prix. It's an unusual, square convex, water-resistant, stainless steel self-winding wristwatch with chronograph and date; Tag Heuer recently released a new version in tribute to the great actor. Following the filming of Le Mans, McQueen presented the watch to his financial advisor in appreciation.

Antiquorum has set a ridiculously low estimate of $10,000 - $20,000 on the timepiece, no doubt to encourage more people to bid. As we mentioned just the other day, however, McQueen memorabilia has been fetching high prices at auction. One collector just paid $42,700 - more than four times its estimate - for an International Driver's License issued to the actor in 1964. The watch could easily fetch 10 times its estimate, if not more. Perhaps Brad Pitt, a huge McQueen fan who's said to be playing the actor in an upcoming biopic, will snap it up.

Gallery: Steve McQueen at Antiquorum

One side effect of the implosion of Dubai's economy which my colleague Deidre Woollard reported on last month is the plummeting value of trophy properties owned by certain superstars. Celebs including David and Victoria Beckham (above), Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Michael Jackson are losing £80,000 or over $100,000 a week as the luxury real estate they purchased in the over-inflated Emirate plunges in value, the London Daily Mirror reports. Posh properties that were worth £3.2 million (or about $4.4 million) in October now on the market for £1.6 million (or about $2.2 million), i.e. only half as much.

"The Dubai market has fallen off a cliff," Jack Whisker of luxury agents Dream Property Dubai tells the paper. "The credit crunch hit us suddenly because all the foreign investors lost confidence. It has hit the higher-value properties the hardest." In January Deidre reported that the Beckhams, who have a luxury villa on the Palm Jumeirah complex, were considering purchasing a second property in the Burj Dubai tower, so they could be doubly exposed. Brad and Angelina reportedly own one of the artificial islands in the out-there development known as The World.

As a supplement to my colleague Deidre Woollard's rundown on red carpet fashions at the Oscars, I offer my own pick for best-dressed man: nouveau James Bond Daniel Craig. Craig, above with girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell, who was a presenter at the ceremony, wore a midnight blue shawl collar tuxedo with satin facing on the lapels and turned-back cuffs and an elegant trim black satin diamond point bow tie and white silk pocket square, all by his favorite designer Tom Ford.

The smaller bow tie in an unusual shape was a welcome change from the alarming trend toward oversized, clownish bows, while the vintage-inspired look of the dark blue shawl managed to be distinctive, classic and extremely elegant, a bit of a departure from the usual without going too far. Ford, who provided suits for Craig to wear in Quantum of Solace, also made Brad Pitt's tuxedo for the Oscars, though Craig looked the best.

British outerwear company Belstaff are offering a collection of leather jackets worn by Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In the movie, co-starring Cate Blanchett, Pitt sports three different Belstaff designs in various scenes. In the first, Pitt wears the iconic Belstaff Panther jacket (above) while riding his vintage Indian motorcycle through Louisiana with Blanchett, giving her the jacket to keep warm at one point; in the second he's seen riding a classic Triumph motorcycle wearing a Royal Air Force-type flying jacket based on an archival design, dubbed the Button Blouson; and in a scene opposite Tilda Swinton he sports a vintage shearling-trimmed jacket which the company has now resurrected.

All three jackets can now be ordered from Belstaff's website or purchased in Belstaff stores, in limited editions. The Panther is priced at $1,205, the Button Blouson $1,295, and the Shearling, $1,995. Belstaff is also donating a portion of sales to Pitt's Hurricane Katrina charity, Make It Right. Belstaff, founded in 1924, was a favorite of Steve McQueen, and has also outfitted Will Smith in I Am Legend, Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and War of the Worlds, Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code, Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns and George Clooney in Leatherheads. Benjamin Button has been nominated for 13 Oscars including Best Costume Design.

[via JustLuxe]

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Software tycoon John McAfee has lowered the price on his Molokai, Hawaii, home to $3.7 million from $4.9 million. The four-bedroom home, shown above, is newly constructed and sits on 5.3 ocean-front acres. The listing is here.I'm hoping he has better luck than he did with the sale of his Colorado home.
--Fashion designer Yael Aflalo who is behind the Ya-Ya fashion line has cut the price on her Hollywood Hills home to $3.95 million. The 1930s home which once belonged to John Barrymore was listed at $4.95 million when it was our estate of the day last summer.
--Jeweler Michael Beaudry has listed his Beverly Hills home for $13.5 million. The listing is here.
The owners of the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood have put their six-bedroom home in the Holmby Hills area on the market for $5.9 million. The listing is here.

From the NY Post:
Infamous swindler Bernie Madoff's penthouse apartment, where he currently is under house arrest, may soon be on the market. The apartment could be priced at up to $8 million.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Aberdeen Townhomes has created a set of landmarked townhouses with condo-like amenities in New York City priced between $7.5 million to $15.9 million. The interior space ranges from around 3,500 square feet to 8,100 square feet, with four to six bedrooms and have remote door-answering services, concierges, automated security systems, climate-controlled package rooms and building maintenance.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Two years ago former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards sold his Washington home for $5.2 million, its current owners are trying to sell it, renovated, for almost twice as much. The home is listed at $9.95 million.
--Hollywood producer Brian Grazer has his taken his Pacific Palisades home off the market. It was listed at $27.5 million.
--Nicolas Cage has cut the price on his Bel Air home. We'll check it out as an estate of the day later today.
--Drew Bledsoe has cut the price on his Westlake, Texas home to $1.625 million, slightly less than the $1.7 million he paid for it new in 2005. The listing is here and says that the seller will buy the purchaser a membership to the development's golf club on closing.

When Oscar-nominated actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt need to move their brood of six children to a new location they don't mess around. The pair is notorious for renting some of the best real estate in the world and their trip to Long Island is no exception. The pair is said to be renting the Sassafras estate in Llyod Neck while Jolie films the spy thriller, "Salt."

Sassafras is a 48-acre waterfront estate that was once on the market for $60 million. The estate includes a Tudor-style mansion, two helipads, and a private dock. The main house has 22,000 square feet that includes eight bedrooms. There is also a six-bedroom guest house and an 11-bedroom staff house. Newsday has a couple more pictures of the impressive estate.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie didn't win any little statues at the Golden Globes Sunday night, but they definitely defended their title as the world's most stylish couple. While Angelina eschewed glitz in an elegant and simple frock from Atelier Versace, Brad continued his trend of wearing Tom Ford's finest when the occasion calls for black tie. He wore a black wool Windsor model peak lapel tuxedo, white pique front evening shirt, diamond and white gold shirt studs and cufflinks, black grosgrain bowtie, silk pocket square, black patent leather shoes and a pair of aviator shades all from Ford's menswear collection - and, for those of you who followed the cummerbund debate in this week's Classicist column, Brad (correctly, in our opinion) wore one of those as well, made of black grosgrain silk to match his bowtie.

Brad Pitt made the scene in head-to-toe Tom Ford once again at the premiere of his latest movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) in L.A. the other night, accompanied by wife Angelina Jolie (right).

Pitt wore a single-breasted, peak lapel Windsor tuxedo, a black silk grosgrain waistcoat, white pique front evening shirt, black silk grosgrain bowtie, white gold and diamond shirt studs and cufflinks, white silk pocket square and black patent leather shoes, all from Ford's luxe menswear collection.

Meanwhile, Motorbiker.org reports that Angelina has picked out a present for Brad's 45th birthday on Dec. 18th - a brand new $12,000 Ducati Monster 1100S Titanium motorcycle, which is not available to mere mortals yet.