ANSAmed
As part of its 10th anniversary, the Lalla Salma Foundation organized an auction and gala event to raise money for the fight against cancer that raked in millions. The princess, wife of King Mohammad VI, brought together friends and high-level figures in the country to the Badii building in Marrakech with the aim of being a hospital in Béni Mellal in the area.
The amount of money – a total of 150 million dirhams (almost 14 million euros) – raised has made it possible to plan the building of another cancer center in the southern city of Laaayoune. The items auctioned off included a 1970 Mercedes Cabriolet from the royal collection, which was sold for almost two million euros to the billionaire businessman Othman Benjelloun, head of the Finance.com holding company for banks and insurance companies.
The highlights of the auction were a Picasso and a Chagall, which went for around 3 million euros each. Invitees included Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch, an entrepreneur who Forbes has reported is worth 1.5 billion dollars, as well as Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the 38th richest man in Africa whose business activities range from insurance to healthcare and real estate.
There was also Bernadette Chirac, wife of former French president Jacques Chirac, and Sheikha Fatima, one of the most influential women in the UAE. (ANSAmed).
